The Palais de l'Agriculture, a Belle Époque building inaugurated in 1901, is listed as a Historic Monument and has been awarded the ‘20th Century Heritage’ label. It is the headquarters of the Société centrale d'agriculture, d'horticulture et d'acclimatation de Nice et des Alpes-Maritimes (SCAH), founded in 1860 as an association under the law of 1901 and recognised as a public utility since 1894.
It hosts a wide range of events and conferences (free admission), as well as courses and workshops for SCAH members in gardening, cactus knowledge, botany and floral art (western and ikebana), and a creative plant workshop. Its library contains agricultural and botanical works. The Palais de l'Agriculture has a remarkable collection of cacti, a seed library and organises visits to outstanding gardens. It takes part in the Heritage Days, organises open days and, at the end of the year, an annual ‘Livres aux Jardins’ exhibition with lectures and book signings.
The Palais de l'Agriculture was built in 1900-1901 to plans by Arts et Métiers engineer Paul Marin, General Secretary of the Société centrale d'agriculture, d'horticulture et d'acclimatation de Nice et des Alpes-Maritimes. The Palais was built ‘en Pont’ on the Magnan and partly on the land on the left bank of the Magnan. It was built by the contractor AUDA, financed in part by the SCAH's own funds and the rest by annual subsidies from Nice Town Hall, and took just 18 months to complete.
On 8 April 1901, it was inaugurated by President Emile Loubet, and was listed in the Inventaire Supplémentaire des Monuments Historiques in 1991. It is a fine example of Belle Époque architecture on the Promenade des Anglais.
[Anecdote: During the Second World War, under German occupation, the building was used as a ration office].