The Fnac in Nice welcomed Jean Paul Potron, author of a book that will surely light up the eyes and stir the memories of lovers of “nissartitude”: Le Casino de la Jetée-Promenade.
Head of the research service at the Historical Heritage Department of the city of Nice and editor-in-chief of the Nice historique magazine, Jean-Paul Potron is the author of many books and articles on Nice and its region. A specialist in imagery, his favorite topics include the representations of the landscape, cultural and intellectual life of Nice during the modern era.
If one speaks of Nice around the world, one will mention an exceptional site, the Promenade des Anglais, and sometimes also a vanished building, the Jetée-Promenade. Thanks to the private financial arrangement of a Franco-Belgian consortium, this palace opened in 1891 and was dismantled by the German occupiers in 1944.
Several pier projects have been proposed since the 1860s; indeed, Nice is the only northern Mediterranean city that developed around tourism like British seaside towns. Anglo-Saxons came in large numbers to spend the winter there.
Moreover, the cities of the South are as popular for their sea bathing as for the walks that one can take in a wonderful natural setting; investors propose entertainment venues similar to the spas and seaside resorts.
While English and northern European piers most often combine a jetty for boats and a platform topped with pavilions, the Nice Jetée-Promenade offers only a collection of a theater, casino, club, restaurant, lounges, and promenade walkways. Entry is paid, and only notable locals and foreigners frequent it. This select society finds light entertainment, games, social customs, an orientalist and eclectic style there.
The only Jetée-Promenade in the Mediterranean, the Nice palace enjoys an ideal position at the center of one of the most beautiful bays in the world. Prestigious events such as the flower battles took place there, attracting huge crowds until the Second World War.
The Jetée becomes a tourist emblem, a brand for the city of Nice. Its image is constantly associated with it in photos, postcards, advertisements, and souvenirs. Its memory is still vivid among the Nice public and foreigners, and its resurrection is even sometimes mentioned.
