Understanding a Cultural Heritage: Headquarters of Private Electricity Companies in Paris, 1889–1946

The aim of this article is to study the cultural heritage represented by the headquarters of the old private firms of electricity supply. Understanding this heritage requires knowledge from economic and industrial history as well as architecture. This raises questions of the establishment of these headquarters in Paris, and the aesthetic and architectural, or even symbolic, characteristics of these buildings which were built, developed or occupied between 1889 and 1946.