Spectacular event space in Paris

About the Area

The workers' cooperative of La Bellevilloise - founded in 1877 - had its Maison du Peuple built in rue Boyer in 1910, a place which then included a large store selling to the public, offices, a café, a rehearsal room, meeting rooms and a party hall. In 1927, its architect Emmanuel Chaine delivers an extension to n°25 of the same street. On the building, the medallions bearing “Science” and “Work” are still visible, which were a counterpart to those of the Maison du Peuple, as well as the sickle and the hammer against the background of the rising sun above the porch. In the basement, stood refrigeration installations; on the ground floor, a garage for the storage and maintenance of the cooperative's vehicles; on the first floor, offices and the library of the Semaille University, and finally on the top floor, the Lenin room with a balcony with wrought iron railings, with a capacity of 500 seats. In the Lenin room, from February 1929, musical initiation evenings will take place around works by Satie, Ravel or even Debussy. Screenings of Soviet films will also be organised: the Battleship Potemkin, Aurora, the Storming of the Winter Palace, etc. The hall then became a public cinema, the Cinéma bellevillois, at the beginning of 1930. The business will be sold in 1936, but programming including Ciné Liberté productions will continue until June 1939. After the war, the room will be rented to independent operators under the sign Les Etoiles, then Stella, until its closure on December 31, 1956. Since then, the room has been a company canteen and a theater school. before closing its doors for almost 20 years. Today this beautiful event space brings the artistic heritage of the place back to life by hosting film shoots, photo shoots and events.