La Plage hotel and Baigneuse by night

“Seabirds”, a sculpture by the Martel brothers, was completed in 1964 and was their last major work. The twin  brothers Jan and Joël were the sons of a Vendée woman from Bois de Cené. Their father, Léon Martel, was a rich  dandy, able to devote himself to his passions - architecture, painting and music. He fell in love with his  wife’s homeland, so the two brothers spent part of their childhood at the family home, Le Mollin, at La  Ganache. In 1905, their father bought the stump of the Tout-Vent windmill to turn into a seaside home and made  it into an oriental folly. The brothers’ artistic career was split between Paris and Saint-Jean-de-Monts, where  they formed part of the “Saint-Jean-de-Monts school”.

Seabirds by Jan et Joël Martel

The seaside villa surrounded by a shady garden remained the most sought-after holiday home until 1955, when a  new idea was born: an apartment in a block, allowing people of modest means to have a second home - “holidays  for all” had arrived. With the post-war boom in holidays, the emphasis was on development. Maître Farcy, who  became mayor in 1962, thought big and thought modern. In those days, the beach was reached by avenue de la  Forêt, which was to form the heart of the planned new town. The conference centre, a symbol of the community’s  ambitions as a resort, was built. The developers Haas and Minélian built large apartment blocks. The flats were  intended for seasonal lets and were simple, with no heating or insulation, but they attracted a mass clientele  who could afford one essential thing - holidays.

Building

The Demoiselles District lies partly in Saint-Jean-de-Monts and partly in Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez; the former bed of the Besse Channel marks the boundary between the two towns. In 1918, 3000 Americans set up an airfield there and built a tarmacadamed road to make it easier to move the planes. This road was extended to the sea in 1925 and renamed Avenue Valentin. When the troops left, a vast area of land remained unoccupied. Its owner, Valentin Guérin, who had inherited the land from his aunts, the Misses (i.e. the “Demoiselles”) Chaillou, sold it to an industrialist from Angers. The new district was named after them. In 1925, the first houses changed the landscape. A shopping centre was built next to the Demoiselles roundabout, a chapel was built in 1932, and a real urban district was born – Les Demoiselles.
The villa called “L’Elysée” was built in 1930 at the entrance to the district leading to the Demoiselles beach and is a fine example of Eclecticism. The word “villa” comes from the Italian and actually means “to go on a country excursion”. Since 1920, it has been applied to resort buildings that show little heed for architectural style. A villa is basically a place in which to sleep and the main room is the summer garden where visitors soak up the sun and sea air from morning onwards. The development of public transport (a coastal railway line was built in 1923 from Bourgneuf to Les Sables d’Olonne but was closed in 1947) encouraged property development in this district. It continued until 1939.     
This villa with its strange architecture is a reminder of the “Thirty Glorious Years”, the period that seemed to suggest a bright, prosperous future and the best of all possible worlds. As a result, free reign was given to imagination in every field, especially architecture. Thanks to a new material (concrete), building techniques would undergo a revolution. It was inexpensive and practical and it met the demand of French people in those days for something “sturdy”.

Elysée villa

Inspired by the hygienist movement of the early 20th century that recommended as much sunlight as possible, the houses became larger and the interiors and exteriors were brought close together by the use of wide bay windows and patios. The single-pitched roofs formed a deliberate contrast with the traditional architecture. The combination of cubes and rounded forms was seen as a daring reflection of the mentality of the day. The use of white concrete brought light to these new homes, resolutely breaking away from the architecture of bygone days. Progress was king. Audacity was here at last, since the future seemed bright and generous.
The Devallon district was once a “parée” belonging to Mr. Pouvreau, aka ThousandGuts (Milletripes) because of his rotundity. The word “parée” is in common usage round here. You’ll find Parée Jésus, Parée du Jonc or Parée Verte etc. It was the word used to describe cultivated enclosures before the dunes were reforested and it was there that people of modest means would live.
It was the dune people who grew a few vegetables and vines that we have to thank for the “parées”, as the locals call them. The word comes from the French “préparées” (prepared). The Parée Milletripes was sold in 1913. On the eve of the First World War, a few villas were built but it was in 1920 that building began in earnest. Over one hundred villas had been built by the outbreak of the Second World War. This district is outstanding for its architectural harmony and its woodland.

The Belem

Traditional home of the 60