Boulevard Malesherbes

Boulevard Malesherbes looking northwest towards theÉglise Saint-Augustin
Shown within Paris
Namesake	Guillaume-Chrétien de Lamoignon de Malesherbes
Length	2,650 m (8,690 ft)
Width	46 m (151 ft)
Arrondissement	8th,17th
Quarter	Quartier de la Madeleine, Quartier de l'Europe
Coordinates	48°52′47″N2°18′50″E / 48.87972°N 2.31389°E /48.87972; 2.31389
From	Place de la Madeleine
To	Boulevard Berthier
Construction
Inauguration	August 13 1861

TheBoulevard Malesherbes (French pronunciation:[bulvaʁmalzɛʁb]) is aboulevard in centralParis, France, running northwest between theChurch of the Madeleine in the8th arrondissement, and the Porte d'Asnières in the17th arrondissement. It is one of the streets created during therenovations of Paris undertaken by the Prefect of the Seine,Georges-Eugene Haussmann, in the 1850s and 1860s.^[1]

The creation of the Boulevard Malesherbes was first decreed byNapoléon I in 1808, as part of his reconfiguration of the area around the Madeleine.^[2] A second artery was judged necessary in order to create balance with the rue de la Madeleine to the east of the Madeleine. The two streets branch off of theRue Royale at angles and form an emplacement for the Madeleine.^[3][1] It is named in honor ofGuillaume-Chrétien de Lamoignon de Malesherbes, a minister and official underLouis XV andLouis XVI who was executed by guillotine during the Revolution.^[4] Only a rudimentary street was formed near the Madeleine;^[4] in 1852 the city resurrected the plans in order to ease the traffic between the Madeleine and the Monceau barrier. The plans were again put on hold as Paris prepared for theExposition Universelle in 1855.^[5]

In 1858, the Prefect of the Seine,Georges-Eugene Haussmann, entered into an agreement with the government ofNapoléon III over a program of public works for Paris. The fourth paragraph of the treaty signed between the two parties provided specifically for the creation of the Boulevard Malesherbes.^[4] In 1860, the city reached an agreement with a group of private developers in order to extend the boulevard beyond theParc Monceau. This group surrendered 82,625 square meters of land to the city, allowing it to build the Boulevard Malesherbes, avenue de Villiers,Avenue de Wagram,Place de Wagram, and Place Pereire.^[6][4] The city, in turn, agreed to sell two thirds of the former royal park to the developers. With the Boulevard Malesherbes, the consortium of developers gained a direct artery into the most fashionable parts of Paris for their new development.^[1][7] The angle of the street shifted slightly to the west at its intersection withBoulevard Haussmann andRue de la Pépinière to head in the direction of the Parc Monceau and the Porte d'Asnières.^[4][1] At this intersection,Victor Baltard designed the Church ofSaint-Augustin to fit onto a small site, so that its dome was on axis with the Boulevard Malesherbes and the Avenue de Friedland.^[8]

Unlike the previous works undertaken by the Haussmann administration, which had affected working class and poor areas of the city, the Boulevard Malesherbes was controversial because it passed through the St. Honoré neighborhood, bisecting some of Paris's most exclusive streets (the rue de la Ville-l'Évêque, the rue Lavoisier, and the rue de Rumfort). This required the expropriation and demolition of numerous mansions in its path. A hill with a densely built slum on top of it, known as thePetite Pologne, was also leveled to make way for the boulevard.^[9] In all, 84 houses were demolished to make way for the Boulevard Malesherbes. Construction had barely begun at the beginning of 1861, but proceeded at a feverish pace in advance of the inauguration that August. 300,000 cubic meters of earth were removed, the expropriated structures demolished, the surface of the road laid, trees planted, and street lamps installed within this time period. By the time of the inauguration, 114 new buildings had gone up along the boulevard.^[1]

The opening of the boulevard on August 13, 1861, was "the great event of the year".^[1] The whole route was lined with banners hung from masts, festoons, and shields. Emperor Napoléon III and theEmpress Eugénie drove down the boulevard in an open carriage, flanked on either side of the street by rows of troops and soldiers stretching from the Madeleine to the old outer boulevards.^[10][11] The Boulevard Malesherbes immediately became a fashionable address for Parisians.^[12]

• The authorAlexandre Dumas lived at 107 Boulevard Malesherbes in the 1860s.^[13]
• 9, Boulevard Malesherbes was the home ofMarcel Proust and his family from 1873 until 1900.^[14][15]
• The artistsErnest Meissonnier andEdouard Detaille both took up residence on Boulevard Malesherbes in 1874.^[14]
• Boulevard Malesherbes was home to a number of famous hostesses who heldsalons for the artistic community of Paris in the late 19th century. The salon ofJuliette Adam was at 190, Boulevard Malesherbes, that of Madame de Saint-Marceaux at No. 100.^[14]
• The famous courtesanValtesse de la Bigne lived in a mansion built for her by the Prince de Sagan at 98, Boulevard Malesherbes. From there she hosted a salon known as the "Union of Painters".^[14]Émile Zola modelled the bedroom of his courtesan characterNana after de la Bigne's own bedroom in the Boulevard Malesherbes mansion.^[16]
• The composerGabriel Fauré lived at No. 154 from 1886 to 1911.^[17]
• In 1909,Coco Chanel set up a studio in a bachelor pad lent to her by her loverBoy Capel at 160, Boulevard Malesherbes.^[18]
• The writerFrançoise Sagan lived in No. 167 during her youth. She wroteBonjour Tristesse there during the summer of 1953.^[19]

• Saint-Augustin, Paris is at 46, Boulevard Malesherbes. Designed byVictor Baltard, this church was built on the site of the former slum of the "Petite Pologne".^[20]
• Since 1927, theÉcole Normale de Musique de Paris, one of France's most prestigious music conservatories, has been established at No. 114.^[21]
• The Hôtel Cail at 56, Boulevard Malesherbes houses theMairie (town hall) annex of the 8th arrondissement and aTribunal d'instance.^[22]
• The Consulate General of Spain is located at 165, Boulevard Malesherbes.^[23]
• TheSorbonne University has a location, called the Malesherbes Campus, on the boulevard.^[24] (former campus ofHEC Paris from 1881 to 1964).^[25]
• TheLycée Carnot is located at 145, Boulevard Malesherbes.^[26]

Boulevard Malesherbes is served by theParis MetroLine 3 station ofMalesherbes, at 48 avenue de Villiers.^[27] It is also close to the Métro stations ofMadeleine andSaint-Augustin.

• Media related toBoulevard Malesherbes (Paris) at Wikimedia Commons

• Boulevards in Paris
• 8th arrondissement of Paris
• 17th arrondissement of Paris
• 19th century in Paris
• Urban planning in France

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