BUREAU DU GÉNIE ET DES PONTS ET CHAUSSÉES

Located at the eastern end of rue Levassor in the quartier du Fort, the Génie and Ponts et Chaussées offices occupy the site of a private house built in 1810, following the dismantling of part of the Larochetière dwelling at the end of the ^18th century. In 1855, the site became the headquarters of the French Engineering and Civil Engineering Departments. The eruption of 1902 destroyed all structures except the terraces and retaining wall; the remaining buildings are in ruins. The site housed several buildings arranged in a tiered construction on several terraces linked by staircases. In the middle of the upper terrace was the main building, which housed the offices of the Engineering and Civil Engineering Departments. The back wall of this rectangular building was pierced by a double waterfall that fed a basin built at its foot. The middle terrace featured two large circular basins. On the lower terrace were two buildings: a guardhouse and stables. A striking feature of the site is the ingenious hydraulic system that supplied water via the canal du Fort to the Bureau du Génie and the Ponts et Chaussées, as well as to the Maison Coloniale de Santé opposite. The omnipresence of water is typical of pre-1902 Saint-Pierre: controlled runoff, cascading waterfalls, fountains and ornamental spray basins, a functional pool, running water upstairs.