Built by Gustave Eiffel in 1889 and listed as part of the capital’s historical heritage, the famous Parisian cabaret of the Paradis Latin is located in the heart of the City of Light, a stone’s throw from Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Pantheon.
Built by Gustave Eiffel
Dean of the capital’s cabarets, its origins date back to 1802, the year when the First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte had the Latin Theater built, rue des Fossés-Saint-Victor. The inauguration takes place the following year. In 1830, the Latin Theater became one of the fashionable high places of Parisian nightlife where artists, bourgeois, writers, poets, journalists, politicians, intellectuals, students, workers, merchants, aristocrats rubbed shoulders… Honoré de Balzac, Alexandre Dumas, Alexandre Dumas fils and Prosper Mérimée are regulars. It was destroyed by fire during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, when Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck besieged Paris. Its charred ruins remain for 17 years. In 1887, during the preparation for the Universal Exhibition of 1889, Gustave Eiffel rebuilt the theater at the same time as its tower. The new room was inaugurated on Sunday January 20, 1889 under the name of Paradis Latin and was sold out every evening, presenting revues and ballets.
Financial difficulties
This year of the Exhibition was a happy year for the Parisian show with among others: La Mandragore, a very acclaimed piece whose heroine of the evening was Yvette Guilbert (immortalized by Toulouse Lautrec) who for a few months had been the star of the song and who was to become the interpreter of the composer Xanrof. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were financial difficulties due to the shifting of the center of gravity of Parisian life to Montmartre, and the cabaret was forced to close its doors several times…until the final purchase of the place by a potter- glassmaker, Charles Leune. He will install an oven and a corking workshop there.
2 million spectators
In 1930, the last occupant to date, an industrialist specializing in the packaging of pharmaceutical products, put the key under the door for a long time. It was not until 1973 that the activity restarted. In almost twenty years, the director has dazzled the eyes of 2 million spectators, with his 6 reviews played during 1600 unforgettable evenings! Sidney Israel and his son Harold take over: a new era begins for Le Paradis Latin, with the development of an international clientele, and 3 highly successful magazines: Viva Paradis, Paradis d’Amour and Paradis à la Folie.
28 rue du Cardinal Lemoine,
75005 Paris
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