On an aimless
Sunday on the streets of Montmartre, peculiar buildings looked as if it were
hundreds of years old …
Standing at the intersection of Rue
Marcadet and Rue du Mont Cenis, is a dusty building that has stood the test of time, ponder the many personalities behind those walls over
several generations.
The peculiar building’s
story was as juicy as hoped. Built in 1771 it began life as one of Montmartre’s famous mills for a
porcelain factory.
In the tower they ground stones to make porcelain paste. Attached to
the tower on the left was a cow barn where you could buy milk by the
cup. Revolutionary turmoil and economic crises eventually saw the end of
the porcelain factory and by the 1900s the building had been turned
into a hotel/ restaurant, which brings us a little closer to what the
building serves as today– a private swinger’s club!
This has been one of
Paris’ clandestine voyeurism spots for several decades, first known as
the Dungeon, then the Don Juan and now the Chateau de Lys. Having
visited its ‘retro’ website,
with photos of seedy decor; velvet drapery, plastic red sofas, fake
chandeliers; and boasting a torture room reserved for regulars deep in
the basement.
Montmartre from another era compared with shots
today has a wonderful Pinterest board compiling dozens of vintage photographs of Montmartre.
Rue Saint Vincent (then and now)
Le Château des Brouillards and allée des Brouillards around 1933 (then and now)
Escaliers de la rue Muller around 1900. There is sadly no café here today. How it looks today.
The terraces of the inns and cabarets of Place du Tertre, 1940. Photo by Noël Le Boyer. Today 
The windmills of Montmartre, taken in 1839 by Hippolyte Bayard. Today -
many of the windmills have been lost but the 17th century Moulin de
Galette where a family produced fresh bread still remains today and
looks over a restaurant of the same name.
The Cabaret du Lapin Agile on
rue des Saules, 1900. Still a cabaret to this day, where Picasso and
pimps alike were once entertained by French songs and scantily clad
women. Today.
The surroundings of 21 rue du mont-cenis has drastically changed.
Rue Muller around 1900.
A housemaid leans over the balcony with a view of the Sacre Coeur in the distance. Photo by Puyo Constant, 1900.
Unchanged: This 1950s view of the Sacre Coeur peaking over the rooftops around the Place des Tertres by Sanford H. Roth has not changed even today. 
No comments:
Post a Comment