The Boulevard du Temple (), formerly nicknamed the " Boulevard du Crime", is a

thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way of transport, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. Originally, the word referred to a main road or open street which was frequented thoroughly. Different terms *Roa ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

that separates the 3rd arrondissement from the 11th. It runs from the

Place de la République The Place de la République (; English: Republic Square; known until 1879 as the Place du Château d'Eau, ) is a square in Paris, located on the border between the 3rd, 10th and 11th arrondissements. The square has an area of .Warner, p. 250 ...

to the Place Pasdeloup, and its name refers to the nearby

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

, where they established their Paris priory.

History

The Boulevard du Temple follows the path of the city wall constructed by

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

(the so-called '' Enceinte'', constructed between 1356 and 1383) and demolished under

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. The boulevard, lined with trees, was built between 1656 and 1705. The Card Sharp on the Boulevard A16552

From the time of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

(1774–1792) until the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (), officially the ''Kingdom of France'' (), was a liberalism, liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 9 August 1830, after the revolutionary victory of the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 26 Februar ...

in 1830, the Boulevard du Temple was popular and fashionable. It was a place for walking and recreation. Cafés and theatres previously located at the Saint-Laurent and Saint-Germain fairs moved here. After a time, it was nicknamed the '' Boulevard du Crime'' after the crime

melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...

s that were so popular in its many theatres. In 1782, Philippe Curtius, Madame Tussaud's tutor in wax modelling, opened his second exhibition on this boulevard. On this boulevard, on 28 July 1835, Giuseppe Fieschi made an attempt on the life of the king,

Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

. The attempt failed, but it resulted in 18 dead and 23 injured.

Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , ; ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. He has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country and abroad. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flaubert, realis ...

spent several months each winter at 42, boulevard du Temple from 1856 to 1869. A photograph of this street was taken in 1838 by

Louis Daguerre Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre ( ; ; 18 November 1787 – 10 July 1851) was a France, French scientist, artist and photographer, recognized for his invention of the eponymous daguerreotype process of photography. He became known as one of th ...

from high in his 350-seat

Diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional model either full-sized or miniature. Sometimes dioramas are enclosed in a glass showcase at a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies like mili ...

Building at 4, Rue Sanson, where it intersected with the Rue des Marais, and which from the rear looked out roughly southwards over the rooftops towards the Boulevard du Temple (since demolished, the place where it stood is at the south side of the Rue Léon Jouhaux just off the north corner of the

). The image is one of the earlier

Daguerreotype Daguerreotype was the first publicly available photography, photographic process, widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre and introduced worldwid ...

s (invented 1837), and it is thus believed to be the earliest surviving photograph showing a person. A man stopped to have his shoes shined, and by remaining still, he (though not his head) unwittingly became captured on the plate, while all the other traffic rushing through the street vanished from the image due to the long time of exposure. The exposure of this shot was 4 to 5 minutes. The transformations of Paris by Baron Haussmann radically modified this part of

Le Marais The Marais (Le Marais ; "the marsh") is a historic district in Paris, France. It spreads across parts of the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, 3rd and 4th arrondissement of Paris, 4th Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements on the Rive Droit ...

; today, only the

Théâtre Déjazet The Théâtre Déjazet () is a theatre on the boulevard du Temple (popularly known as the 'Boulevard du Crime, boulevard du crime') in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, 3rd arrondissement of Paris, France. It was founded in 1770 by Charles X of Fr ...

remains of the late 18th century theatres; half of them were demolished for the enlargement of the

Theatres

The history of the names of the theatres at various sites on the boulevard du Temple is summarized in the following list. Unless otherwise noted the names and dates are from Lecomte, and the street addresses are based on the 1861 Paris guide of Lehaguez. * 1759: Théâtre de Nicolet, ou des Grands Danseurs ** moved across the street to 58 boulevard du Temple in 1764 ** Grands-Danseurs du Roi (acquired this name in 1772) ** Théâtre de la Gaîté (acquired this name in 1792) ** rebuilt in 1808 and 1835 after a fire ** The company relocated to the Rue Papin in 1862. ** The building on the Boulevard du Temple was demolished sometime thereafter. * 1769:

Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique The (, literally, Theatre of the Comic-Ambiguity), a former Parisian theatre, was founded in 1769 on the boulevard du Temple immediately adjacent to the Théâtre de Nicolet. It was rebuilt in 1770 and 1786, but in 1827 was destroyed by fire. A ...

of Nicolas-Médard Audinot ** located at 62 boulevard du TempleColette 1983
p. 79
** destroyed by fire in 1827 (relocated to 2 boulevard Saint-Martin) ** replaced by the

Théâtre des Folies-Dramatiques The Théâtre des Folies-Dramatiques () was a theatre in Paris in the 19th and 20th centuries. Opened first in 1832 in the site of the old Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique on the Boulevard du Temple, under Frédérick Lemaître it became a noted ...

(1st, 1831) ** expropriated in 1862 * 1774: Théâtre des Associés ** located at 52 boulevard du TempleLehaguez 1861
p. 25
** Théâtre Amusements-Comiques (1787) ** Théâtre Patriotique (1790) ** Théâtre Sans-Prétention (1797) ** Closed in 1807 by Napoleon's decree on the theatres, it became the Café d'Apollon. ** Théâtre de Madame Saqui (1816) ** Théâtre du Temple (1832, a vaudeville house run by Roux, dit Dorsay) ** Théâtre des Délassements-Comiques (3rd, 1841, this company relocated to the Rue de Provence in 1862) ** Théâtre du boulevard du Temple (1862, for two weeks in July, relocated to the Théâtre Lyrique, reopening with the name Théâtre Historique) ** The building on this site was later demolished. * 1779: Théâtre des Élèves pour la Danse de l'Opéra ** probably located at 48 boulevard du Temple ** Lycée-Dramatique (1791) ** Théâtre Lazzari (1st, 1792, also spelled Lazari or Lazary) ** Théâtre Français du boulevard (1793) ** Théâtre des Variétés-Amusantes (2nd, 1793) ** destroyed by fire in 1798 * 1785: Théâtre des Délassements-Comiques (1st), of Plancher ('Aristide Valcour') ** located between the Hôtel Foulon ite of the later Théâtre Historiqueand the site of the later Cirque-Olympique ** Théâtre Lyri-Comique (1800) ** Théâtre des Variétés-Amusantes (3rd, 1803) ** Nouveaux Troubadours (1805) ** Closed in 1807 by Napoleon's decree on the theatres, most of the building was demolished except for the entry hall, which continued to be used for exhibiting trained dogs and monkeys performing tricks. * 1787: Théâtre des Bluettes comiques et lyriques ** Théâtre des Élèves de Thalie (1791) * 1787: Cabinet des figures de cire (Cabinet of wax figures), disappeared in 1847 * 1813: Théâtre des Funambules (1st) ** located at 54 boulevard du Temple ** The company relocated to the Boulevard de Strasbourg in 1862, closing after one year. ** The building on the Boulevard du Temple was demolished on 18 July 1862. * 1821: Théâtre Lazzari (2nd) ** located at 50 boulevard du Temple ** Spectacle Lazzari ** Théâtre de Petit-Lazzari ** Théâtre Lazzari (also spelled Lazary, demolished sometime after 1862) * 1821: Panorama-Dramatique ** located at 48 boulevard du Temple ** The theatre closed after 21 August 1823 and was replaced with a six-story residential building. * 1827: Cirque-Olympique (3rd) ** located at 66 boulevard du TempleLehaguez 1861
p. 24
** Opéra-National (1st, 1847, this company reopened at the Théâtre Historique in 1851) ** Théâtre National du Cirque (1848) ** Théâtre Impérial du Cirque (1853, relocated to the theatre on the Place du Châtelet in 1862) ** The building on this site was later demolished. * 1846: Théâtre Historique (1st) ** located at 72 boulevard du Temple ** Opéra-National (2nd, 1851) **

Théâtre Lyrique The Théâtre Lyrique () was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century (the other three being the Paris Opera, Opéra, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre-Italien (1801–1878), Théâtre-Italien). ...

(1st, 1852) ** Théâtre Historique (2nd, 1862, name revived by the Théâtre du boulevard du Temple) ** This building was demolished in 1863. * 1853: Théâtre des Folies-Concertantes ** located at 41 boulevard du Temple,Lehaguez 1861
p. 26
on the site of the former ''concert-bal'', the Folies-Mayer ** Théâtre des Folies-Nouvelles (1854) **

(1859) ** Théâtre des Folies-Nouvelles (1872) ** Théâtre Déjazet (1873) ** Troisième Théâtre Français (1876) ** Théâtre des Folies-Nouvelles (1880) ** Théâtre Déjazet (1880–)

Metro stations

The Boulevard du Temple is: It is also It is served by lines 3, 5, 8, 9, and 11.

References

Notes Sources * Brazier, icolas(1838). ''Histoire des petits théâtres de Paris'', new edition, volume one. Paris: Allardin
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. * Chauveau, Philippe (1999). ''Les théâtres parisiens disparus, 1402–1986''. Paris: Éditions de l'Amandier. . * Colette, Marie-Noëlle (1983). ''La Musique à Paris en 1830–1831''. Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale. . * Goncourt, Edmond de; Goncourt, Jules de (2005). '' Journal des Goncourt'', volume 1: 1851–1857. Paris: H. Champion. . * Hemmings, F. W. J. (1994). ''Theatre and State in France, 1760–1905''. New York: Cambridge University Press. . (2006 paperback reprint). * Lecomte, Louis-Henry (1905). ''Histoire des théâtres 1402–1904. Notice préliminaire''. Paris: Daragon
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. * Lehaguez, M. (1861). ''Le nouveau Paris et ses environs. Guide de l'étranger''. Paris: A. Lehaguez
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. * Lust, Annette Bercut (2002). ''From the Greek Mimes to Marcel Marceau and Beyond''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. . * McCormick, John (1993). ''Popular Theatres of Nineteenth Century France''. New York: Routledge. . * Planta, Edward (1821). ''A New Picture of Paris; or, The Stranger's Guide to the French Metropolis''. London: Samuel Lee and Baldwin, Craddock
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. * Some of the information on this page has been translated from its French equivalent. {{Authority control Temple, Boulevard du 3rd arrondissement of Paris 11th arrondissement of Paris Louis Philippe I hu:Boulevard du Temple (dagerrotípia)