Ah, Rue Boileau a name echoing through Parisian history. It’s a street that whispers tales of poets, artists and remarkable events. Rue Boileau is located in Paris’s 16th arrondissement. It stretches nearly a kilometer. The street’s story begins long before its current name.
Before 1792 Rue Boileau was known as Rue des Garennes. This name came from a place that existed in the 15th century. Imagine this area centuries ago. It was filled with rabbit warrens. “Garennes” means “warrens” in old French. The street led to the gallows. These gallows belonged to the lords of Auteuil. The gallows stood near today’s Place de la Porte-de-Saint-Cloud.
Nicolas Boileau a famous poet lived here. He bought a house on this street. The house cost him 8000 livres. The house had two floors above the ground floor. It also included a courtyard a stable and a walled garden. In 1792 the street was renamed in his honor. It became Rue Boileau.
During World War II Rue Boileau suffered. In 1943 Anglo-American aviation bombed the area. Three houses on Rue Boileau were destroyed. Despite this destruction Rue Boileau has many stories.
At number 7 on Rue Boileau the dramatist Nicolas Evreinoff lived. A plaque now honors him. Number 12 was once a clinic. Maurice Ravel died here in 1937. He passed after a last-chance operation. The actress Corinne Luchaire also died here in 1950. A modern building stands at this address since 1969.
Between 1844 and the 1870s the town hall of Auteuil was at number 14. The building burned down during the Paris Commune in 1871. Today number 17 is a public elementary school. The headquarters of the NRJ group is located at number 22. The house of Nicolas Boileau once stood at number 26.
Hector Guimard designed the Hôtel Roszé at number 34 in 1891. Paul Swan the American dancer painter and sculptor lived at number 37 in the 1930s. He was considered the most beautiful man in the world. Today a 25-room tourist hotel is at this address.
The entrance to the Hameau Boileau is at number 38. The architect Théodore Charpentier created this village in 1838. It was a residential area with strict rules. Commerce was forbidden to preserve a bucolic setting. Number 40 houses the Algerian embassy in France. It also hosts the Malek-Bennabi Algerian International School. Joachim Richard and Henri Audiger designed the building in 1906 for the painter Lucien Simon. The building shows North African architectural influences. Alphonse Gentil and Eugène Bourdet created the ceramic decorations. It was one of the first reinforced concrete buildings in Paris.
The Namibian embassy in France is at number 42. The Legion of Mary has premises at number 43. Jacqueline Huet a television announcer lived at number 49. She died in this building. From 1977 to 2014 the Vietnamese embassy was located at 60-66 Rue Boileau. The building replaced a mansion where the film “La Grande Bouffe” was filmed. Number 63 is a public elementary school. Gustave Eiffel’s Aerodynamic Laboratory is at number 67. It opened in 1912. It was one of the first aerodynamic laboratories in the world. The Lamazou private primary school is at number 80. The Villa Cheysson a private residence is at number 84. Maximilien Luce had his studio at number 102 from 1900 to 1920. The Familial Cinema was at number 106. It opened in 1915 and closed around 1923.
Rue Boileau a street of layered history invites you to explore its past.