Ever wondered why a Parisian street is named Rue des Pyrenees? Its name evokes the majestic mountain range between France and Spain. But its story is far more Parisian than Pyrenean. The Rue des Pyrenees is the second longest street in Paris. Imagine its length stretching for 3515 meters. It wasn’t always called Rue des Pyrenees. Until 1877 it was known as Rue Puebla. This honored a Mexican city conquered by the French in 1863 a detail many overlook.
Napoleon III’s beautification commission planned the Rue des Pyrenees in the mid-19th century. The goal was to open up the newly annexed areas of Belleville and Charonne. These districts joined Paris in 1860. Prior to the Rue des Pyrenees’ creation main roads linked Paris to the suburbs. The Rue des Pyrenees was envisioned as a new east-side ring road. Its construction was challenging. Expropriations were complex and slow. Many landowners refused the city’s offers. Legal battles were common. The city only bought the necessary width for the road. This left many landowners with odd-shaped parcels.
Construction was complicated further. There was an underground aqueduct. The ceinture railway was also present. A suitable slope was needed for horse-drawn carriages. South of Place Gambetta a massive cut was dug into the hill. This is still visible behind a local library. The Pont Ramus a bridge built in 1906 connects streets on either side of this cut. Landslides occurred around 1870. Ground subsidence occurred due to old underground excavations. The section between Ménilmontant and Belleville was on a steep slope. Retaining walls and staircases were necessary.
Building along the Rue des Pyrenees was slow. New buildings had to align with the street. This changed the neighborhood’s layout. However building wasn’t mandatory. Landowners could just build a wall. This was common. Builders preferred the west and center of Paris. At the beginning of the 20th century many plots remained unsold. A real estate crisis hampered development. The types of new housing didn’t always meet demand.
For years the Rue des Pyrenees remained a mix of old low houses. There were also masonry walls and six-story Haussmannian buildings. These primarily appeared during the Third Republic around 1900. Especially near Place Gambetta the area saw more building. The Rue des Pyrenees primarily served as a north-south route. It connected Belleville to the Cours de Vincennes. The Avenue Simon Bolivar an extension of the Rue des Pyrenees opened in 1880.
The Rue des Pyrenees boasts unique sites. These include the Église Saint-Gabriel a church built in 1935. There’s also the Collège Lucie Faure which stands on a former cinema site. The Église Réformée de Béthanie a reformed church dating from 1904 sits along the street. An old dispensary for chest diseases built in 1903 also exists. A large bookstore Le comptoir des mots is there. North of Place Gambetta several food shops are located. The central post office with a façade from 1934 also stands out. Finally the Collège Françoise Dolto which served as a location for the film Entre les murs adds to this diverse street. This film won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2008. Today the Rue des Pyrenees remains a vital artery of the 20th arrondissement a testament to its complex and fascinating history.