Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Palace, located 8 rue du Faubourg-Montmartre in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, is a cultural place of many facets. Inaugurated in 1912 as a cinema under the name of Gaumont Color, it quickly became a versatile space, moving from cinema to music hall, then to theatre and night in Paris. Its history is marked by architectural transformations and changes of vocation, reflecting the evolution of leisure and French society in the twentieth century.

In 1921, the entrepreneur Léon Volterra bought the room and renamed it Société anonyme de music-hall et de cinéma Eden. Under his direction, then that of Maurice Maréchal, the site hosts operettes and magazines, such as La Chaste Suzanne (1921) or La Revue du Canard Enchaîné (1922). In 1923, Oscar Dufrenne and Henri Varna made it the Palace Music-Hall, famous for his bold magazines, such as All Women (1923), which came close to the ban for insulting morals. The success is immediate, attracting stars like Maurice Chevalier and the Dolly Sisters.

The period 1923-1933, under Dufrenne and Varna, marked the golden age of the Palace as music-hall. The sumptuous magazines, such as Oh, the beautiful girls (1923) or Nudist The place becomes a symbol of Parisian nightlife, welcoming international stars and avant-garde shows. In 1931, the Palace temporarily transformed into a cinema, making experimental films. The murder of Dufrenne in 1933, unsolved, put an end to this lavish era.

After World War II, the Palace became a cinema again before being abandoned in the 1970s. In 1973, Michel Guy, then Minister of Culture, chose him to host the Autumn Festival and experimental shows. From 1975 to 1978, under the direction of Pierre Laville, he devoted himself to theatre. Ranked a historic monument in 1976 for its hall and decorations, the site is saved from ruin.

In 1978, Fabrice Emaer, figure of the Parisian night, bought the Palace and made it a legendary nightclub inspired by the New York Studio 54. With its red and gold evenings, fashion shows (Kenzo, Lagerfeld) and concerts (Grace Jones, Prince, Gainsbourg), the Palace becomes the temple of party, disco music and gay culture. Roland Barthes describes him as a place of "synthesis" where theatre, modernity and collective drunkenness combine. The eclectic clientele includes celebrities such as Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger or Yves Saint Laurent.

The closure in 1982, followed by the death of Emaer in 1983, marked the decline of the Palace. The place changed hands several times in the 1980s-1990s, hosting techno and house parties (French Kiss, Gay Tea Dance), but suffered from financial difficulties and administrative closures. In 1996, it closed permanently and became obsolete. Rached in 2006 by the Vardar brothers, he reopened in 2008 as a showroom, welcoming humorists (Valérie Lemercier, Florence Foresti) and exhibitions (David Bowie, Michel Polnareff).

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