Hôtel de ville de Saint-Pierre, town hall in Saint-Pierre, Réunion, France
The Hôtel de Ville de Saint-Pierre is a town hall in Saint-Pierre, a French Indian Ocean island. It consists of two stories built from cut stone blocks with brick arches over the windows and a sloped roof covered in traditional wooden shingles.
The building was constructed between 1751 and 1764 as a warehouse for the French East India Company, storing goods like grain and coffee from overseas trade. The town took control in 1825 and renovated it as a town hall, adding stone walls and a bell tower to suit its new role.
The town hall represents the administrative heart of Saint-Pierre and shows how governance took shape during the colonial period. Its straightforward design reflects the practical values of a working community more concerned with function than decoration.
The building sits on Rue Méziaire Guignard in central Saint-Pierre and is easy to reach on foot. The main square in front offers space to walk around and view the structure from different angles, with a historic fountain nearby to complete the scene.
A fountain standing in the square before the town hall was crafted by local metalworkers in the 1800s as a distinct work of local craftsmanship. Its placement shows how the community chose to shape the public space around this administrative center.
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