Cercle de la Librairie building, Historical monument in Saint-Germain district, Paris, France.

The Cercle de la Librairie building stands at 117 boulevard Saint-Germain, on the corner of rue Grégoire-de-Tours. Charles Garnier designed it, and it was completed in late 1879. It has a rotunda topped by a dome, a double-revolution staircase serving a library, a games room leading to a billiard room, and a festival hall. A mosaic frieze of smalt and gold was made by the Facchina workshop.

Louis Hachette, president of the Cercle de la librairie from 1864, decided to build a new headquarters on boulevard Saint-Germain; the project was carried through in 1877 under his son-in-law Louis Bréton. Charles Garnier, who had just finished the Paris Opera, designed it, and it was inaugurated on 4 December 1879. From 1880 the building hosted an annual exhibition on the history and current state of typography and printing.

The building served as a gathering place for the Parisian publishing and bookselling community, reflecting the importance of the book trade to the city. Its spaces hosted exhibitions on typography and printing, showing how architecture supported the literary world.

The building sits at the corner of Boulevard Saint-Germain and is easy to reach on foot with clear views of its distinctive rounded corner from the street. You can appreciate the architectural details from both sides of the intersection without needing to enter, making it ideal for a quick visit.

The double-revolution staircase serves the library, not the rotunda core: the rotunda is crowned by a dome, while the stair links the floors to the book collection. The mosaic frieze of smalti and gold on the facade came from the Facchina workshop. The building was finished in late 1879 and inaugurated on 4 December 1879.