Atrium Casino is the name of the

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

Dax The DAX (''Deutscher Aktienindex'' (German stock index); ) is a stock market index consisting of the 40 major German blue chip companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It is a total return index. Prices are taken from the Xetra t ...

in the south-west of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is listed under the relevant legislation as an historical building.

Origins

In 1925 the local

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

, Eugène Milliès-Lacroix, proposed the construction of a casino in order to boost the appeal of the town's

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

based tourist industry. The

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

architect André Granet, assisted by

Roger-Henri Expert Roger-Henri Expert (18 April 1882 – 13 April 1955) was a French architect. Life The son of a merchant, Expert first studied painting at the École des beaux-arts in Bordeaux, then from 1906 attended the École nationale supérieure des Bea ...

was mandated to implement the project. The sponsors and architects were keen that the new casino, built directly after the

Salle Pleyel The Salle Pleyel (, meaning "Pleyel Hall") is a concert hall in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, designed by the acoustician Gustave Lyon together with the architect Jacques Marcel Auburtin, who died in 1926, and the work was completed i ...

in Paris and shortly before the launch of the

SS Normandie SS ''Normandie'' was a French ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France, for the French Line ''Compagnie Générale Transatlantique'' (CGT). She entered service in 1935 as the largest and fastest passenger ship afloat, transatlantic crossing, ...

, should respect the still challenging

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

trends of the time.

Opening

July 1928 saw the inauguration of first auditorium of this kind in

the department ''The Department'' is a satirical comedy on BBC Radio 4 about a secret organisation with the power to influence every aspect of your life. The show is written and performed by Chris Addison, John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman (cancelled after ...

when more the a thousand people attended a performance of Gounod's

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

, Mireille. The building is constructed of reinforced concrete, and centred on an open-air

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...

, which is the basis for its name " Atrium". The bar is decorated with windows by Louis Barillet (1880 - 1948), then well known in France for his mastery of

Stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

Degradation

The building is part of a larger development that also included the neighbouring Hôtel Splendid. It was acquired by the municipality in 1968. The passage of time proved that the reinforced concrete construction of the 1920s was ill-suited to the

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

of France's western coast, and the casino's structural integrity deteriorated. A succession of half-hearted attempts at remediation failed to return the Atrium Casino to its earlier splendour and, sixty years after its inauguration, its poor condition led to its closure.

Rehabilitation

A more sustained restoration exercise began with the large auditorium, now able to accommodate up to 800 spectators which gained a first historical building listing (subsequently rescinded) in 1986. The sumptuous décor of the ceiling, walls and around the

proscenium A proscenium (, ) is the virtual vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame ...

, engraved on panels of gold and silver

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

, presents people and animals against a floral background. The theatre space has nevertheless been equipped with modern technological features, and is used for a range of shows through the year including dance, drama and concerts. The casino area, subsequently restored, received its historical building listing in 2000 and was reopened to the public in 2005.

Sources and notes

{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Landes (department) Art Deco architecture in France