Crédit Lyonnais headquarters, Historic bank headquarters in 2nd arrondissement, France

Crédit Lyonnais headquarters is a bank building in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris that occupies an entire block between Boulevard des Italiens, Rue de Gramont, Rue du Quatre-Septembre, and Rue de Choiseul. The structure underwent reconstruction after a 1996 fire and now contains modern office spaces, with the historic section named Hotel des Italiens and other areas called Centorial.

Crédit Lyonnais bought the 1,590 m² Boufflers hotel plot in 1876 and had William Bouwens van der Boijen build the Hôtel des Italiens, inaugurated on 21 March 1878 in the presence of Léon Gambetta. The bank moved its administration from Lyon to Paris in 1882. Extensions continued until 1913, when Victor Laloux completed the block with the Rue du Quatre-Septembre facade.

The building features a double spiral staircase inspired by Château de Chambord, with separate flights for management and employees that reflected the social hierarchy of the period. This design choice was typical of major French institutions at the time.

The building fills the block between Boulevard des Italiens, Rue de Gramont, Rue du Quatre-Septembre and Rue de Choiseul, so walk the perimeter to compare the Boulevard des Italiens facade with Victor Laloux's Rue du Quatre-Septembre front. On the Rue de Choiseul wall, near the corner with Rue du Quatre-Septembre, look for the inscription marking damage from a German bomb on 30 January 1918. Métro Quatre-Septembre and Richelieu-Drouot are the nearest stations.

The stone cladding hides a metal frame partly made in Gustave Eiffel's workshops, and the Hall of Securities was designed by Eiffel as a metal framework. A German plane bomb damaged the wall along the rue de Choiseul on 30 January 1918; the damage is still visible and marked by an inscription.