Paris 1951: The Investigation Begins

There are two business cards in the "Paris 1951" envelope my brother brought home. They're both oversize, closer to index cards than modern business cards.

The first one is for "Au Port d'Attache," 79 rue Blanche. The name is printed on a half ship's wheel and includes not only the probably unnecessary explanatory "Bar" on the hub but the invitation to "Venez Chanter." The telephone number is given as : Tri.: 64-89. "Paris 1951" is handwritten across the bottom in ink. The back contains the following note in penciled cursive:

M Presse,

108 Rue du Theatre

Hotel Metropole

chambre 48

Paris 15e

and vertically up the left side: metro Commerce.

The second card is for "Morgan of Oregon, American Bar." The upper left corner brags, "The only yank in Montmartre." The lower left corner touts "Hamburgers, Chile con Carne, Hot Dogs -- Bacon & Eggs." In the lower right corner are the address: 36, rue Pigalle, Paris 9e, the phone: Tel. Tri. 77-78, and the notice: "open all night from 17 hours" under which is handwritten in ink "1951." On the back are two calculations, in pencil, in a different hand from the first card. One is a multiplication, the other an addition (with the wrong answer). There is also the name "georges," and the words "Pont (or Port, the card was folded at one point and the crease runs right through the middle of the word) Royal."

It turns out 79 rue Blanche is still a cafe/restaurant, although now just "le Bistro," and not Au Port d'Attache. It sits in a rather seedy side street right around the corner from the Moulin Rouge which was also there in 1951.

108 rue du Theatre is no longer the Hotel Metropole, although it might have been at one point. It's a standard, anonymous six-story Parisian apartment building with a podiatrist's office on one side and a kitchen supply shop on the other. The Avenue Emile Zola metro stop is actually closer than Commerce but maybe didn't exist in 1951.

36 rue Pigalle is now a real estate agency.

As far as Pont/Port Royal is concerned: Pont Royal is both a bridge (which was obviously there in 1951) and a restaurant/cafe on the rue de Bac just off the bridge (which was probably not there then). Port Royal is a hotel on the boulevard of the same name. The hotel looks as if it could have been there then. At this point, there's no telling which interpretation of Port/Pont is correct.

Time for some historical digging.