Tour Bretagne

Tour Bretagne opened on November 18, 1976 at 17:00, is a 37-story skyscraper situated in downtown Nantes between a main thoroughfare, Cours des 50 Otages, and Place Bretagne .With a height of 144m, it dominates the skyline of the city of Nantes and is the third tallest building in France outside of Paris, after Tour Part-Dieu in Lyon and CMA CGM Tower in Marseilles. Built on the water tank, the antennas reach an approximate height of 144 meters, 25 meters above the last floor.Initiated by André Morice then Mayor of Nantes, it was conceived by French architect Claude Devorsine.HistoryThe tower stands on an old area in the center of the city called "Le Marchix". This old Medieval quarter had been considered dirty and dangerous long before the 1943 American bombing which considerably damaged it.During the post-war redevelopment, the construction of two important modernist buildings along Place de Bretagne, housing the Treasury General, the Social Security building and the main post office inspired officials to build a skyscraper nearby. Tour Bretagne was meant to represent the economic power of the city and to display it to the world.In 1966, with the encouragement of the people of Nantes, a group called SELA (Société d'Equipement de Loire Atlantique) was put in charge of developing the project. SELA asked Claude Devorsine, a today forgotten architect, and Marcel André, an engineering advisor, to bring the project to reality. In 1968, the plan was to construct a six story parking garage at the base of the tower, completed with a gas station, which the cars could access via an exterior ramp. The next three levels were to be a shopping mall with space for 25 boutiques and a restaurant. The offices would occupy the rest of floors except for the top floor, which would house a restaurant that would give panoramic views of the surrounding area.