The Hôtel de Ville in Saint-Pierre

In the Indian Ocean, the Hôtel de Ville stands on Rue Méziaire Guignard in Saint-Pierre. Designated a monument historique by the French government in 1982, the building was originally authorized in 1751 as a coffee store to be operated by the French Indies Company. While construction began that year, it was not completed until 1773 following pressure from local coffee merchants. The building was designed in a rectangular shape near the harbor and featured a flat roof made of argamasse - a mortar of sand, crushed brick, lime, egg whites, curdled milk, and fats - so that coffee beans could be dried on top.

In 1825, the town council began using the building as its regular meeting place. Ownership was transferred from the French Government to the town council in 1828 by mayor Urbain Marin. Subsequent improvements included replacing the leaking flat roof with a pitched roof and installing a pair of full height pilasters flanking the central bay. These supported a central pediment containing a clock and an octagonal belfry. In 1861, a landscaping scheme was initiated for the front garden, featuring a fountain designed and manufactured by Fonderies d'Art Ducel.

The garden houses two prominent statues. One, by sculptor Jean Boucher, was unveiled in the 1920s at the north end to commemorate local service personnel who died in the First World War. A second statue, depicting the former politician François de Mahy, was unveiled at the south end of the garden on 22 July 1934. A programme of works to restore the exterior of the building was completed in 2022.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons