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The or Excelsior Hotel is a hotel constructed 1914–1916 by Hippolyte Delaporte in Casablanca, Morocco. Along with the department store , it is one of the architect's first works in the city. The hotel is located at United Nations Square, called the during the French Protectorate at the time the hotel was built.
History
In 1901, Casablanca had three hotels. By 1911, after the French occupation of Casablanca, the French CommandantCharles Martial Joseph Dessigny
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...
counted six or seven hotels and four or five European restaurants, noting that "a hotel equipped with modern comforts is desirable and would be assured of a good clientele." The Excelsior satisfied the plans of the commandant, who in July 1908 had been put in charge of a public facilities department established by the French authorities.
The Excelsior Hotel was built on the site of what had been a slaughterhouse. First imagined as six-story buildings, the hotel and its neighbor represented a departure from the adjacent medina
Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...
in terms of scale.
The Excelsior served an emerging segment of the population of Casablanca, offering modern comforts to the Western businessmen coming and going. The Excelsior and its brasserie
In France, Flanders, and the Francophone world, a brasserie () is a type of French restaurant with a relaxed setting, which serves dishes and other meals.
The word ''brasserie'' is French for "brewery" and, by extension, "the brewing busine ...
quickly replaced the as the meeting place for business and land speculation
In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable in a brief amount of time. It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline ...
deals.
Henry Dugard in wrote that it represented the transformation of Casablanca from a "a rough and unrefined monster" into a civilized city.
Architecture
The building had a frame of concrete and friezes and balconies with inspiration taken from decorative themes then popular inAlgeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
and Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
, also occupied by the French.
References