19/4/23 - Heritage - Paris - Good news is so rare for the Parisian heritage that it must be mentioned, even if this one would not have been necessary in any other context, because the monument would not have been so long in disuse. The Art Nouveau toilets at the Madeleine, which we had been denouncing for years as being in a state of abandonment (see in particular this article from 2018) have finally been restored and reopened to the public in February. They are in fact the former women’s toilets (now mixed), the men’s toilets that are next to them having been transformed into an RATP technical room, and we never managed to find out if they still had any remnants of the original layout. They were built in 1905 by the Porcher company.
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- 1. The Art Nouveau Madeleine Lavatory after restoration
Photo: Didier Rykner - See the image in its page
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- 2. The Art Nouveau Madeleine Lavatory after restoration
Photo: Didier Rykner - See the image in its page
We have no further information on the condition of these toilets, which are listed as historic monuments, before the restoration work began. The door was often open, which led to fears of damage. The result, as we saw it, is remarkable. The wooden doors, the stained glass windows that adorn them, the decorative ceramic frieze, the glass blocks that form the ceiling and allow natural light to illuminate the premises, the shoeshine boy’s chair, the caretaker’s lodge, now occupied by the employee of the 2theloo company in charge of the operation of the premises, everything is in good condition and cleanliness that one is always happy to find in a place like this.
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- 3. Staircase of the Dames Madeleine Lavatory, before restoration planned in 2024
Photo: Didier Rykner - See the image in its page
Once again, we must underline the action of Karen Taïeb, the deputy for heritage of the City of Paris, who fought hard to have this historic monument restored. The staircase and its mosaic are still to be restored, but this will not be until 2024 because cracks mean that it has to be consolidated. It is to be hoped that at least the staircase of the other toilets currently occupied by the RATP (this part is also listed) will also be restored.
Open every day from 10am to 6pm (they are on the right of the Madeleine facade), these public toilets are a real change from the horrible Decaux toilets, not to mention the uritrottoirs which, it is true, seem to have completely disappeared. It’s well worth the 2 euros it costs to use them.
It is to be hoped that the Paris City Council will not abandon them again as it has done for over ten years, after a previous restoration in the early 2000s...