Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The passage of the Panoramas, located in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris between Boulevard Montmartre and Rue Saint-Marc, is one of the first commercial covered passages in Europe. Built in 1799 by Jean-Louis Girard on the site of the Hôtel de Montmorency-Luxembourg (1704), it owes its name to the two rotundas of 17 meters in diameter housing painted panoramas, such as Paris seen from the Tuileries or the Evacuation of Toulon by the English (1793). These attractions, launched by the American Robert Fulton to finance his inventions (steamboat, submarine), disappeared in 1831, but gave his identity instead.

Originally, the passage had more than sixty shops and was a model of innovation with its glass roof (1800) and the first gas lighting in Paris (1816), inspired by the eastern souks. It became a luxury place in the 19th century, welcoming confectioners, booksellers, engravers like Stern (store classified as Historic Monument), and Julian Academy, rare art school open to women. The galleries Saint-Marc, of Varieties, Feydeau and Montmartre, added in 1834 by architect Grisart, extended his network.

Ranked Historic Monument in 1974, the passage survived major changes ( 1920s, restoration at the end of the 20th century). It now houses restaurants, stamp merchants and the Stern shop, while its northern part retains a rich decor. His story is linked to figures such as the music publisher Brullé, the Susse brothers (foundery of art), or the sculptor Dantan, whose cartoon busts were exhibited there. Evoked by Zola in Nana (1867) and painted by Georges Cain, he embodied the spirit of Parisian shopping galleries.

The crossing is a private public road, managed since 1958 by 18 separate cadastral plots. Its entrance porch, inherited from the Hotel de Montmorency, and its rotundas disappeared in 1831 recall its origin: a bold commercial project, combining art, technology (gas lighting) and urban planning, which even inspired galleries in Budapest. Today, there remains a living testimony of 19th century Paris, between heritage and modernity.

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