Rue Mercière
Southern part of the street
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| Former name(s) | Rue Marchire |
|---|---|
| Type | Street |
| Location | 2nd arrondissement of Lyon, Lyon, France |
| Postal code | 69002 |
| Construction | |
| Construction start | 13th century |
Rue Mercière is a street of Les Cordeliers quarter in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon. From north to south, it connects the Place des Jacobins to the Place d'Albon. This street is served by metro stations Bellecour and Cordeliers of the line A and by the bus station Jacobins of the lines 91 and 99. It belongs to the zone classified as World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Etymologically, the French word "Mercière" refers to "merchant", which is the main activity of the street. Previously, the small rue Mercière was distinguished from the rue Dubois in the south and the large rue Mercière at the north. This is one of the oldest streets of Lyon and was probably created during the late antiquity. From the 13th to the 18th century, it was the main street of Lyon on the left river of the Saône. In the 16th century, it was the street of printers and notably housed Sébastien Gryphe's workshop, at the corner of rue Thomassin. At No. 64, the ruins of the Church of Anthonians can be seen. The Hôtel de la Rose, directed by Jacques Cœur, was occupied by the Consulate from 1459 for three years. The No. 64, called the "Cave of Ainay", was owned by the Ainay abbey until 1542.
The composer Louis Marchand was born at number 2 in 1669. The almanac of Lyon was printed in this street from 1740 to 1836. Among the famous residents of the street are Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1509) who held the secret society named l'Agla, Langlai brothers who printed Simon Maupin's Lyon map, and writer André Steyert who was born in this street in 1830.
As for other streets of the close quarter, the Gas Company of Perrache made its first test of gas lighting in the street in 1835.
Fallen into an unhealthiness state in the 19th and 20th century, the street was the subject of several re-developments, including the project Moncorgé named Transformation et embellissement de Lyon in 1909. In 1925, the SEL contest already aimed to transform the neighborhood. By the mid 19th century, the street was covered with asphalt and all buildings in the eastern part were deleted when the rue Centrale was created. The project of F. Chollat, with his 5th prize, wanted to build in the street Mercière a modern quarter and a fifty-stage skyscraper. A radical project of destruction was halted at the last minute in 1956 by André Malraux. In 1958, the city council took the decision to renovate the quarter Mercière-Saint-Antoine. The northern part of the street was demolished between the street and the dock to create a major building project : Mr. Marot, chief architect of the Bâtiments Civils et Palais Nationaux, elaborated a project modified eighteen times to "protect the variety of appearance and fancy which were the charm of the old neighborhood".
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Wikipedia