Architecture

Palais Bondy

Lyon

Palais Bondy, also called Le Palais Bondy or Palais de Bondy, is located at 18 quai de Bondy on the banks of the Saône in Lyon. Built between 1902 and 1904, it was designed as a reception place for the Conservatoire de Lyon, which had no dedicated location. Architect Eugène Huguet directed the work, and the entrance bears a plaque dated 1904 with the names Eugène Huguet, Thomas Lamothe and Louis Bouquet. The building includes two concert halls, Molière and Witkowski, two exhibition rooms, and the Théâtre Le Guignol de Lyon. Its layout includes a semi-circular staircase opening onto a large vestibule, which gives access to different levels of the Salle Molière concert hall. The first and second floors each contain two exhibition halls with skylights. The theatre in the building includes a 120-seat hall and a collection of 265 traditional Lyonnais glove puppets.

Map showing the location of Palais Bondy in Lyon
Location of Palais Bondy in Lyon

Nearby Objects

Interior Spaces and Cultural Uses

Le Palais Bondy, also called Palais de Bondy, is located at 18 quai de Bondy on the banks of the Saone in Lyon. The building contains two concert halls, named Moliere and Witkowski, as well as two exhibition rooms. It also houses the Theatre Le Guignol de Lyon. These elements show that the building serves as a venue for both performance and exhibition activities.

Construction and Urban Context

The history of Palais Bondy is linked to a wider process of urban change around the Saint-Paul area. After the completion of construction works at gare Saint-Paul in 1874, the municipality decided to demolish the district between rues Octavio Mey, Lainerie and de l'Angile. A public inquiry in 1893 described this sector as the most unhealthy part of Lyon and fixed the definitive layout and width of rues François Vernay and de l'Angile. Within this context, the building was constructed between 1902 and 1904.

Construction and Use of Palais Bondy

Palais Bondy was built to provide a reception place for the Conservatoire de Lyon, which had no dedicated location. The architect Eugene Huguet was responsible for the work, which began in 1902 and ended in 1904. The project extended from rue de l Angile to quai de Bondy and included an imposing building with two entries. Its interior is organized around a semi-circular staircase that opens onto a large vestibule, which gives access to the different levels of the Salle Moliere concert hall.

The building contains several cultural spaces. On the first floor, two exhibition halls with skylights were renovated in 2015. On the second level, two more exhibition halls with skylights host painting salons. The entrance displays a plaque reading Palais Bondy 1904, with the names Eugene Huguet, Thomas Lamothe, and Louis Bouquet.

Palais Bondy also houses the Salle Witkowski, used for conferences, and the Le Guignol de Lyon theatre, which includes a 120-seat hall and a collection of 265 traditional Lyonnais glove puppets. In 1966, the heirs of a marionette troupe founded in 1887 by Laurent Mourguet moved their activity from quai Saint-Antoine to the basement of Palais de Bondy. From June 1998 to December 2016, the city of Lyon, as owner of the site, hosted the ZonZons theatre collective, created in 1994 for municipal theatre development. In February 2017, the M.A. company resumed traditional Lyonnais glove puppet performances.