The (, ''

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

'') is a municipal building in

Saint-André, Réunion Saint-André () is the fifth-largest commune in the French overseas department of Réunion. It is located on the northeast part of the island of Réunion. The small lake Étang de Bois Rouge is located in the commune. This area between the S ...

, in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

, standing on Place du 2 Décembre.

History

Following the abolition of slavery in Réunion in 1848, there was a large influx of

indentured workers Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract called an "indenture", may be entered voluntarily for a prepaid lump sum, as payment for some good or serv ...

from South India known as the Malbars. In the context of this large increase in population, the town council led by the mayor, Raoul Nativel, decided to commission a dedicated town hall. The site they selected was on the east side of Avenue Île-de-France and, unusually for town halls on the island, nearly inland from the sea. The building was designed by Auguste-Joseph-Elie Bertin in the

neoclassical style Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...

, built in brick with a

cement render Cement render or cement plaster is the application of a mortar mix of sand and cement, (optionally lime) and water to brick, concrete, stone, or mud brick. It is often textured, colored, or painted after application. It is generally used on ...

finish and was officially opened in 1897. The layout involved a central block with

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings; * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

s at each end connected by bridges at first floor level. The design of the central block involved a symmetrical main frontage of seven bays facing onto Avenue Île-de-France. The three central bays contained segmental headed doorways, which were recessed under a

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

supported by iron poles: on the first floor, there were three more segmental headed doorways, which were also recessed in a similar way, creating a

balcony A balcony (from , "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartme ...

. The outer bays were fenestrated by segmental headed windows with shutters on both floors and, at roof level, there was an

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

. Above the central bay, there was a clock supported by scrolls and surmounted by a

finial A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...

. Internally, the principal room was the Salle du Conseil (council chamber). A

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

war memorial, intended to commemorate the lives of local people who died in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

was designed by the architect, Jean Delune, and unveiled in front of the town hall on 14 September 1938. It incorporated a bronze relief, depicting a dead soldier in the hands of the goddess of

victory The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...

, which was created by the sculptor,

Maxime Real del Sarte Maxime Real del Sarte (May 2, 1888 – February 15, 1954) was a French sculptor and political activist. Biography Early life Maxime Real del Sarte was born on 2 May 1888 in Paris, France, as the son of the sculptor Louis Desire Real and Marie ...

. It was moved to the west side of Avenue Île-de-France, but still facing the town hall, in 1983. In the first half of 2022, the area in front of the town hall was renovated with improved paving and landscaping.

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1897 City and town halls in France 1897 establishments in France