Rue de la République

Rue de la République

Rue Impériale (1862-1871)
File:Rue de la Ré cinema pathe.jpg cinéma Pathé Lyon - Bellecour
Former name(s)	Rue de Lyon (1871-1878)
Location	1st and 2nd arrondissements, Lyon, France
Postal code	69002
Coordinates
Construction
Inauguration	1862

Rue de la République is a street located in the 1st and 2nd arrondissements of Lyon. This is the main shopping street of the city. This zone is served by the metro stations Bellecour, Hôtel de Ville - Louis Pradel and Cordeliers. The street belongs to the zone classified as World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

History

File:Prequile lyon 1863.jpg

"Plan des améliorations réalisées ou projetées dans le centre de la ville de Lyon", by Gustave Bonnet, 1863.

After his appointment in 1853, the prefect of the Rhône and mayor of Lyon Claude-Marius Vaïsse decided to create three new roads connecting the Place Bellecour to other major squares of the Presqu'Île :

• Rue Victor Hugo, connecting the Place Bellecour and Place Carnot
• Rue de l'Impératrice, then renamed rue de l'Hôtel de Ville and then rue du Président-Édouard-Herriot, between Place Bellecour and Place des Terreaux
• Rue Impériale (1862–1871), later renamed rue de Lyon (1871–1878), then rue de la République (since August–September 1878), which leads from the Place Bellecour to the Place Louis Pradel, where are the Hôtel de Ville and the Opera.

Two squares have been created on this occasion, both located along the rue de la République : the Place Impériale (now Place de la République) and the Place des Cordeliers. The street, long over a kilometer, follows a southwest–northeast axis from the Place Bellecour to the Place de la République, then a north–south axis to the Place Louis Pradel.

In 1894, the President Sadi Carnot was assassinated at the palace of Commerce, located on the Place des Cordeliers.

In the 1970s, the construction of the line A of Metro generated the digging of trenches on the entire street.

The location of the Rue de la République, in the center of the city, and its large number of shops make the street one of the most frequented ones of Lyon by day and night. It is also known by its apocope, "Rue de la Ré".

Trades

Like the avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris, the Rue de la République attracts a large number of signs, including :

• Luxury shops
• Cheap shops, including Cheap (Prisunic), demolished in 2006, and the fast-food Mac Donald
• Cinemas as Pathé Lyon - Bellecour, or the Pathé Lyon - Cordeliers (ex Nefs 8) and CNP Odéon both located in adjacent streets
• Major brands of distribution, such as Fnac Bellecour
• Many restaurants and cafeterias

Notable monuments and buildings

The Rue de la République is lined with Haussman-style buildings, constructed in the 19th century when the street was created.

• The former headquarters of the newspaper Le Progrès, now occupied by Fnac Bellecour. There is a mosaic "RF" meaning "République Française". This building located at 85 rue de la République was devised by Émile Étienne Guimet, initially for a theater
• Cinema Pathé surmounted by a belfry with a rooster at the top, a rare example of Art Deco style in Lyon
• The Palais du Commerce, headquarters of Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Lyon and the Bourse de Lyon, with the nearby Church of Saint-Bonaventure (place des Cordeliers)
• The Nouveau Grand Bazar, occupied by shops. The building looks very modern by contrast with the surrounding ones
• The Hôtel de Ville and the Opera Nouvel, both located at the north end of town, Place de la Comédie.

Photos

• Le Progrès - la Fnac Lyon.jpg

  Fnac Bellecour, the former heardquarters of Le Progrès

• 

  Palais de la Bourse in 2008

• Saint-Bonaventure.jpg

  Church of Saint-Bonaventure