JUST BEYOND THE SIGN THAT MARKS THE RAMPART'S
SITE IS A GIANT CROSSROAD
(RUE SAINT-DENIS / RUE RÉAUMUR)
It was built five years after the first conscious working-class insurrection, when an authoritarian government had been elected and plans for transformation determined.
(Insurrection, June 1848; transformation, 1853-1854)
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A huge crossroad, vast artery and grand buildings transfigure this crossroad of rue Saint-Denis.
Turn right on vast rue Reaumur:
At the corner you will find a grand Art Nouveau edifice. It replaces that of 1860, built after the neighborhood had been razed and a homogeneous architecture created:
It was the flagship store of France's first chain, the Félix Potin groceries.
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A large, straight artery (boulevard de Sebastopol) cuts through rue Réaumur and cuts toward the center. Walking down that boulevard shows how abrupt was the change.
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Boulevard de Sébastopol
- At the second crossroad turn right (on rue Greneta) and turn back toward rue Saint-Denis:
Adapted from a Google map
- The house with balconies shows where the neighborhood was torn down and transformation launched:
Corner rues Greneta and de Palestro
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In the wealthy western part of the center, where one did not fear revolt, the small, narrow houses that are associated with Paris remain.
In the east are the harmonious buildings that are also associated with the city. They signal rebel neighborhoods demolished and rebuilt for companies and the prosperous middle class.
The frontier is rue Saint-Denis:
Paris in 1530 / zoom
- Traditional narrow houses, five minutes west of rue Saint-Denis.
Rue Montorgueil
- Imposing buildings behind trees in the eastern center.
Place du Châtelet
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The overpopulated, epidemic-prone city had to modernize.
When, and how, it did so came from fear
of another working-class revolt:
More later.
End of this short section.
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