Place Pigalle

The Place Pigalle is a public square located in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, between the Boulevard de Clichy and the Boulevard de Rochechouart, near Sacré-Cœur, at the foot of the Montmartre hill. The place takes its name from the sculptor, Jean-Baptiste Pigalle (1714–1785), and it is the best-known district of the Quartier Pigalle, the Pigalle neighborhood. The square and the surrounding streets were, at the end of the nineteenth century, a neighborhood of painter's studios and literary cafés of which the most renowned was the Nouvelle Athènes (New Athens). The Place Pigalle inspired a celebrated song by Georges Ulmer: "Un p'tit jet d'eau, une station de métro, entourée de bistrots, Pigalle...." ("A tiny spritz of water, a subway station, surrounded by bistros, Pigalle....") "Place Pigalle" is also the title of a song written by Alex Alstone and Maurice Chevalier. It was recorded by Chevalier with orchestra (Jacques Helian, conductor) in Paris on 9 April 1946. Singer-songwriter Elliott Smith wrote a song titled "Place Pigalle" that remains unreleased to this day.