Espace Culturel Paul Orssaud

At the confluence of the Norges and the Creux Jacques stands the Espace Culturel Paul Orssaud inaugurated in January 2008. The building includes an old part (the halls) and an extension. It was named in homage to the man who, as mayor of Genlis from 1971 to 2003, contributed to the great economic and demographic development of the city (3219 inhabitants in 1968, 5325 in 2005). Today it houses the médiathèque, a cine hall and several rooms for various events especially for associations.

The original halls built in 1830 1831, have been the subject of multiple transformations. Several authorities came to live in these halls: justice of peace, archives of the town hall, girls' school and housing of the teacher (1842), store à pumps, gendarmerie brigade (1851), housing of the secretary of the town hall (1873). In 1927, a hall was added to it. This one will be renovated in 1982. At the end of the street, at the crossroads of rue Claude Proteau and rue Paul Doumer, stands the Hôtel de France, the only surviving establishment of its kind in Genlis, which had up to seven in the early 20th century. In the middle of the XXth century, one could see the two roads of an important distillery, which had only one at the time of its establishment, at the end of the XIXth century, the site of an old mill on a reach of the Creux Jacques. The productions of the factory were then transported to the railway station by the "Chemin des Boeufs", in reference to the original means of locomotion used. The company ceased its activity in 1959 and its site (with part of the buildings) was taken over by one of the 1959 and its site (with part of the buildings) was taken over by one of the four remaining farms currently in Genlis.