Paris Journal: Grenelle: a mish-mash that works

We explored the Bridgette Bardot birthplace neighborhood yesterday afternoon. Today's research tells me that the building where she was born, 5 Place Violet, was built in 1930 -- far later than the home of Jean-Leonard Violet, a pavillon or chateau dating to 1824, across the rue des Entrepreneurs from Place Violet.

Place Violet

There are a number of pre-Haussmann buildings (early 19th century) mixed in with mid-20th century modern apartment buildings where factories and workshops once stood in the Place Violet area. The neighborhood is a mish-mash of periods and styles, but it works. One reason it works is the classic park, Square Yvette Chauviré, surrounded by the Place du Commerce, with the typical mature trimmed chestnut trees, flowerbeds, benches, gazebo for outdoor concerts, children's play area, and adult boules area.

Gazebo in Square Violet.

Another reason is the Square Violet -- an L-shaped park between the rue de l'Eglise and the rue des Entrepreneurs. Square Violet also has a gazebo and even more flowerbeds and children's play area, but not such a good space for boules. This park wraps around behind the former home of Jean-Baptiste-Léonard Violet (1791-1881), now the fire station.

A "prairie" flowerbed in the Square Violet; these kinds of flowerbeds are being planted in Paris parks
in part because the city has eliminated the use of pesticides and glyphosate.

Violet was a real-estate entrepreneur and builder who fancied himself some kind of architect. He designed his home in the Neo-Palladian style. While they were on the town council of Vaugirard in 1824, Violet and his friend, Alphonse-Antoine-Aimé Letellier, bought about 260 acres of publicly owned real estate in the area south of the Boulevard de Grenelle and between the rue de la Croix Nivert and the Seine for 980,000 francs. (This property had been owned by the abbey of St. Genevieve until the Revolution when it became public property.)

Someone has planted hollyhocks in the middle of the Place Violet. This is not unusual.
The French seem to like hollyhocks.

A part of the area's sense of identity stems from Violet's grid-like layout of the streets, except for the Avenue Emile Zola and Avenue Félix Faure, which came along later. Violet and Letellier originally and ambitiously called their real estate project "Beaugrenelle," but the name quickly reverted to the more realistic "Grenelle." (Many years later, the Beaugrenelle name was given to the shopping center and Front de Seine area around rue Linois).

The 1841 Andriveau-Goujon map of Grenelle and Vaugirard.

Violet's expansive real estate project did not last. When Paris annexed the Vaugirard and Grenelle areas in 1860, he faced stiff competition from other real estate developments across the greatly enlarged city, and he may have over-extended his business. His large home became the fire station in 1860, and Violet died in a very small house at 12 rue Violet, near the Boulevard de Grenelle. That house no longer stands.

A charming old workshop building on the Passage des Entrepreneurs.

I could not even find Alphonse Letellier's birth and death dates, although the French Wikipedia mentions that he is buried in the Montmartre cemetery; perhaps his dates are recorded there.

In the evening, Tom and I walked to Cléo, a stylish restaurant in the Hotel Narcisse on the Boulevard de la Tour Maubourg. Cléo is a little pricey, but we used a 24-euro discount from Lafourchette because I have points that are due to expire at the end of this month.

Lovely design on the marble floor in the entraceway to Hotel Narcisse.

Cléo was a good discovery; Tom's salmon and my starter course of pea-and-zucchini cold soup were delightful. My main course of golden bream with green beans was dull and uninspired, and Tom's dessert of chocolate lava cake had not been thoroughly heated, so the lava was not so molten.

The ambiance was cool. We were seated in an atrium -- one of only two tables in this outdoor spot surrounded by the hotel. And the service was perfect.

Here are some more photos from the evening: