Blondel was born in Rheims early in 1821, during the period of economic hardships that followed the Napoleonic Wars. He was a pupil at the School of Arts and Crafts (École des arts et métiers) as it was then known) in nearby Châlons-sur-Marne, before moving to Paris where he embarked on an apprenticeship under Auguste Caristie.[7]
He continued his training period, working for the architect François Rolland (1806-1888), and then went on to work for Henri Labrouste (1801-1875) before establishing his own architecture practice around 1855. Blondel was able to profit from the massive redevelopment of central Paris instigated by the emperor Napoleon III, and masterminded at more a detailed level by the Baron Haussmann. The new broad streets and avenues called for the construction of many new buildings, featuring the artistic-heroic style of the Second Empire. Blondel had a long association with banker Armand Donon, with whom he was involved in numerous real estate developments.[8]
He would construct numerous edifices along the new avenues, notably the Boulevard de Sébastopol, the Boulevard Saint-Michel, the Boulevard Saint-Germain and around the Place du Théâtre-Français (as the Place André-Malraux before 1977), often involving a system of block concessions wherein he participated in partnership with his finance providers, the "father and son" Heullant company. A surviving trace of these block concessions can be found in the Journal des débats (newspaper) of 8 July 1868 which includes the list of real estate transactions for Paris,[9] together with the relevant title deeds lodged with the Crédit Foncier de France (national mortgage institution) having a total value of 398 million francs.[10]
On 29 July 1895 Blondel was condemned for bankruptcy by a local court, in respect of indebtedness totalling slightly more than 25 million francs.[11][12]
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