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paris_yank:go:nice:this_page [2026/03/21 07:55] – created parisyankparis_yank:go:nice:this_page [2026/03/23 09:50] (current) – [4 bis Boulevard Dubouchage, Nice, France] parisyank
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 //A History of Our Address and Its Street// //A History of Our Address and Its Street//
  
-> "Ma chère ville presque natale." — Romain Gary, on Nice ((Romain Gary, quoted in //Nice, Vie des Quartiers — Dubouchage//, Archives Nice Côte d'Azur, May–June 2018. https://archives.nicecotedazur.org/quartiers/nice-vie-des-quartiers-dubouchage/))+ 
 +> "Ma chère ville presque natale." — Romain Gary, on Nice((Romain Gary, quoted in //Nice, Vie des Quartiers — Dubouchage//, Archives Nice Côte d'Azur, May–June 2018. https://archives.nicecotedazur.org/quartiers/nice-vie-des-quartiers-dubouchage/))
  
 We live on one of the most historically layered streets in Nice — a boulevard that has housed a prefect's legacy, a Parisian industrialist's villa, the city's oldest library, a celebrated arts club, its first public art gallery, and the formative years of one of France's greatest novelists. Boulevard Dubouchage is not a famous street in the manner of the Promenade des Anglais, but its depth of history is remarkable, and our address at No. 4 bis places us at its southern, city-centre end — steps from Place Masséna, the Promenade du Paillon, and the cultural heart of Nice. We live on one of the most historically layered streets in Nice — a boulevard that has housed a prefect's legacy, a Parisian industrialist's villa, the city's oldest library, a celebrated arts club, its first public art gallery, and the formative years of one of France's greatest novelists. Boulevard Dubouchage is not a famous street in the manner of the Promenade des Anglais, but its depth of history is remarkable, and our address at No. 4 bis places us at its southern, city-centre end — steps from Place Masséna, the Promenade du Paillon, and the cultural heart of Nice.
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 This entry documents what we know about our building and its street: its history, its notable neighbours and residents, and the cultural life that has animated it for more than 150 years. Where the record is well-documented, we cite it directly. Where it requires informed inference, we say so clearly. The definitive archive for everything further is held at the Archives Nice Côte d'Azur, whose digitised records on the Dubouchage quarter are the primary source for this entry. This entry documents what we know about our building and its street: its history, its notable neighbours and residents, and the cultural life that has animated it for more than 150 years. Where the record is well-documented, we cite it directly. Where it requires informed inference, we say so clearly. The definitive archive for everything further is held at the Archives Nice Côte d'Azur, whose digitised records on the Dubouchage quarter are the primary source for this entry.
  
------ 
  
 ===== Table of Contents ===== ===== Table of Contents =====
  
 +  - [[#historical_perspective|Historical Perspective]]
   - [[#our_street_boulevard_dubouchage|Our Street: Boulevard Dubouchage]]   - [[#our_street_boulevard_dubouchage|Our Street: Boulevard Dubouchage]]
   - [[#the_man_behind_the_name|The Man Behind the Name]]   - [[#the_man_behind_the_name|The Man Behind the Name]]
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   - [[#references|References]]   - [[#references|References]]
  
 +----
 +
 +===== Historical Perspective =====
 +Nice has belonged to several political entities throughout its long history, but it is currently part of France. 
 +
 +  * **County of Nice** (1388–1792): Nice was part of the County of Nice, which was under the rule of the House of Savoy. 
 +  * **Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia** (1720–1860): After becoming part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, Nice remained under Savoyard control until it was annexed by France. 
 +  * **France** (1860–present): In 1860, as part of a treaty between France and the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, Nice was ceded to France. It has been part of France ever since. 
 +Although Nice was never formally part of the Kingdom of Italy (established in 1861), it was part of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, which later became the Kingdom of Italy.  So, while technically not a part of Italy, it shared a historical and cultural connection with the Italian state.
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 The street's origins are older than its current name. It was formerly called the rue then boulevard de l'Empeyrat or Empeirat — meaning "paved road" in Provençal — and it was during the great urban works of the 19th century that the municipality drove this major axis through the district, bordered by plane trees in the same manner as the quays of the Paillon and the Avenue de la Gare. Those plane trees remain one of the boulevard's defining physical features today: their canopy creates dappled shade along the pavement in summer and a bare, elegant skeleton in winter that reveals the facades behind them. The street's origins are older than its current name. It was formerly called the rue then boulevard de l'Empeyrat or Empeirat — meaning "paved road" in Provençal — and it was during the great urban works of the 19th century that the municipality drove this major axis through the district, bordered by plane trees in the same manner as the quays of the Paillon and the Avenue de la Gare. Those plane trees remain one of the boulevard's defining physical features today: their canopy creates dappled shade along the pavement in summer and a bare, elegant skeleton in winter that reveals the facades behind them.
  
-The city's regulatory plan — the plan régulateur — stopped at what is now Boulevard Dubouchage, leaving a certain urban disorder to develop beyond it to the north. This is why the boulevard still functions, architecturally and socially, as a legible boundary: to the south, the ordered grids of the 19th-century New Town; to the north, a more organic and varied fabric of residential streets climbing toward Cimiez.+The city's regulatory plan — the plan régulateur — stopped at what is now Boulevard Dubouchage, leaving a certain urban disorder to develop beyond it to the north. This is why the boulevard still functions, architecturally and socially, as a legible boundary: to the south, the ordered grids of the 19th-century New Town; to the north, a more organic and varied fabric of residential streets climbing toward Cimiez. In its own right, the neighborhood Cimiez has a rich history [[wp>Cimiez]].
  
 <note> <note>
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-===== Our Building: 4 bis =====+===== Our Building: The Palais Jacqueline =====
  
-We must be honest with ourselves: the specific documentary history of our building at 4 bis requires a visit to the municipal archives to establish with precision. The "bis" designation in French addresses indicates a secondary building on the same land parcel as the primary No. 4 — typically a rear building set back from the street, a courtyard building, or an addition built on the same plot. The parcel at No. 4 is confirmed in French cadastral records as covering 1,059 square metres — more than sufficient for a primary street-facing structure and a secondary "bis" building set behind it in a garden or courtyard. ((Cadastre / Répertoire des entreprises, //4 Boulevard Dubouchage, Nice//, data.fr, 2024.))+We now have a confirmed name and documented history for our building. The residential complex at [[https://www.google.com/maps/place/4+Bd+Dubouchage,+06000+Nice/@43.7036092,7.2723399,18z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x12cddaaf748c233d:0x6c0fa4594535abd8!8m2!3d43.703966!4d7.2731043!16s%2Fg%2F11gns8dl7q?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDMxOC4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D|4 / 4 bis Boulevard Dubouchage]] is recorded in the PSS national architectural database and the Wikipedia inventory of Nice's palaces under the name **Palais Jacqueline**. ((PSS Architecture Database, //Palais Jacqueline, 4 Boulevard Dubouchage, Nice//, pss-archi.eu, reference FR-06088-42084. https://www.pss-archi.eu/immeubles/FR-06088-42084.html)) ((Wikipedia, //Liste des palais de Nice//, fr.wikipedia.org, 2025. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_des_palais_de_Nice))
  
-What we can state with confidence — on the basis of the well-documented architectural character of Boulevard Dubouchage as a whole — is the following:+This confirmed identification resolves the open questions of our previous entry and corrects our earlier, cautious inference that the building was likely late 19th century. It is considerably more recent — and its style is not Belle Époque but Art Deco, placing it in one of the most architecturally confident periods in Nice's history.
  
-^ Attribute ^ What We Know ^ +^ Attribute ^ Confirmed Detail ^ 
-| Period of construction | Almost certainly late 19th century (1870–1900), consistent with the documented building campaign on the boulevard and throughout the Carabacel quarter | +| Name | Palais Jacqueline | 
-| Style | Consistent with the documented Haussmann-influenced Belle Époque residential character of the street — high moulded ceilings, marble fireplaces, herringbone parquet floors, and stucco facades are characteristic of buildings of this period in this district ((Agence Gounod, //Le Boulevard Dubouchage à Nice//, agencegounod.com, 2023.)) | +| Address | 4 / 4 bis Boulevard Dubouchage, 06000 Nice | 
-| Current mixed use | Professional consulting rooms (ophthalmology, orthoptics, psychiatry) are registered at our address, consistent with the common Nice pattern of first-floor professional use in late 19th-century residential buildings | +| Quarter | Carabacel | 
-| Plot | 1,059 m² for the primary No. 4, placing the "bis" building in a courtyard or garden setting behind the street-facing structure |+| Year of construction | 1924 | 
 +| Architectural style | Art Deco | 
 +| Architect | Jules Vincent Laurent Charles Febvre(([[https://www.pss-archi.eu/architecte/4119|PSS Archi PSS Architecture Database, Palais Jacqueline, 4 Boulevard Dubouchage, Nice]])) | 
 +| Height | Approximately 21 metres (estimated roof height) | 
 +| Number of stories | R+6 (ground floor plus six upper floors) | 
 +| Function | Logements (residential apartments) | 
 +| Land parcel | 1,059 m² (shared between No. 4 and No. 4 bis) | 
 +| Current uses also registered | Medical consulting rooms (ophthalmology, orthoptics, psychiatry) at the address |
  
-<note important> +==== The 1924 Date and Its Significance ==== 
-The precise construction date, original architect, and early ownership of our building can be established definitively from the cadastral records and building permit archives (fonds des permis de construire) held at the Archives Nice Côte d'Azur, 2 rue Auguste Gal, 06300 Nice. Their online archive (archives.nicecotedazur.org) contains digitised cadastral plans searchable by street. A visit in person would be the most productive approach for a full building history. ((Archives Nice Côte d'Azur, //Fonds cadastraux et permis de construire//, archives.nicecotedazur.org. https://archives.nicecotedazur.org))+ 
 +The year 1924 places our building squarely in the interwar period — the decade of Nice's Art Deco boom, when the city was rebuilding its identity after the First World War devastated the Belle Époque leisure world it had been built to serve. This was the same period in which the Bibliothèque Dubouchage at No. 21 bis was being redesigned (1924–25) — our home and our street's great library are therefore near-exact contemporaries, both constructed in the same twelve months of postwar cultural reconstruction. 
 + 
 +The Art Deco style of 1924 Nice is characterised by clean geometric lines, stylised ornament, reinforced concrete construction, and a confident modernity that rejected the historical eclecticism of the Belle Époque. Where the buildings that preceded it on the boulevard and throughout the Carabacel quarter dressed themselves in stucco cornices, classical pilasters, and naturalistic ironwork, a 1924 Art Deco immeuble would present a more streamlined facade — geometric balcony railings, stepped or banded horizontal decoration, and a verticality that expressed the structural possibilities of reinforced concrete. 
 + 
 +<note tip> 
 +Looking up at our building's facade with the date 1924 and the style Art Deco in mind will allow us to read details that might otherwise seem merely functional. The geometry of the balcony ironwork, the treatment of the upper floors, the handling of the entrance surround — all of these will repay a slower, more attentive look now that we know what we are looking for.
 </note> </note>
  
-==== The "Bis" Convention ====+==== A Note on the Name ====
  
-The French address convention of //bis// (and //ter// for a third building) deserves a brief explanation for visitors and correspondents unfamiliar with it. In France, when a second independent structure occupies the same land parcel as a numbered address, it takes the suffix //bis// (from Latin, meaning "twice" or "again"). Our 4 bis therefore shares its land with 4 boulevard Dubouchage, but is a distinct building — typically accessed through an archway, courtyard gate, or passage from the primary street facade.+The name "Jacqueline" is one of dozens of female first names used for Nice's residential palaces in the early 20th century. As the Wikipedia article on Nice's palaces notes, the term //palais// in Nice corresponds to the usage of the Niçois language — //palai// — and the Italian, where //palazzo// designates any residential building, whether noble or of simple construction. The usage was taken into French before and after the 1860 annexation and has persisted. ((Wikipedia, //Palais de Nice//, fr.wikipedia.org, 2025.)) The city's inventory of palaces named after women includes Adeila, Alexandra, Alice, Annette, Berthe, Christine, Édith, Erika, Graziella, Irena, Jacqueline, Juliette, Louise, and many others — each name typically associated with a family member of the developer or original owner.
  
-This arrangement is very common in Nice's 19th-century urban fabric: a street-facing immeuble (apartment building) with commercial ground-floor units, and a second, quieter building set back from the street in a garden or cour (courtyard), typically residential in character and offering more privacy than the principal block. Our building, if this pattern holds, would benefit from both the urban convenience of the boulevard address and the relative quiet of a set-back position.+Who "Jacqueline" was — the wife, daughter, or other relation of whoever commissioned the building in 1924 — is a question that the building permit archives (fonds des permis de construire) held at the Archives Nice Côte d'Azur would be able to answer. The permit application should name both the commissioning party and the architect. ((Archives Nice Côte d'Azur, //Fonds des permis de construire//, archives.nicecotedazur.org. https://archives.nicecotedazur.org)) 
 + 
 +<note> 
 +A separate "Villa Jacqueline" exists at 20 rue Foncet, built from 1894 by architect Jean-Baptiste Blanchi, which appears in the regional heritage inventory and is a different building entirely. Some secondary sources conflate the two. Our Palais Jacqueline at 4 / 4 bis Boulevard Dubouchage is the 1924 Art Deco residential building listed in the PSS database under reference FR-06088-42084 and in the Wikipedia inventory of Nice's palaces. ((PSS Architecture Database, //Palais Jacqueline//, pss-archi.eu, FR-06088-42084.)) ((Regional Heritage Inventory PACA, //Immeubles jumelés dont immeuble dit Villa Jacqueline//, dossiersinventaire.maregionsud.fr, reference IA06004254.)) 
 +</note> 
 + 
 +==== The "Bis" Convention ==== 
 + 
 +The French address convention of //bis// (and //ter// for a third building) is worth explaining for visitors and correspondents unfamiliar with it. In France, when a second independent structure occupies the same land parcel as a numbered address, it takes the suffix //bis// (from Latin, meaning "twice" or "again"). Our 4 bis therefore shares its 1,059 m² land parcel with 4 Boulevard Dubouchage, but is a distinct building — accessed through an archway, courtyard gate, or passage from the primary street facade. In the case of the Palais Jacqueline complex, the two addresses together form a single residential ensemble built in 1924 on the same plot.
  
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 We therefore live at the very end of a street that was, in the 1890s, the physical address of Nice's entire municipal fine art collection. We therefore live at the very end of a street that was, in the 1890s, the physical address of Nice's entire municipal fine art collection.
  
-==== No. 4 — Our Primary Address ====+==== No. 4 / 4 bis — Palais Jacqueline: Our Home ====
  
-The street-facing building that shares our land parcel. Its relationship to our own 4 bis building — whether it predates it, was built simultaneously, or was added later — is a question the municipal archives can answer.+The Palais Jacqueline — our own building — occupies the land parcel shared between No. 4 and No. 4 bis. Built in 1924 in the Art Deco style, it is a seven-storey residential building (ground floor plus six upper floors) approximately 21 metres in height, forming part of the coherent interwar building campaign that transformed the southern end of the boulevard in the 1920s. Its construction as a residential //palais// was part of the broader Nice practice of naming apartment buildings after female first names — a tradition documented in the Wikipedia inventory of the palaces of Nice across hundreds of buildings throughout the city.
  
 ==== No. 21 bis — Bibliothèque Patrimoniale Romain Gary ==== ==== No. 21 bis — Bibliothèque Patrimoniale Romain Gary ====
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 This is one of the most important buildings on our street and one of the most historically layered structures in the whole of Nice. Louis Rambourg, a wealthy Parisian industrialist, commissioned this sumptuous residence in 1875 from Italian architect Bernardin Maraini. It later became the Villa Seigle, after the name of its new owner. In 1923, the City of Nice purchased it and had it entirely transformed into the municipal library by its architect Nicolas Anselmi, in collaboration with Clément Goyenèche. The villa was enlarged laterally and raised by a second floor, and the original facades were substantially reworked in a style approaching Art Nouveau. Of the original villa, only the staircase and the first-floor gallery would survive. This is one of the most important buildings on our street and one of the most historically layered structures in the whole of Nice. Louis Rambourg, a wealthy Parisian industrialist, commissioned this sumptuous residence in 1875 from Italian architect Bernardin Maraini. It later became the Villa Seigle, after the name of its new owner. In 1923, the City of Nice purchased it and had it entirely transformed into the municipal library by its architect Nicolas Anselmi, in collaboration with Clément Goyenèche. The villa was enlarged laterally and raised by a second floor, and the original facades were substantially reworked in a style approaching Art Nouveau. Of the original villa, only the staircase and the first-floor gallery would survive.
  
-The Bibliothèque Dubouchage was inaugurated on 8 April 1925. For a long time the main library of the city, it lost that title in 1987 with the opening of the central Lamartine library. In 2001, with the opening of the new central Louis Nucéra library on the Promenade des Arts, the Dubouchage site was dedicated to the heritage collections of Nice's municipal library network. On 3 June 2005, for the library's 80th anniversary, it took the name of the writer Romain Gary.+The Bibliothèque Dubouchage was inaugurated on 8 April 1925. For a long time the main library of the city, it lost that title in 1987 with the opening of the central Lamartine library. In 2001, with the opening of the new central Louis Nucéra library on the Promenade des Arts, the Dubouchage site was dedicated to the heritage collections of Nice's municipal library network. On 3 June 2005, for the library's 80th anniversary, it took the name of the writer [[wp>Romain Gary]].
  
 The library has existed since 1925 but the building itself is considerably older. The Niçois, however, continue to call it the "bibliothèque Dubouchage." In front of the library, in Square Durandy, for many years on Sunday mornings there was a postcard and coin market and a stamp exchange. The library has existed since 1925 but the building itself is considerably older. The Niçois, however, continue to call it the "bibliothèque Dubouchage." In front of the library, in Square Durandy, for many years on Sunday mornings there was a postcard and coin market and a stamp exchange.
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 | 1921 | L'Artistique membership includes Puccini, Saint-Saëns, Fauré, Massenet | No. 27 | | 1921 | L'Artistique membership includes Puccini, Saint-Saëns, Fauré, Massenet | No. 27 |
 | 1923 | City of Nice purchases Villa Rambourg for conversion to library | No. 21 bis | | 1923 | City of Nice purchases Villa Rambourg for conversion to library | No. 21 bis |
 +| 1924 | Palais Jacqueline (our building) constructed in Art Deco style | No. 4 / 4 bis |
 | 1925 | Bibliothèque Dubouchage inaugurated (8 April) | No. 21 bis | | 1925 | Bibliothèque Dubouchage inaugurated (8 April) | No. 21 bis |
 | 1927–1928 | Romain Gary and his mother arrive in Nice and settle in the city | Boulevard vicinity | | 1927–1928 | Romain Gary and his mother arrive in Nice and settle in the city | Boulevard vicinity |
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 **Our address:** 4 bis Boulevard Dubouchage, 06000 Nice, France **Our address:** 4 bis Boulevard Dubouchage, 06000 Nice, France
  
-**Our quarter:** Quartier Carabacel — second oldest urban district in Nice; buildings largely 1850–1900+**Our building:** Palais Jacqueline — built 1924, Art Deco style, 7 storeys (~21 m), residential apartments 
 + 
 +**Our quarter:** Quartier Carabacel — second oldest urban district in Nice; buildings largely 1850–1900 (our building 1924)
  
 **Our street:** Named after Marc Joseph du Gratet, Comte du Bouchage — French prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes, 1803–1814; known for attentive local governance **Our street:** Named after Marc Joseph du Gratet, Comte du Bouchage — French prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes, 1803–1814; known for attentive local governance
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 **Research archive:** Archives Nice Côte d'Azur — 2 rue Auguste Gal, Nice; archives.nicecotedazur.org **Research archive:** Archives Nice Côte d'Azur — 2 rue Auguste Gal, Nice; archives.nicecotedazur.org
  
-**Key open question about our building:** Precise construction date and original architect — to be confirmed from municipal cadastral records.+**Key open question about our building:** Identity of the architect and the original owner/commissioner "Jacqueline" — to be confirmed from the building permit archives (fonds des permis de construire) at the Archives Nice Côte d'Azur
  
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   - Agence Gounod. (2023). //Le Boulevard Dubouchage à Nice: Architecture et Vie de Quartier//. agencegounod.com.   - Agence Gounod. (2023). //Le Boulevard Dubouchage à Nice: Architecture et Vie de Quartier//. agencegounod.com.
   - Archives Nice Côte d'Azur. (n.d.). //Fonds Cadastraux et Permis de Construire//. archives.nicecotedazur.org. https://archives.nicecotedazur.org   - Archives Nice Côte d'Azur. (n.d.). //Fonds Cadastraux et Permis de Construire//. archives.nicecotedazur.org. https://archives.nicecotedazur.org
 +  - PSS Architecture Database. (n.d.). //Palais Jacqueline — 4 Boulevard Dubouchage, Nice// (reference FR-06088-42084). pss-archi.eu. https://www.pss-archi.eu/immeubles/FR-06088-42084.html
 +  - Wikipedia (French edition). (2025). //Liste des palais de Nice//. fr.wikipedia.org. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_des_palais_de_Nice
 +  - Wikipedia (French edition). (2025). //Palais de Nice//. fr.wikipedia.org. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_de_Nice
 +  - Regional Heritage Inventory PACA. (n.d.). //Immeubles jumelés dont immeuble dit Villa Jacqueline — 18 et 20 rue Foncet, Nice// (reference IA06004254). dossiersinventaire.maregionsud.fr. https://dossiersinventaire.maregionsud.fr/dossier/IA06004254
  
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 //Last reviewed: March 2026. This entry is a living document — we welcome corrections, additions, or archival discoveries from any resident or researcher who can deepen the record of our address.// //Last reviewed: March 2026. This entry is a living document — we welcome corrections, additions, or archival discoveries from any resident or researcher who can deepen the record of our address.//
  
-//This entry draws primarily on the digitised archives of Nice Côte d'Azur and published histories of the Carabacel quarter. Building-specific facts for No. 4 bis await confirmation from the municipal cadastral archives. The history of the boulevard is well-documented; the history of our specific building remains, for now, an open and inviting question.//+//This entry draws primarily on the digitised archives of Nice Côte d'Azur, the PSS national architectural database, the Wikipedia inventory of the palaces of Nice, and published histories of the Carabacel quarter. The building's name (Palais Jacqueline), construction date (1924), architectural style (Art Deco), and physical dimensions are now confirmed. The identity of the architect and the person after whom the building is named remain open questions for further archival research.//
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