La Samaritaine is the Parisian department store featuring an Art Nouveau façade designed by Frantz Jourdain.
Ernest Cognacq founded La Samaritaine in 1870 near the Pont-Neuf in Paris. Architect Frantz Jourdain oversaw major expansions and redesigns, including the second store building completed in 1910 and the modernization of the original store’s façade to match it.
Jourdain’s design used a steel-and-glass structure decorated with colorful ceramic panels, enamel lettering, floral motifs, and glass-brick domes. These materials made the building both commercially practical and visually theatrical, embodying Art Nouveau’s interest in integrating structure, ornament, and modern technology.
The answer can be confused with Printemps or Galeries Lafayette, both famous Parisian department stores with important historic architecture. La Samaritaine is also architecturally mixed: later expansion work by Henri Sauvage introduced Art Deco elements, while the historic Jourdain sections remain associated with Art Nouveau.