Henri Lyon

Henri Lyon was born in Marseille on December 22, 1885. He studied architecture at the Ecole régionale d'architecture de Marseille (workshop of Eugène Sénès), from which he won.

The First World War delayed the entry into working life of Henri Lyon who was mobilized in the 22nd Colonial (1914-1917 with an interruption from July 1916 to 1917) before being reformed with permission to wear the Insignia.

Henri Lyon joined the department’s Architecture department on May 30, 1919, without competition, as a draftsman. He spent much of his career there until the department was disbanded, rising through the ranks to become Chief Architect in 1942. In November 1919, he was appointed Deputy Chief Architect, to compensate for the absence of the holder of the post, Gaston Castel (1886-1971) who requested a leave of absence without pay to travel to the United States to study the extension of American ports (availability that he will finally devote to a stay in Brazil). In 1926, from the status of Architect-Meter, Henri Lyon acceded to that of Architect-Auditor. In 1930, he was appointed chief architect of the department, head of the new buildings division. On 31 March 1941, Gaston Castel having been ousted, Henri Lyon was entrusted with his duties before being officially appointed Chief Architect on 28 February 1942.

In nearly twenty-five years of attachment to the Architecture department of the Bouches-du-Rhône department, in collaboration with Gaston Castel, Henri Lyon works on various projects: Pavillon pour bains populaires (Aix-en-Provence, 1922); foyer-rural et maritime, town hall-fish shop and arenas of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (1930-1933, 1931-1932 and 1932-1933 respectively, in collaboration with Jean Rasonglès); old people’s asylum la Tour Blanche (before 1932, Marseilles); college and primary school for girls in Arles (present Ampère College, 1932-1934); Tarascon Municipal College (present Lycée Alphonse Daudet, 1935-1936); Aubagne Municipal Stadium (1936-1947, in collaboration with Jean Rasonglès and François Bart).

In the department, from 1930, Henri Lyon also carried out projects alone, as evidenced by the post office of Peyrolles-en-Provence (1930-1932).  Licensed since 1924, Henri Lyon also practises as a liberal architect. His personal agency is based in Marseille, in the Saint-Barnabé district. At the request of a private clientele, he built mainly villas in Marseille and Nice but also industrial (Lazzatti oil mill, Marseille) and commercial (Casino-Palace Eldorado, Nice, in collaboration with Gaston Castel).

Henri Lyon ceased all professional activity in 1959.

Sources

Archives

- AD 13 M 1 476, Prefecture, Personnel file of Henri Lyon.
- AD 13 M 1 610, Prefecture, Personnel file of Gaston Castel.
- AD 13 4 N 324, Prefecture, Department Architecture Department, Operations.
- AD 13 3 T 119/5: The work of the General Council of the Bouches-du-Rhône (documentation gathered in 1932).
- AD 13 86 J, Castel Fund.

Bibliography

- Marantz Eléonore, Arles-Tarascon, Inventory study of architectural and urban production (1900-1980), Aix-en-Provence, DRAC PACA, 2008-2010.
- Chiavasa Isabelle (eds.), Gasnault François (eds.), Les Castel. Une agence d'architecture au XXe siècle, Marseille, Archives départementales des Bouches-du-Rhône/Parenthèses, 2009.

Printed sources

- Anonymous, “L'oeuvre des architectes marseillais: Gaston Castel et Henri Lyon”, Sud Magazine, no. 83, 5th year, 1-16 July 1932, pp. 28-29, pp. 54-55.