#CelineFunFactsInParis

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Trivia Tuesday - The guillotine slabs

When you are walking to your friend’s place and notice something and the road and read that those are the reminiscences of the guillotine. Walking in Paris (and to an extend around a lot of town in Europe) is like walking in a history book.

The Grande Roquette prison, built in 1836 by architect François-Chrétien Gau and located between Rue de la Roquette, Rue Gerbier, Rue de la Folie Regnault and Rue La Vacquerie, was intended for both life-sentenced prisoners and those sentenced to death.

The guillotine, stored at 60, rue de la Folie Regnault, was placed in front of the prison gate for capital executions.

In front of 16, rue de la Croix-Faubin, five rectangular granite slabs, embedded in the ground, were used to erect the scaffold, hence the nickname "Abbey of the Five Stones" given to the guillotine.

From 1851 to 1899, more than two hundred people were executed here, including anarchists Auguste Vaillant and Emile Henry. The prison was demolished in 1900. (Translated from a Commemorative plaque nearby)

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Trivia Tuesday… Last pavements made of wood

In Paris, there are still remnants of the old wooden paving stones installed in the 19th century in the English fashion.

Rectangular in shape, they were quieter and less traumatic for horses' hooves. Why did they disappear? Because, over the years, they decompose, giving off nauseating odors. In 1910, during the great flood, the wooden cobblestones lifted. They were abandoned in the 1930s. During the war, they served another purpose, as firewood during the harsh winters. (Source: Les Franciliens)

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Tuesday Trivia…. Outside vs Inside the city limit (a long long time ago)

Since the Antiquity, Paris has almost always been surrounded by a wall, hence the expression Paris intra-muros (albeit now meaning the Périphérique).

Etymologically, the word “faubourg” designates a town located “outside the city”, beyond its limits. The suburbs of Paris were therefore villages located beyond the walls of the capital.

Now when you go from Rue du Faubourg Montmartre (or Faubourg Saint-Honoré, or Faubourg Saint-Denis, or Faubourg Saint-Martin, or Faubourg Saint-Antoine, or Faubourg Saint-Jacques, or Faubourg Poissonnière, or Faubourg du Temple) to Rue Montmartre (or Saint-Honoré, Saint-Denis, etc…) by crossing a perpendicular street, you know that a few centuries ago you would have been outside the city limit then passed the wall into the city limit.

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Tuesday Trivia... Paris own Pagoda

Originally, in the 19th century, it was a "classic" mansion that blended into the surrounding landscape. It was in 1925 that Ching Tsai Loo, an Asian art collector and dealer, bought the building: out of love for his homeland, he decided to completely transform the place into a mansion made in China! A lick of red paint, several curved eaves and ornamentation typical of Chinese architecture, and the building became the first Sino-French building in the capital.

Although local residents were sceptical about the building's appearance at the time, and lobbied hard for its demolition, the space designed by architect Fernand Bloch held up well, becoming a veritable showcase for the Asian art collection. And by no means just any showcase: once through the doors, you'll discover an entire collection of books and exhibition catalogs that the collector accumulated throughout his life, in addition to the exceptional decoration of this private mansion. (Source)

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Trivia Tuesday... Chalet

Not a lot is known about this little "Swiss Chalet" in the 19th district (103 rue de Meaux).

Most likely built on the Champ-de-Mars for the 1867 Universal Exhibition of Art and Industry, as part of a brand-new concept developed that year: foreign pavilions, allowing nations to showcase their productions and specialties. It is assumed that it could have belonged to the Swiss and Austrian pavilions. Six months after the end of the Paris World's Fair, in May 1868, it was moved to the newly built 19th arrondissement by the Compagnons menuisiers de Paris.

In 2009, this chalet was threatened by urbanization after an inheritance. A promoter wanted to buy the land to build a new and large building. Fortunately, people in the neighborhood were opposed to the sale and the construction has been protected. It's listed as a Paris heritage site and while the chalet was saved, it remains threatened by the ravages of time.

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Tuesday Trivia… Statue of Liberty.

Hundreds of replicas of the Statue of Liberty are displayed worldwide but there are 5, 6 or 7 versions depending what you consider a replica just in Paris.

The one on Ile aux Cygnes by the Pont de Grenelle was given by the American community in Paris to the city. It is one fourth of the height of the original and faces west toward her larger sister.

There’s one in Musee d’Orsay. One in Jardin Du Luxembourg. Two in Musee Arts-et-Metiers (one inside and one outside that is currently on loan to the French Ambassador residence in Washington DC until 2031, so couldn't take a picture!). So I consider the actual number of Statues of Liberty in Paris as 5. There's a tiny one stuck on the Statue Le Centaure by artist Cesar and apparently there’s another one in a private building at 5 rue du cirque in the 8th.

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Tuesday Trivia...Electronic Devices for Visually impaired people.

Box intended for visually impaired users to cross the streets.

Its shape resembles that of a pedestrian call box, but it has an inclined plane on which a message in Braille can be affixed.

The main usage of those boxes is to be activated through a remote control that blind people can carry with them (or, since recently, with their phone), it will turn those on and consequently activate a loudspeaker signaling a green flag for pedestrians. You can also activate the audible messages, by pressing the push button placed underneath the box hence avoiding confusion with a traditional push button.

I also read that with the button being under it also allows guide dogs to press it.

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Tuesday Trivia...Pedestrian Crossing Button.

This is the only pedestrian crossing button I have encountered in Paris.

The first device for pedestrians in Paris was introduced in 1930 at the Pont des Arts in the form of a push button.

While we often wonder if pressing the pedestrian crossing button does actually do anything (often referred as “placebo buttons”), we don’t have this problem in Paris as I have only found one pedestrian crossing with them. We don’t push a button to cross the road we just wait (or often not wait) until the little man turn green.

Most busy junctions in major cities are automated by a central computer and programmed to optimize traffic, so the red and green man comes when the traffic lights turn. I guess Paris decided that “placebo buttons” weren’t needed.

This is what I found when doing some research if we had any "power" over the Crossing button ;-)

Crosswalk buttons aren’t designed to have an immediate effect; they’re just supposed to tell the system that a person is waiting to cross. Some systems won’t ever give pedestrians the crossing signal unless someone has pressed the button, while others are programmed to shorten the wait time for walkers when the button has been pressed. No matter what, the system still has to cycle through its other phases to give cars enough time to pass through the intersection, so you’ll probably still have to stand there for a moment.

During busy traffic times or under other extenuating circumstances, however, cities can switch the system to what’s known as “recall mode,” when pedestrian crossings are part of the cycle already and pressing the button quite literally changes nothing.

As congestion has increased and the systems to manage it have become more advanced over the years, cities have moved away from using crosswalk buttons at all. In 2018, for example, CNN reported that only around 100 of New York City’s 1000 buttons were still functioning. Since actually removing the buttons from crosswalks would be a costly endeavor, cities have opted to leave them intact, just waiting to be pummeled by impatient pedestrians who don’t know any better.

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Tuesday Trivia... Red Light The first red light in France appeared in 1923 at this intersection (Boulevards Saint-Denis and Sebastopol in Paris).

A red light which did not identify the three colors (red, orange, green) that we know today, but only one, coupled with a ring. The driver had to stop when it was on, and could move when it was off. Red lights to the three colors have appeared a decade later.

Another fun facts: there is NO Stop signs in Paris.

In 2012, the Paris police prefecture indicated in a newsletter that only one sign remained in Paris (It stood at the exit of a construction facility so basically at the exit of a glorified driveway) and would last four more years, until 2016. Located in the 16th arrondissement, quai Saint-Exupéry, the sign has seen many thefts, because of its reputation.

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Tuesday Trivia.

Now that I have allocated my Friday posts to False Advertising solely, my Friday Fun Facts have moved to Tuesday Trivia and here’s the first one.

Le Moulin Rouge in Pigalles/Montmartre was the first Parisian building to have electricity because it needed a sign that could be seen far away all night long.

Moulin Rouge is best known as the birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance. Originally introduced as a seductive dance by the courtesans who operated from the site, the can-can dance revue evolved into a form of entertainment of its own and led to the introduction of cabarets across Europe. Today, the Moulin Rouge is a tourist attraction, offering predominantly musical dance entertainment for visitors from around the world. The club's decor still contains much of the romance of fin de siècle France.

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Friday Fun Facts…. Midi pétante (Noon sharp)

The original Meridian Cannon was stolen in 1998 so this is a replica which was installed at its place in 2002. The small bronze cannon was associated with a large magnifying glass allowing the fuse to be fired thanks to the sun's rays

Before the hour watches and clocks, time was based on solar time – or true time – measurement based on the apparent movement of the sun during the day. One had to adjust one's watch every day from a ‘true noon’. In 1786, one of the greatest watchmakers of Paris, the Sieur Rousseau, installed in the galleries of the Palais Royal a bronze cannon. throTo indicate noon, the bronze cannon installed on the meridian line of Paris worked thanks to a glass that caused the burning wick to "fart" on sunny days. Parisians therefore came to the Royal Palace … to set their watches pétante twelve o’clock!

The meridian cannon in the garden of the Palais-Royal thunders every year on particular occasions; July 14 Bastille day, August 15, Assumption, August 25, date of the liberation of Paris and in September for the European Heritage Days.

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Friday Fun Facts…One of the last two “Mètre-Étalon” (standard meter) in Paris.

“This marble standard meter was commissioned by the National Convention to encourage the use of the new metric system. Of the sixteen meters made between 1796 and 1799 by the marble worker Corbel to the designs of the architect Chalgrin and placed in the most frequented places in Paris, only two remain today in the capital.”

This one is on the facade of the Ministry of Justice, Place Vendome (1st). The other two are at 36, rue de Vaugirard (6th) and under the arches nearby the Senate (Jardin du Luxembourg ).

The meter is now used worldwide and owes its birth to the French revolution. The unification of measurements (length, area, weight …) has been the major factor for the country’s unification. Before 1790, each region had indeed its own measure, which could also have a different value according to its geographical area.

To facilitate trade (and avoid confusion…), traders of the main cities asked uniformity of weights and measures, what the Revolution will respond favorably in 1790. On 1 August 1793, the National Convention adopted a decree imposing a metric system in France, finally enacted in April 7, 1795.

Several years were necessary to spread this new metric system throughout the country, and dozens of others to order its use. In Europe, Napoleonic conquests participated to this spread, and then gradually the world (except few recalcitrants…) adopted this system. It was only in 1840 that its use became obligatory in France.

After years of researches to define as precisely as possible the new measures, the meter definition was enacted April 7, 1795, as “ten-millionth part of the meridian arc between the North Pole and the equator.” 

To familiarise the population with these new units of measure, it will be decided to distribute standard throughout the country, placing them in the busiest places. In Paris, 16 meters standards were installed in the city between February 1796 and December 1797. Only two survived and are still visible today.

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Friday Fun Facts… Narrowest Street in Paris.

Rue du Chat-qui-Pêche (Street of the Fishing Cat) is one of Paris narrowest streets, never exceeding 1,80 meters in width.

The Rue du Chat-qui-Pêche is very old as it was opened in 1540. It then linked the rue de la Huchette with the course of the Seine by ending directly in the riverbed. It was first named “rue des Étuves” (Street of the public baths) and referred to the public baths where people used to go to wash and have a good time. It changed names and became “rue du Renard” (Fox Street) for a time, then “rue des Bouticles” (Shops Street). Its actual name comes from the name of a shop that alluded to a then common saying: “To go watch cats fishing” reffered to a gullible and easy to convince person.

Its long existence explains its narrowness: it was opened at a time when houses, tightly packed with one another, did not leave a lot of space for wide streets.

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Friday Fun Facts… Smallest Street in Paris.

In my opinion it qualifies more as stairs than street but it does have its own name: “Rue des degrés” however no number attached to it… because there’s no entrance to any buildings!

The crazy things you find when you do research.

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Thursday Throw Back… Way way back - The Oldest… Bridge in Paris

The Pont Neuf which translate to "New Bridge" is ironically the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris, France. It stands by the western (downstream) point of the Île de la Cité, the island in the middle of the river that was, between 250 and 225 BC, the birthplace of Paris, then known as Lutetia and, during the medieval period, the heart of the city. The bridge is composed of two separate spans, one of five arches joining the left bank to the Île de la Cité, another of seven joining the island to the right bank.

The name Pont Neuf was given to distinguish it from older bridges that were lined on both sides with houses, and has remained after all of those were replaced. Its name notwithstanding, it has long been the oldest bridge in Paris crossing the Seine. It has been listed since 1889 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.

Additional Fun facts about Pont Neuf:

If it was the first stone bridge to cross the Seine and fully connecting the two shores, it was also the first bridge without houses, and the first to bring an equestrian statue (statue of Henri IV).

But it is also on the Pont Neuf that was built the first pavement of Paris in the early 17th century. The second Parisian sidewalk, street Odeon, appear much later in 1780

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Friday Fun Facts... The smallest house in Paris.

Located at 39 rue du Château d'Eau (10th arrondissement). It’s wedged between two buildings and measures just 1.10 meters wide and 5 meters high.

On the ground floor, a shoemaker was holding a store during the second half of the 19th century. Shops have succeeded, and it is now a clothing store. All have had to comply with the same obligation : an area of just over 3 square meters!

I highlighted it in red so that you don’t confuse any other part of the nearby buildings with it.