Félix Potin Building, Art Nouveau department store in 2nd arrondissement, France

The Félix Potin Building is a five-storey reinforced-concrete shop building at the corner of Boulevard Sébastopol and Rue Réaumur, designed by Charles Lemaresquier in 1910. Its rounded corner turret carries the firm's name in gold letters on a dark ground, and the upper facade is covered with neo-baroque ornament around large display windows at street level.

Félix Potin began as a retail venture in 1844 and grew into one of Paris's major commercial enterprises. The architect Charles Lemaresquier designed this building in 1910 as a modern showcase for the expanded business.

The corner turret carries the name "Félix Potin" in gold letters on a dark mosaic ground, a sign that doubles as ornament. Around it, cornucopias and plant motifs in glazed ceramic cover the facade, showing abundance as the store's public message. The lettering and ceramics can be read from street level.

The building stands at a busy corner location that is easy to explore on foot. Large windows at street level allow for viewing the facade and architectural details from the sidewalk.

Look up at the corner turret: the gold letters spell out the name of the founder, Félix Potin, against a dark mosaic ground. The architect Charles Lemaresquier signed the building in 1910, and the lettering was part of the shopfront itself, naming the firm to every passerby at Boulevard Sébastopol and Rue Réaumur.