Nuns from the Order of the Visitation* settled along the Quai Serin, today called Quai Saint-Vincent, and in 1640 founded there the Sainte-Marie-des-Chaînes monastery. The monastery takes its name from the chains that customs officers hung over the river Saône, to stop smugglers’ ships from entering the city of Lyon. The convent was first comprised of a church, a cloister, an oratory and diverse outbuildings: laundry room, storeroom, cellar, etc.

Lack of space to host the “Visitandines” nuns meant the nuns had to build a new cloister in 1700. This building collapsed, then it was rebuilt for a great deal of money, but only a quarter of the ambitious project was completed. This is the only building left standing today, and it is easily recognizable by the rib arches on the ground floor, used as a refectory by the nuns. Although already in financial difficulty, the nuns got into more and more debt and doubt was cast over the future existence of the convent. The French Revolution precipitated events: the convent was seized and became public property in 1789, and the nuns fled to Annecy. The Church was destroyed, but the Cloister and the Oratory still remain today.

In 1807, the Convent was used by the Army for clothe-making, camping and the stocking of pharmaceutical supplies for Africa, and then to stock food to be delivered to surrounding forts. In 1840, during the construction of the square building surrounding the yard, the place became known as “Manutention”. Later, two mills were built. At the end of the 19th Century, the central, 250m² courtyard was covered with a glass and metal roof. At the beginning of the 20th Century, the Army’s activities included the packaging of food for the front line, the bottling of wine, bread-making (the site comprises more than eighteen bread ovens during WWI), coffee roasting, and wheat grinding. In 1941, the site was renamed “Subsistances militaires” (Military Supplies). The Army used it until 1995, at which time the site was given back to the city of Lyon.

Les Subsistances cover a total area of 22,000m2; 8,000m2 of those have been rehabilitated, such as some of the theatres (la Boulangerie, le Hangar), workshop areas, workspaces and exhibition spaces, seventeen bedrooms for artists in residence, and a restaurant.