The "Casino"
(café-restaurant, then hotel)
in its different forms before and after 1939
A 1932 advertising document described the "Casino" in this way
"This is how Vierville-Plage was born a few years ago (1925) the magnificent hotel and luxurious Casino of M Piprel, which sheltered from large gusts, with its pretty rooms and its flowery terrace, overlooking the sea, dominates it from about thirty meters high. It is the meeting place of the distinguished and worldly Society, as well as the meeting place for all Families, because if we find a benevolent welcome, there is nothing like a dinner at Piprel and it is unforgettable when you are lucky enough to be able to enjoy American lobster."
Around 1900, the first Restaurant du Casino was installed by the Piprel family in a light building, very close to the sea, about where the rescue station is located today
Perhaps around 1910, this building was moved a little away from the sea, to avoid frequent flooding caused by storms. It was then located between the current Sainteny monument and the Hôtel du Casino.
After the Great War, in 1925, this restaurant was completed by an adjacent hotel, the Piprel family simultaneously ceasing to operate in the village the Hôtel des Touristes ("La Pie qui Tette"), which they had owned for a long time :
Advertising dating from 1932
Attached is the text of a song on Vierville, dating from 1925, the year of the inauguration of the Hôtel du Casino
This set was destroyed in 1944 and replaced in 1955 by the current hotel
Around 1900, even before the construction of the first Casino.
First establishments of the Casino (in the center a little to the left, overlooking the sea) ) and Legallois (just below, a small bazaar it seems, overlooking the road)
Around 1905
The Casino was originally a café-restaurant by the water, visible below and opposite.
(details) Concert in front of the restaurant
It was later moved back, the original location was probably too exposed to storms. We see it in the photo above, in the middle and in the foreground
Around 1920, Piprel restaurant and bazaar Le Gallois
The "Casino" restaurant was completed in 1925 by a 2-storey hotel, visible in the photo below.
In 1939-40, the hotel was used to accommodate several dozen Parisian children with their teachers, evacuated from Paris in September 1939.
Around 1943, the hotel and restaurant were requisitioned by the Germans to serve as a rest home for the soldiers ("Au Théodore fatigué", nickname given to the hotel by German soldiers). The Piprel family then had to leave and relocate to the village.
The buildings were completely destroyed on June 6, 1944, as soon as the US fleet was bombed at 6 a.m. In principle, it was the medium artillery (127mm) of the Texas battleship that fired on the Vierville defenses.
Later, around 12:30 p.m., Texas shot again on this descent, but this time with its heavy artillery (356mm), which led to the surrender of the Germans to the Americans who were on the beach.
Around 1925
(details) Aerial view dating from 1938, showing the Piprel and Le Gallois establishments
The casino rebuilt in 1955
In Nov 53, during the reconstruction
1960
1963
(details) around 1970
1957
1960