Pigalle District
Ce point d’intérêt est disponible en audio dans le circuit: Visit Paris, The Bohemian Quarter
We’re now in the very heart of the famous Pigalle district. Today, it might seem like just another tourist spot, but back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was a pretty seedy part of town. In 1881, the “Chat Noir” opened its doors, kicking off the golden age of Parisian cabarets at the height of the Belle Époque. This one is actually the third location of the famous cabaret. The first was built on boulevard Rochechouart and was the brainchild of Rodolphe Salis. Legend has it that he either named it after Edgar Allan Poe’s short story or because he found a black cat during construction work. Either way, the cabaret’s name was etched in history, thanks in no small part to the poster designed by anarchist artist Théophile Steinlen in 1896. Salis was a true pioneer. To start with, he had a piano installed. Today, a piano bar is an ordinary thing, but at the time it was unheard of! Young composers like Debussy even came to try it out. In 1885, the “Mirliton” opened, daring to put on the first-ever striptease shows. And just a few years later, in 1889, the famous Moulin Rouge came along. Pigalle was a magnet for artists like Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh, and Maupassant and quickly became the ultimate embodiment of Bohemian life in the late 19th century. By 1910, it wasn’t just intellectuals and artists here. The criminal underworld had taken over Pigalle. Then came the 1918 alcohol and light restrictions. Brothels were the only businesses open after 9 PM. Pigalle became a hub for prostitution, gambling, and gang violence. In 1932, a full-blown gang war erupted between French and Corsican mafias. Police raids, murders, and closure of brothels followed. Pigalle was a far cry from the bohemian haven of painters and poets it once was. Who would have thought that this same neighborhood would become a tourist hotspot in the 21st century?
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