Galerie Vivienne by Francois Jean Delannoy, 1826
Rue des Petits Champs
Quartier Vivienne, 2nd arrondissement
Paris, July 2005
“The Galerie Vivienne is one of the covered passages of Paris, France, located in the 2nd arrondissement. It is 176 metres (577 ft) long and 3 metres (9.8 ft) wide. The gallery has been registered as a historical monument since 7 July 1974. The gallery was built in 1823 by Marchoux, President of the Chamber of Notaries, at the location of the Vanel de Serrant hotel and the Petits Peres passage. It was based on plans drawn up by the architect Francois Jean Delannoy. Inaugurated in 1826 under the name Marchoux, but soon renamed Vivienne, the gallery took advantage of its unique location. It attracted many visitors with its tailor shops, cobblers, wine shop, restaurant, Jousseaume bookstore, draper, confectioner, print-seller and so on. Located between the Palais-Royal, the Paris Bourse (stock exchange) and the Grands Boulevards, the passage enjoyed considerable success until the end of the Second Empire. But the gallery lost some of its appeal with the move of the prestigious shops to the Madeleine and the Champs-Élysées, and particularly because of the Restauration Haussmann of Paris by Georges-Eugène Haussmann.” (Galerie Vivienne, Wikipedia)
