Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Maison Auberge de l'Aigle d'Or is a 17th century post office building located at 41 rue du Temple in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. Its facades on courtyards were inscribed in the Historical Monuments by decree of 22 February 1926, testifying to its architectural importance for this period.

In 1971, this historic building became the seat of the Café de la Gare, an emblematic café-theatre founded in 1969 by Romain Bouteille, Coluche, Patrick Dewaere and other artists. The place, initially a fan factory in the 14th arrondissement, moves here to offer a 450-seat room, becoming the largest café-theatre in Paris. This collective project, born after May 68, embodies a libertarian and dehierarchized spirit, with burlesque performances and self-managed management.

The Golden Eagle, as a post office relay, illustrates the organization of transport and trade in the seventeenth century in Paris. These hostels served as rest points for travellers and as places for changing horses, playing a key role in the royal road network. Their architecture, often remarkable, reflected their social and economic function in the capital.

The Café de la Gare, located in these historic walls, perpetuates a tradition of protest and artistic creation. The place, marked by figures like Sotha, Miou-Miou or Gérard Depardieu, remains a symbol of Parisian counterculture. The sheltered facades of the inn recall this dual heritage: an architectural heritage and an alternative theatrical home.

In 2021, a documentary entitled It's ugly it's dirty, it's in the wind, it's the Café de la Gare traces the history of this mythical place, mixing material and intangible heritage. The inn, by its longevity and transformations, embodies both the memory of the Paris d'Ancien Régime and that of the cultural movements of the twentieth century.

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