PICTURES. Did you know ? There were underground toilets in Lyon, here is their story
By Theo Zuili
Published on
Nearly 200 years of history separate us from the first street furniture in Lyon dedicated to evacuating full bladders.
“Latrines”, “urinals”, “pissotières”, or even “toilets”, synonyms abound to designate these “places of comfort” which undeniably part of the heritage of Lyon. “Both a discreet meeting place for resistance fighters during the Second World War or a cruising spot”, as Michel Chomarat wrotedefender of Lyon’s heritage.
And it so happens that under our innocent feet, when we tread the Place Bellecour, that of the Terreaux, the Jacobins, the Pont or the Republic, we walk a few feet above toilets now buried, gone of the urban landscape.
Underground toilets in Lyon
“The rotunda crypts, subterranean lavatories for the unavoidable needs of both sexes, are rare. In the center of the peninsula, we can count four of them, ”wrote Le Figaro in 1987. “The other spaces intended for the release of strained bladders are rather located on the platforms, and reserved exclusively for men. »
But these first spaces settled on the quays of the Rhône and the Saône. Vespasians, above all, to meet the needs and conveniences.
Then came the underground toilets. “Tangible proof of a whole era… It was an engineer, Jules Armengaud, Parisian municipal councilor in 1900, who wanted to have this solution adopted”, explains the author of this article from Figaro archived in Lyon.
But this is not all that can be found in the municipal archives of Lyon. There is also the tribute “from a grateful young artist” who praises a certain V. Maleysson, “creator of the idea of underground urinals in the city of Lyon” around 1910.
It is to him that the Lyonnaises, it seems, owe the right to relieve themselves in a space provided on the public highway. Diversity and hygiene, welcome to the 20th century.
Diversity and cleanliness
“Vespasiennes are capable, on their own, of spoiling an entire perimeter of circulation. The underground therefore still has some chance of existing”, considers the not very clairvoyant, but illustrious author of the article. Because since then, they have disappeared.
But thanks to him, we consider an objective testimony to this part of Lyon’s lost history. Read instead.
The one in Place de la République is very interesting. On the right the women, on the left the men, under the smiling control of the “wee ladies” whom we see, even in very cold weather, chatting in the open air, each on her S-shaped staircase. One of them, the fifties full of life, has always seen these toilets where she came regularly when she was a child.
The witness describes: “inside it is really clean. The white glaze of the tiles seems in direct competition with the sanitized laboratories of any pharmaceutical factory. »
Upon entering, on the left, we discover two parallel rows of urinals. Fifteen in total for a first necessity. Then it’s the non-stop alignment of the “Turkish” system, in six precise separations, with a counter on top of the doors.
“When you leave you can leave a tip, knowing that the ladies here work for a company that rents the space to the municipality, and that a small coin costs nothing”.
You may remember visiting these historic WCs in your memories. These were not demolished until the end of the 20th century: that of Terreaux was covered in 1991 during the redevelopment of the square.
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