The bank for a chaging world

From The "Restauration" To the Third Republic

1851-1913 Comptoir National d'Escompte de Paris

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Headquarters, 14
rue Bergère - Paris

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The vast lobby and glass
roof at CNEP head office.
 

Construction of the headquarters at 14 rue Bergère

Although it had originally operated from offices in the Palais-Royal, in 1851 the CNEP took out a lease on the Hôtel Rougemont (the residence and offices of the banker Rougemont) and transferred its head office to 14 rue Bergère.

In 1854 the CNEP acquired the property adjacent to the Hôtel Rougemont from the State, and in 1861-1862 bought the building itself for 500 francs per square meter. To minimize the cost of the operation the CNEP sold several properties, including the Hôtel Néo-Thermes (56, rue de la Victoire), which it had planned to use for its head office before the rue Bergère opportunity arose.

The reconstruction of the "Hôtel du Comptoir" began in 1878, and upon completion the building boasted a total surface area of 3,000 square meters.

A new building was constructed in 1879 on rue Sainte-Cécile to provide temporary housing for the Paris personnel (there were 715 employees at the time, as opposed to the 103 employees in 1852).

The government architect, and former student of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, Edouard Corroyer directed the work. Among the technological advances boasted by the building and celebrated by professionals at the time were a spectacular glass roof over the monumental lobby, glass paving for the floor made by Saint-Gobain, closed-circuit steam heating, a pneumatic tube system for distributing mail, and even a small railroad to connect parts of the building under the ground.

The most highly-skilled artisans of the era were brought in for the décor: Aimé Millet produced the statues, Villeminot worked on decoration, and Charles Lameire and Gian Domenico Faccino (whose work can be seen in the Paris Opera) created the mosaics. Edouard Didron was asked to produce the stained glass windows, and Christofle goldsmiths made the outside lanterns.

Reconstruction of the Hôtel du Comptoir was completed in 1881. In 1899 construction began on the corner of the rue Bergère and the rue du Conservatoire, on a building owned by Compagnie des Glaces et Produits Chimiques de Saint-Gobain. The Bergère building as it stands today was completed in 1913.

In 1991 part of the building was listed as a historical monument.

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