29.1.10

Rue Jean Goujon / Place François I

Rue Jean Goujon is close to the area we visited in my two previous posts. Maybe first just a few words about Jean Goujon: He was one of the major sculptors during the French renaissance, born in 1510 and (probably) killed during the St. Bartholomew massacre (1572). We can find his works on (part of) the Louvre facade (see previous post), in the Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois church (see previous post), on the fountain at Square des Innocents (see previous post)...

The street may not be really remarkable, but there are some interesting points. Victor Hugo lived in a small house here in the 1830’s, now disappeared (at the level of the present no. 9), in what was then a green area. This is where he wrote “Notre-Dame-de-Paris”. This is also the period when some of the present buildings started to be erected, several date from the latter part of the 19th century and some are quite recent.

At number 10, you can find the famous portrait photographic studio “Harcourt”, established in 1934. A number of French and international celebrities have got their portrait made here. I show you just one example. If you want your portrait made, be prepared to pay some 2.000 € (2.800 $).

Some of these celebrities used to stay at the elegant neighbour hotel (no. 12), “San Regis”, which used to have the same owner as the even more famous left bank restaurant “La Tour d’Argent” (Monsieur Terrail).

You would now cross Place François I, before finding the rest of the street. The place is surrounded by some elegant buildings.

Especially one originally private mansion can be noted, “Hôtel Clermont-Tonnerre”, built in 1880 (see also top picture). It has later been used by Pierre Cardin who had his fashion house here in the 80’ and 90’s and is today occupied by the personal holding company of François Pinault (owner of Printemps, FNAC, Gucci, La Redoute, Christie’s...), a great fan and owner of contemporary art, which he now exhibits at “Palazzo Grassi” and at the “Dogana di Mare” in Venice.

Continuing on Rue Jean Goujon, at no 15 there is today a church, an Armenian Cathedral, “Saint-Jean-Baptiste”, built in 1903. The address is especially famous for being the place where a wooden hangar, used for charity bazaars was situated. In 1897 some 1000 people, mainly members of the "high society", attended such a bazaar, the "Bazar de la Charité". A cinematography show with some Lumière brothers films was part of the event. The place was too crowded and hot... and took fire. 130 people died, among them the younger sister of the Empress of Austria (the famous “Sissi”). You can read about this much more in detail in a post by Adam (“Invisible Paris”).

Another church was built here in 1903, to commemorate this catastrophe (at no. 23), the “Chapelle de Notre-Dame-de-la Consolation”, today adopted by the Parisian Italian community.

With reference to our Polish friends, at no. 29 you will find the Polish Institute.

I wish you a nice weekend!




42 comments:

Claudia said...

Even the "unremarkable" aspects of central Paris are beautiful. Next time I visit Paris I'll have your blog on my iPhone for guide. Have a good weekend, Peter!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Virginia said...

Well Peter, maybe you and I can offer portraits for much less and make some "champagne money"! :)
Let's just add this area to a place I'd like to see. You make every aspect of Paris so interesting!
Merci,
V

Polly said...

Peter, I am always amazed at the wonderful, overlooked bits of Paris that you bring to our attention! Thanks for the pics and information.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Olivier said...

Harcourt......le studio de rêve, les plus beaux portraits du monde, si c'etait pas aussi cher, j'irais bien me faire tirer le portrait...(tout le monde peut se faire photographier chez Harcourt, mais les tarifs..., parcontre cela doit faire un portrait que tu gardes a vie)

claude said...

Que c'est intéressant tout cela, Peter et beau. Les bâtiments et la fontaine sont magnifiques. Bon wouik à toit aussi.

hpy said...

"The street may not be really remarkable, but there are some interesting points." Es-tu sûr d'avoir noté TOUS les points? Toute la ville de Paris is remarkable ;-)

PeterParis said...

I deleted two spams.

crocrodyl said...

Wonderful building and fountain! Lovely architecture!

Cergie said...

Une place magnifique plus belle que bien des ronds points mais qui aimarait vivre sur un rond point contemporain et ailleurs que dans la capitale ? Il y a une place de petite taille qui y ressemble près de la gare à Nancy.
La fontaine a sans doute été arrêtée, elle ferait un beau compotier avec des fruits géants. Ce sont des kakis ? Et des héllébores ou rose de noël... La nature se niche partout à Paris...

Cergie said...

Tu as raison de supprimer les spams ; ce sont, même si on ne les comprends pas, des pubs malsaines qui surtout veulent se faire répertorier pas les robots de recherche...

Anonymous said...

How could we have missed this?
Because we never ventured behind the Grand Palais.
One more must see on our next visit.
Have a delightful Parisian weekend.
Jim

Louis la Vache said...

Interesting, informative post, Peter!

«Louis» didn't know that Printemps and FNAC had the same ownership.

rauf said...

Very expensive portrait indeed.

Good to have your blog for guidance on the iPhone as Claudia suggested. i don't have one Peter. i hear some new gadgets are on the market, Ruth posted iPad on the face book. Within two days i received nearly a dozen forwards about iPad including Apple.

Ever heard of ARCHOS ?, a French product i think, offers much better display and applications, people at the Apple must have copied this design.

http://www.archos.com/products/imt/archos_5it/index.html

Cezar and Léia said...

That "italian" church is magnificent!
Wonderful and so interesting post dear Peter!
I read when I was preparing my post about Vianden, that Victor Hugo also lived there,after his expulsion from Belgium,for a short period in 1871.
btw, I love BB, she is a diva!I can not believe she need to pay for a portrait by "Harcourt"studio.They should pay for her! :)
Hugs and have a wonderful weekend!
Léia

Kate said...

Good week-end to you, too, Peter. Such a treat to see these elegant buildings. When our friends still had a flat on Cardinale Lemone, we used to pass La tour d'Argent on a daily basis...many times...but never ate there. It seemed to be a mite intimidating on our budget! I told you before how much I love Julian Greene's book, Paris, and since I often read it, I think I'll try to match up his descriptions of places with some of your photos. I'll have to go back to coordinate the sites, and I hope that I can find some!

Anonymous said...

I say only thank you for this well made post and warm greetings from Finland!
Good weekend to you too. Peter!

StyleSpy said...

Oh! That fountain takes my breath away!

I would very much like to have my portrait done at Harcourt (because I am vain) but I am NOT prepared to spend that much money (because I am poor). Dommage...

Starman said...

A beautiful street, but one expects that in this area of the city.

alice said...

J'aime bien ton choix de l'exemple pour les portraits de chez Harcourt ;-)
Du coup, distraits par les belles façades, personne n'a parlé de ces drôles de kakis, comme des oranges enfilées sur des branches nues.
Bon week end, n'oublie pas ton bonnet, ça va encore cailler!

Catherine said...

Pas mal d'organiser ton post au fil d'une rue.... ponctuée d'intérêts comme celle ci.

Je lisais donc ton post ce soir, lorsque le copain de ma fille, ce petit curieux qui louchait sur ton post, m'a fait remarquer qu'il connaissait Notre Dame De La Consolation, sa grand mêre italienne s'y receuillant "dévotement". Curieux les coincidences.
(Avis perso, je préfère la Casta en Bardot que la Bardot en Harcourt)
Que ton week-end soit nice aussi.

Ruth said...

I relished rue Jean Goujon's beautiful buildings, but I was the most thrilled to see your photo of a hellebore! How is it possible you have one blooming when it will be -17°C here tonight?

Shammickite said...

Such elegant buildings everywhere in Paris. I can tell from the way you write that you get great pleasure from living in such a beautiful city.

Catherine said...

what a truly beautiful area - love the architecture especially...

Catherine said...

what a truly beautiful area - love the architecture especially...

Virginia said...

StyleSpy,
Not to worry, Peter or I will make your portrait for much much less. Perhaps a nice bottle of champagne will suffice! Well I can't speak for Peter of course, he might require more than one. And he's probably earned the extra bottle! :)
V

lady jicky said...

A couple of years ago my husband and I ate at La Tour d'Argent - we had lunch and so its cheaper! LOL
We were lucky to meet Monsieur Terrail and his blue cornflower in his lapel. He was a very charming man and I remember I asked him what he is going to do when they sell their duck number one million. He thought he would have the bridge closed near there and do something. He did not know what to do at the time.
Do you know what they did?
I was very sad when I heard he died. I will always remember how he went to every table and spoke to all the customers - you just don't see that sort of thing these days.

Parisbreakfasts said...

I went in search of Fouquet Confiseur Chocolatier‎ on 22 Rue François 1er, and I found this area very confusing.
Merci Peter
Next time it will be much easier to navigate
Carolg

Trotter said...

Lovely quarter! And BB is extra!!

For many years I used to walk around this area; if you take left at Rue François I and pass the Maison de la Vigne et du Vin at 21 (forget Cartier, Hotel de la Tremoille and the like... ;)) you'll get to Av. George V; crossing it, there is a little bit of rue Christophe Colomb and you reach rue Magellan (of course...)where you find Hotel François Ier, my basis for Paris adventures in the late eighties! Can't forget that I was in Brussels on November 9th, 1989 and moved to the François Ier on the 10th. What we saw on television was unbelievable!! But those are my memories... Your pictures and post are much more interesting!!

Karin B (Looking for Ballast) said...

"Elegant" is a perfect adjective for the area about which you've written here. I'm going to remember this area and perhaps venture out here one day for myself! Thank you for all the detailed information and lovely photos, as always.

PeterParis said...

Claudia:
You can even have me as a guide if you don't mind! :-)

Virginia:
Just starting a new list? :-)

Polly:
This is my pleasure! :-)

PeterParis said...

Olivier:
Je pense qu'on tire une trentaine ... et ensuite il faut choisir! :-)

Claude:
Tu sais que c'est assez facil de trouver des belles choses à Paris! :-)

hpy:
J'espère que les lecteurs / lectrices ajoutent ce que j'ai oublié! :-)

PeterParis said...

m_m:
Nice to see you back here! :-)

Cergie:
Tu veux que je retourne quand l'au coule? :-)

Cergie (bis):
C'est un peu frustrant, mais pour le moment je ne reçois pas trop! :-)

PeterParis said...

Designslinger:
You know, even when you live here, you cannot see it all! :-)

Louis la Vache:
I believe that Pinault is trying to sell FNAC. Interested? :-)

Rauf:
Yes I heard about Archos; seem to have nice things to offer, but I'm not a user. :-)

PeterParis said...

Léia:
Victor Hugo moved a lot, sometimes because he wished to, sometimes because he had to! :-)

Kate:
Yes, I have also the book, but I believe it's more based on feelings and doesn't give so many "addresses"! :-)

Leena:
To get "warm" greetings from Finland in January is nice! :-)

PeterParis said...

StyleSpy:
There are some good portrait photographers among the bloggers. Maybe a cheaper solution? :-)

Starman:
Yes, it's a rather "chic" area! :-)

Alice:
J'avais du mal à trouver un autre portrait, "copiable"; c'est la seule raison! :-)

PeterParis said...

Catherine:
Merci pour tes souhaits pour un bon we! Il a été très bon! :-)

Ruth:
... and I who think that it's cold here! Brrr ! :-)

Shammickite:
You tell right! :-)

PeterParis said...

Catherine:
The street is a bit mixed, but yes, there are some nice buildings! :-)

Virginia:
You already made my portrait... and so well! OK, I'm ready to offer champagne for a new try! :-)

Lady Jicky:
Never did it to La Tour d'Argent, but have had the pleasure to be greeted by Bocuse, Troisgros, Pic... There are some occasions in life when you should try such experiences! :-)

ParisBreakfasts:
Maybe I can help next time? :-)

PeterParis said...

Trotter:
Memeories can be much more interesting than pictures! ... but pictures can help to revive them! There are important events when you remember where you were and what you did, when you learnt about them! :-)

Karin:
Yes, you have a few more things to see in Paris. I hope we can do some of it together! :-)

Vagabonde said...

When you mentioned Rue Jean Goujon it sounded so familiar but I did not remember walking there. Then I remembered that it is where my father went to church sometimes, to la cathédrale Saint Jean-Baptiste, the Armenian church. I never went with him because he did not teach me Armenian. I’ll try to visit it next time I am in Paris, thanks for showing it.

PeterParis said...

Vagabonde:
I think the doors are closed except for masses, so you may have to listen to the Armenian! It will sound nice to your ears, I'm sure! :-)