The 'Les Lumières' cinema Former Mahieu trading house
The trading house was built in 1881 at the initiative of Auguste Mahieu-Ferry. Its realization was entrusted to the Lille architect Émile Vandenbergh, who notably carried out the Lille Charity Office and the Philanthropic City located rue Gantois in Lille.
It is the most original of the Armentières trading houses, intended for the sale of linen fabrics produced by the Mahieu establishments.
A large central hall 15 meters high, surmounted by a wooden glass roof, allows the departure of goods. It also serves as a transition space between the manufacturing workshops and the administrative offices located on either side of this 'interior street'.
The entrance is designed as a real advertising sign with the initials of Auguste Mahieu intertwined. These initials are also repeated at the top of the pilasters on the facade. Inspired by the plant world (we are at the very beginnings of Art Nouveau), the architect uses modern materials of the time: cast iron and wrought iron.
The facade is surmounted by the coat of arms of Armentières and the coats of arms of the towns trading with the Mahieu house: Bordeaux, Elbeuf, Nantes, Lille, Lyon, Paris, Toulouse, Nancy and Marseille.
Heavily damaged during the First World War, the trading house also received two shells during the Second World War and was rebuilt identically. Mahieu companies gradually cease their activities from the 1960s. The trading house is then used by the roofing firm Beaudeux.
The trading house has been included in the inventory of historic monuments since April 21, 2000, in particular its facade and its roof overlooking rue de la gare, its hall crossing with its glass roof and the metal supporting structure of the two side stores. All these elements were taken up in the project to transform the place into a cinema.