Located on the Ile de la Cité, this building isolated by four streets was originally an outhouse for the Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville, a department store. It provided various services such as stables, a parking lot for the store’s cars, a reception room and even a dispensary.
Nowadays, the building houses the Louis Lépine foundation which serves as a works council for the Police Prefecture. It takes its name after a police commissioner of the 3rd Republic. He’s the one who created the « guardians of the peace », name of the French police officers.
The architecture is colorful with the alternation of brick and stone sprinkled with blue and yellow ceramic. This is typical of the late 19th-century eclecticism, an architectural tendency with rich colors combining elements from various styles and different historical periods.