Moulin Rouge

Moulin Rouge (’"Red Mill"’) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche.

In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Paris Olympia. The original venue was destroyed by fire in 1915. Moulin Rouge is north of Montmartre, in the Paris district of Pigalle on Boulevard de Clichy in the 18th arrondissement, it has a red windmill on its roof. The closest métro station is Blanche.

Moulin Rouge is best known as the birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance. Originally introduced as a seductive dance by the courtesans who operated from the site, the can-can dance revue evolved into a form of entertainment of its own and led to the introduction of cabarets across Europe. Today, the Moulin Rouge is a tourist attraction, offering predominantly musical dance entertainment for visitors from around the world. The club’s decor still contains much of the romance of fin de siècle France.

The Belle Époque was a period of peace and optimism marked by industrial progress, and a particularly rich cultural exuberance was present at the opening of the Moulin Rouge. The Expositions Universelles of 1889 and 1900 are symbols of this period. The Eiffel Tower was also constructed in 1889, epitomising the spirit of progress along with the culturally transgressive cabaret. Japonism, an artistic movement inspired by the Orient, with Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec as its most brilliant disciple, was also at its height. Montmartre, which, at the heart of an increasingly vast and impersonal Paris, retained a bohemian village atmosphere; festivities and artists mixed with pleasure and beauty as their values.

On 6 October 1889, the Moulin Rouge opened as the Jardin de Paris, an outdoor garden café-conçert, at the foot of the Montmartre hill. Its creator Joseph Oller and his Manager Charles Zidler were formidable businessmen who understood the public’s tastes. The aim was to allow the very rich to come and ’slum it’ in a fashionable district, Montmartre. The extravagant setting – the garden was adorned with a gigantic elephant – allowed people from all walks of life to mix. Workers, local residents, artists, the middle classes, businessmen, elegant women, and foreigners passing through Paris rubbed shoulders. Nicknamed "The First Palace of Women" by Oller and Zidler, the cabaret quickly became a great success.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moulin\_Rouge

Photo: Selby