Building on the success of previous exhibitions focusing on visitors to Le Havre (in 2009) and the maiden voyage of the SS Normandie (in 2010), in 2011, the Greater Le Havre Tourist Office is running another open-air beach exhibition, this time looking at the history of Le Havre’s beach and boulevard life from the late 19th century to the 1960s.
Some 30 photographs of seaside scenes including the famous cobblestone gatherers, the Marie Christine casino, the landing-stages (at one time there were as many as three landing-stages between the grand Hôtel Frascati and the Regatta Palace, one belonging to the Bains Marie Christine) and the Villas, some of which have since been demolished, have been hung on the sides of the beach huts all along the seafront promenade.
An additional 20 panels featuring some of the elegant constructions erected by the speculative builder Georges Dufayel − the Regatta and Trade Palaces and the Louis XIII and Louis XVI villas – have been displayed on the Promenade des Régates.
As in previous years, it is thanks to the support of the beach hut owners and the funding provided by corporate sponsors that the Greater Le Havre Tourist Office has been able to mount this exhibition.