Imagine a small tower standing proud in the middle of a bustling marketplace. This is La Petite Mairie, a quaint bit of history in Paris. It’s a reminder of a time when the neighborhood, once just a suburb of the city, was rapidly gaining importance. Now, let’s rewind a few centuries. This tower was once part of a grander structure. Back in the 18th century, the Abbaye de Saint Antoine owned land here. Jean François CHOMEL DE SERIVILLE, a man with a vision, bought some of this land. He wanted to build a market to serve the growing population of the Faubourg Saint Antoine. The market, built in 1779, was originally called Saint Antoine but was later renamed Beauvau after Gabrielle-Charlotte de BEAUVAU CRAON, the last abbess of Saint Antoine. The market later became the property of the City of Paris in 1811.
And then, the train arrived. The Gare de Lyon was built in 1850, bringing more people and thus more demand to the area. The market needed to be expanded. The City of Paris appointed its architect, Marc Gabriel JOLIVET, to oversee the project. He added a guardhouse, a tower, and two wings to accommodate the growing crowd. This tower? Yes, this is La Petite Mairie. In 1880, however, things took a turn. Accidents were becoming a major problem because of the busy market and narrow streets. The city council made a difficult decision. To increase the space of the open-air market and decrease the number of accidents, they decided to demolish the two wings of the guardhouse. The tower, deemed important, was spared.
And so, La Petite Mairie stood alone. It’s a symbol of a bygone era of a thriving market and a growing neighborhood. Take a moment to look up and see if you can imagine the grander structure it once was. You’ll see the stories of its past unfold before your eyes. Today it stands as a beacon of community pride, home to the Commune libre d’Aligre, an association dedicated to the neighborhood’s history and culture. With its quaint appearance and rich history, it is a quiet but powerful reminder of the ever-changing face of Paris, a place where the past and present intertwine to create a fascinating tapestry of stories.