ARCADES PROJECT

The Galerie St Francois in Lausanne is an art nouveau arcade built in the first decade of the 20^th century. It slopes downhill, connecting the busy shopping street Rue du Bourg with the main road heading down towards Lausanne train station, the Avenue Benjamin-Constant.

The arcade is covered by a curving glass ceiling, with simple iron supports every 10 metres or so copying the curve of the roof above.

Many of the shop units have kept original features, from the curving glass of the shop windows to the brass door handles on some shop fronts (sadly my camera had a focus failure and didn’t manage to capture those classic Swiss art nouveau handles). Some even still have the brass mouldings over the shop front.

The upper section of the arcade is reached by a small staircase; there’s no glass ceiling to this section, but look back down the length of the arcade for a different perspective, and catch the upper storey of the shops at the Avenue end as they are now at eye level.

As far as I could see, every unit in the Galerie St Francois was occupied.  The upper end of the arcade is definitely targeted more at women, with handbags for sale, nails and lashes to be beautified, pregnancy clothes, a hair salon, jewellery and another boutique. Further down, men get a look in, with a shop focusing on men’s leather jackets, followed by a formal menswear store, and then down at the bottom, any gender is welcome in a ‘mixed sauna’ called simply, ‘Relax!’ There’s also a café, a sushi restaurant, a phone shop, and last but not least, my favourite store in the arcade, the Moroccan interiors and homeware shop, Azar, run by a lady from Marrakesh.

The building facades have stonework statues above the entrances, and there are apartments on the upper floors above the arcade itself.

My pick of the arcade’s past

The architect, Georges Epitaux, was a local man, who may have studied in Geneva, but he was born and he died in Lausanne, so many of the public buildings visible around the city today were designed by him in his active years from 1903-1935. The Galerie St Francois came fairly early in his career, therefore.

The Old India Tea Room was an early tenant in the arcade, and stayed until 1960. According to one Swiss history website, the tea room used to hold concerts and dances.

Another history blog carries a photo from the 1960s and a reader remembers the lady who ran the perfume shop. He describes her short stature, barely peering above the shop counter, and remembers the tone of her lipstick and the powder she wore!

Thanks to a Swiss history blogger for the 2nd and 3rd stories here. Find them at the link here.

This arcade in films or books

In spite of Lausanne’s big connection with the film industry, I have yet to find any scenes set in the arcade. Surely there are some, though?

What I have managed to find, though, was a 1942 oil painting of the arcade, which can be seen at the link here from artnet.

What memories do you have of visits in years gone by?

Have you got any good stories to add on the past of this arcade?

What’s your favourite shop in the arcade today?

My favourite shop in the arcade

I loved the Moroccan interiors and homeware shop, Azar, run by a very friendly woman from Marrakesh. Made me add North Africa to my bucket list.

Is there a website for this arcade?

I didn’t find anything on the internet or social media for the Galerie St Francois itself, though many of the shops and businesses in the arcade are there.