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Introduction to the place de la Bastille

Bastille area-Rue de Lappe-Rue de la Roquette

Rue de Charonne

Rue du Faubourg Ste Antoine

Paris-11th arr-Rue du Faubourg St.Antoine

The main pulsing artery of the area, where a lot of handy craftsmen still work mainly in the artisan furniture manufacturing is the RUE DU FAUBOURG-SAINT ANTOINE one of the most picturesque of Paris. At each side of the rue de Faubourg St.Honore, a lot of passages and narrow streets where you can see cabinet-makers, tapestry-workers, gilders, etc... in superb courtyards, lined with splendid hotels particuliers.The area is named after the name of the abbaye Saint-Antoine des Champs founded in the 12th century. But in the 15th century it obtained a rare privilege. Louis XI gave full liberty to the guilds working in wood full  and a total tax exemption by letting them settle down in this labyrinth of courtyards and narrow alleys.They  developed  new techniques in marquetterie for the cabinet makers. En 1700, five hundred carpenters and 400 cabinet makers were counted. The  rue du faubourg Saint-Antoine kept his century old organization with its 2-3 level buildings and the craftsmen ateliers in the back alleys and inner courtyards.
Since the 80's new inhabitants came to settle down , belonging to show and art business, attracted by the low rents and was recently accelerated by the building of the new Opera Bastille. A lot of passages and courts  still look very romantic. Skilful craftsmen, liberated of  coercion and restraint, can live out freely their creativity. Particularly the wood works and furnishing industry developed there. 
When you walk now through the faubourg Saint-Antoine you see magnificent display-windows of furnishing shops. Everybody can find something for everyone. Take care of the attractive talk of sales men on the sidewalks, trying to sell something. Notice the nice facades of no.14, 16 , sculptured above the high windows. At n° 50, the passage de la Boule-Blanche (13) (closed Saturday and Sunday) comes out on the rue de Charenton facing the hospital of  Quinze-Vingts (n° 26-28).
At n° 56, la cour de Bel-Air has its south facades covered with wild grape. Stairway G, nicely wooden sculpted.
At n° 66, le passage du Chantiers is paved with big stones and has very narrow sidewalks whether you can see the old workshops of grinders and lacquerers. It's there that the first bronze decorations were made, the first marquetry, inlaid-works, and that the most beautiful furnishing style Louis XIV, Louis XV or Louis XVI, were born. Like the works of the famous Boulle, whose tables and chairs went to ornate Versailles and other palaces. Opposite is the fontaine Trogneux,1719, sculpted with dolphins, lion heads and stone pilasters.  
At n° 75, la cour de l'Etoile d'Or : the 17th century pavilion under which you pass has a 1751 sun-dial. At n° 81, la cour des Trois-Frères is still in full works. At the corner with rue Saint-Nicolas, a statue of the archbishop protects the pedestrian. At no. 100 a characteristic post-Haussman house. There are still ateliers in the passage de la Bonne Graine at no.115.
Today, we cannot imagine how difficult it was to keep the high standards of manufacturing at those times when regulations were very strict.   Most of them had to work "a boutique ouverte" (open boutique) so that everybody could verify the quality of the used materials. A lot of these workers were actively involved in the revolutionary days and stormed the Bastille, made the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 and the Commune in 1870.
Take the rue de la Forge Royale to the left if you come from Bastille and continue to rue St.Bernard. At no.36 the church of SAINTE MARGUERITE, built in the 17th and 18th century, lies in the middle of varnishers and cabinet-makers. It’s one of the most seducing I know.  Victor Louis, architect of this church involved the Italian artist Brunetti for the building. Brunetti was the painter of the backstage of the Comedie Française. And thus a real master in still- life deceptions. This is very visible in the highly unusual decorations of the church. He imagined an Ionic pillar gallery around the chapel faced by sensible sculptures. The interior is of a real architectural refinement. Astounding relief effects and a lot of elegance and  grandeur.  Nice sculpted wooden pulpit.
The supposed young son of Louis XVI (Louis XVII) is said to be buried in the adjacent cemetery at the age of 10. But the  mystery stays  since recent studies proved it are not the bones of the son of Louis XVI that are buried there. Probably it’s one of the numerous “fake “Louis that was named “XVII”.

Bibliography

--Vie et histoire des arrondissements de Paris, ed.Hervas (1985-1988--Nouvelle Histoire de Paris, ed.Hachette--Le Pieton de Paris, by L.P.Fargue, ed.Gallimard 1997--Dictionnaire historique des rues de Paris, by J.Hillairet, ed.Minuit --Guide du Routard 1998-1999 (Ed.Hachette)--Paris, 2000 d'histoire, by J.Favier, ed.Fayard 1997 --Paris 19eme siecle, l'immeuble et la rue, by F.Loyer, ed.Hazan, 1994- Faubourg Saint-Honore, histoires vraies, J.Dutourdens (ed .Julliard 1992)