Ancienne Usine Felix Potin

The Ancienne Usine Felix Potin sits at the corner of rue Archereau and rue de l'Ourcq, recognizable by its facades of meulière stone accented with decorative glazed ceramic tiles and horizontal bands of porcelain. This building once served as a core production site for Félix Potin, a merchant who reshaped Parisian retail in the nineteenth century. By constructing his own factories near the Bassin de la Villette, Potin bypassed traditional middlemen, enabling him to package and sell goods—such as chocolate, canned vegetables, and alcohol—under his own brand name.