August 29, 2007

Some more from “Nouvelle Athène”

I will - at least temporarily - leave the area of Paris called the New Athens (the Museum of the Romantics, the Square d’Orléans, the Gustave Moreau Museum, Place Saint Georges…) by showing some last photos.

Just south of Place Pigalle, in the crossing of the streets Victor Massé and Frochot, you will find one rather astonishing building with a large stained glass front window. It was built for the 19th century composer Victor Massé. It was taken over by the boss of Folies Bergère who donated it to a servant, later murdered here. It stood then empty for decades and still seems to be. For a short while one of our local singing stars, Sylvie Vartan, lived here, but for some reason she quickly left: it seems to be haunted place.
Correction 29/8, 2 pm: I now learnt that the stained glass window in front of the building actually is part of a small theatre (Théatre en Rond), which now is closed. Just close to this house, you can (not) enter a private street, called Avenue Frochot, where Toulouse-Lautrec and Renoir (the painting father and the film making son) lived or worked. It seems that some of our today’s celebrities have their address here, which I believe is the reason the guard at the entrance did not want to let me in. The street looks very nice from what you can see behind the entrance gate.

Just round the corner, you will find another private street, Cité Malesherbes, where the guard let me in. Here you can find some nice buildings, including the very beautifully decorated number 11 (top picture). The French Socialist Party occupied for a long time number 12. Today the building is used by a socialist foundation (Fondation Jean Jaurès). It seems that another of our local singing stars, Johnny Hallyday, for a while married to the above mentioned Sylvie Vartan, was born in this street.In another small side street (Cité Monthiers; you enter from rue de Clichy) you will find a small but beautiful theatre, Théatre de l’Oeuvre (there are many other theatres around). I took also some pictures here and there, including the statue (with a pigeon on the top) of Hector Berlioz. All the small side streets and backyards are not that fashionable, but they have often a lot of charm... and soon they will be transformed into something fashionable and expensive.

If you wish to see the original photos, please go to my other blog - "Peter - photos".

I have still serious network problems, so please excuse me if I'm not a good visitor of your blogs at the moment.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

encore une belle ballade dans un lieu menacé de perdre son charme tranquille.

Azer Mantessa said...

this is the first time i've heard of 'private street' ... wooooo.

Olivier said...

Magnifique, cette cour caché. tu dois beaucoup te promener dans Paris pour decouvrir tous ces endroits secrets.
Je ne connaissais pas, mais j'aime beaucoup.

hpy said...

Tu ne remplaces pas seulement le guide Michelin mais aussi Ici Paris! Mais c'est intéressat à voir. Qu'est-ce que je n'ai pas loupé à Paris, et pourtant je me suis promenée pas mal un peu partout dans la ville.

lyliane six said...

Il est magnifique cet entourage de fenêtre, il est peint ou c'est fait en émaux ou faïences?, tu vois tu ne donnes pas assez d'explications ou tu en donnes trop, toujours est il que tu me rends toujours plus curieuse, excuse moi. J'y ai vu aussi un immeuble avec une tour (sorte de château d'eau!), cela serait bien pour HPY, sur le mur d'en face on pourrait lui peindre la mer en "trompe l'oeil"!!.En tous cas pour un chanteur de conditions modestes, notre Jojo n'est pas né dans un bidon-ville!(à moins que j'ai encore une fois mal lu l'Anglais, il y a seulement habité?)Mais les "socialistes" ne choisissaient pas non plus les quartiers dit "travailleurs et polupaires"!!!! Enfin !, tu trouves toujours des endroits superbes et tu me fais rêver et apprendre tous les jours de nouvelles et intéressantes choses.

Chuckeroon said...

Peter, I really enjoyed this piece. Such a pleasure to discover more "known unknowns". Thank you!

Kunterbunt said...

It's incredible which wonderful discoveries you make. It must be wonderful to stroll through such a beautiful city like Paris.

Anonymous said...

So much to take in with this post (like many others) It really makes me think that I don't know Paris even a little bit. That stained glass is spectacular, and so vulnerable! I'm interested to see that there are so many (well, at least 2) "private" streets. I've never heard of a private street in a major metropolis before. Private developments etc. The other thing that interested me was the continuity of famous artisitc types uüp until the current day

Anonymous said...

It sure looks beautiful. I would love to walk on that cobblestone sidewalk lined with those flowers.

Peter said...

lyliane:
Je ne suis pas sur de la techique employée, mais les décorations sous les fenêtres sont bien en relief.

Peter said...

There are some comments about private streets. Yes, there are quite a few of them in Paris. It's always a smaller kind of street, based on co-ownership. The access is always prohibited for traffic and sometimes even for pedestrians. You will find a gate with a guard or at least a code to get in. These are often the nicest places to live, but mostly flats - and often the private houses (called "hôtels") - you can find here are extremely expensive. There are still a few cheaper ones left, but not for a long time.

Ash said...

Looks beautiful!

Shammickite said...

How wonderful for you to be retired and able to stroll around Paris with your new vocation as an international tour guide! Next time I am in Paris, I'm definitely calling on your expertise to show me all the hidden glories of that beautiful city!!!

Lilli & Nevada said...

Great photos, i love the cobble stone streets. the old buildings have such character thanks for sharing

Mona said...

Wow! that stained glass window is awesome & the pigeon on the statue looks so cute!

Have a good day peter! :) You really seem to have fun with your camera!

SusuPetal said...

I wonder how it would feel to live in a house like that...
Well, surroundings isn't all, have to remember that:)

Mélisse said...

Magnifiques ces ruelles privées, je ne les connaissais pas toutes, bien qu'étant justement à la recherche de ce genre d'endroits quand je me promène à Paris, mais, tu l'as dit toi-même, il n'est pas toujours possible d'y entrer.
C'est vraiment le rêve absolu d'habiter là, mais cela nécessite des moyens financiers considérables, pfff, j'suis jalouse !