Renaissance · Squares

Boulevard des Capucines

Paris

Boulevard des Capucines is a boulevard in Paris and one of the city’s Grands Boulevards. It was built through the former course of the Wall of Charles V and the Louis XIII Wall, which were destroyed on the orders of Louis XIV. Before becoming a boulevard, it was known as Rue Basse-du-Rempart, a name meaning “bottom-of-the-wall street” in French, reflecting its original alignment alongside the city wall. The street was widened after the wall was destroyed.

The boulevard takes its name from a convent of Capuchin nuns whose garden stood on its south side before the French Revolution. It is also associated with several notable sites and addresses. These include the Neapolitan Café at No. 1, the former Hôtel de Montmorency and later Théâtre du Vaudeville, Paramount Opéra, and Gaumont Opéra at No. 2, the photographic studio of Pierre-Louis Pierson at No. 5, the Georama at No. 7, Jacques Offenbach’s residence at No. 8, and the Grand Hotel at No. 12. No. 14 was the site of the Hotel Scribe and the former Grand Café, where the first public showing of movies by Auguste and Louis Lumière took place in 1895, alongside X-ray light experiments by Dr. Wilhelm Röntgen.

Map showing the location of Boulevard des Capucines in Paris
Location of Boulevard des Capucines in Paris

Nearby Objects

Origins and Naming

Boulevard des Capucines is one of the Grands Boulevards in Paris. It was built through the former course of the Wall of Charles V and the Louis XIII Wall, both of which were destroyed on the orders of Louis XIV. The route initially followed the city wall of Paris as Rue Basse-du-Rempart, a name that means bottom-of-the-wall street in French. After the city wall was destroyed and the street was widened, it became a boulevard. The boulevard takes its present name from a convent of Capuchin nuns whose garden was located on the south side of the boulevard before the French Revolution.

Notable Addresses and Cultural Venues

Boulevard des Capucines contained a dense series of notable addresses associated with cafes, theaters, hotels, newspapers, studios, and entertainment venues. At No. 1, the Neapolitan Cafe was known for patrons including Catulle Mendes, Jean Moreas, Armand Silvestre, and Laurent Tailhade. At No. 2, on the junction with rue de la Chaussee-dAntin, stood the former Hotel de Montmorency, whose main hall was known in the 18th century as the grand salon; the building preserved a rotunda on its facade. The same address later housed the Theatre du Vaudeville in 1869, Paramount Opera movies in 1927, and Gaumont Opera from 2007. No. 5 was the photographic studio of Pierre-Louis Pierson, who was the collaborator of Virginia Oldoini, Countess di Castiglione.

Further along the boulevard, the Georama was erected at No. 7 in 1825 and displayed the whole earth inside a sphere 14 meters in diameter. Jacques Offenbach lived at No. 8 from 1876 to 1880. At No. 12, the Grand Hotel was built on a former swamp-garden. No. 14 was occupied by the Hotel Scribe and by the former Grand Cafe, where the first public showing of movies by Auguste and Louis Lumiere took place on 28 December 1895; X-ray light experiments by Dr. Wilhelm Rontgen were also carried out there. From No. 16 to No. 22 stood the buildings of the former newspaper L'Evenement, founded by Victor Hugo. Mistinguett lived at No. 24 from 1905 to 1956, and the former location of the Musee Cognacq-Jay was set up at No. 25 in 1931.

The boulevard also included the former store Samaritaine de Luxe at No. 27, built by Frantz Jourdain. At No. 28, a roller coaster called montagnes russes operated in 1889, and the Olympia theater, founded in 1888 by Joseph Oller, later came under the direction of Bruno Coquatrix in 1952. At No. 35, the boulevard held Nadar's photography studio, with Gustave Le Gray's studio there before him.

The First Impressionist Exhibition

No. 35 boulevard des Capucines is notable as the site of the First Impressionist Exhibition, held on 15 April 1874 at Nadar's invitation. Among the exhibitors were Renoir, Edouard Manet, Pissarro, and Claude Monet. The exhibition became especially important because Monet's painting Impression, Sunrise gave the exhibitors the name Impressionists. Monet also painted Boulevard des Capucines from a window in Nadar's studio. The painting is now associated with collections in either the Pushkin Museum in Moscow or the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri.

Political Events on the Boulevard des Capucines

From No. 37 to No. 43, the boulevard des Capucines was the location of the former Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1820 to 1853. It also became the scene of major events on 23 February 1848, when a battalion of the 14th regiment blocked the boulevard to protect Francois Guizot. Soldiers fired on demonstrators, killing 35 people and wounding 50. In response, demonstrators placed corpses in a dumper and called the people of Paris to arms. These events marked the beginning of a revolution that ended the reign of Louis-Philippe the next day.