La Coupole - Paris, France - 1000 Places to See Before You Die on Waymarking.com

[FR] Ouverte le 20 décembre 1927, par Ernest Fraux et René Lafon sous un nom qui veut éclipser celui du café littéraire Le Dôme, un des autres établissements du boulevard du Montparnasse, La Coupole connaît un rapide succès. Cette ouverture en grande pompe, qui donne lieu à une fête mémorable où les stocks immenses de champagne se révèlent insuffisants face à l'afflux des invités, peut être considérée comme l'apogée du rayonnement de Montparnasse.

Sur une artère où la concurrence entre brasseries est féroce, les gérants investissent lourdement et misent sur l'espace, malgré les difficultés architecturales que posent l'édification du bâtiment au-dessus d'un sous-sol truffé d'anciennes carrières souterraines, et le coût élevé d'une décoration Art déco somptueuse. Le peintre Alexandre Auffray peint les piliers qui sont plus tard classés monuments historiques.

Parmi les premiers artistes et intellectuels à adopter le lieu, on peut citer Jean Cocteau, Joséphine Baker, Man Ray, Georges Braque ou Brassaï. Louis Aragon et Elsa Triolet s'y rencontrent en 1928. Dans les années 1930, les aficionados du lieu sont Picasso, Simone de Beauvoir et Jean-Paul Sartre, Sonia Delaunay, André Malraux, Jacques Prévert, Marc Chagall, Édith Piaf parmi tant d'autres. Dans les années 1940 et 1950, on peut y croiser Ernest Hemingway, Marlène Dietrich, ou encore Ava Gardner.

[EN] Its grand opening was attended by the brightest stars of art, literature and nightlife: artists and their models, socialites and big spenders, easy women and impossible women.

Action flitted from the American bar tended by Bob to the rows of tables topped with linen or paper tablecloths. Painters such as Derain, Léger, Soutine, Man Ray, Brassai, Kisling and Picasso were elbow to elbow--sometimes with their fists raised... Aragon met Elsa and Simenon dined with Josephine Baker. Breton slapped Chirico and Kessel downed his glasses. An unknown writer with tiny round glasses, Henry Miller, took breakfast at the bar; Matisse sipped beer while Joyce lined up his whiskeys. When Mistinguett made her entrance surrounded by her boys, the room stood to applaud her. After France was liberated, the party began anew. The "Ladder" painters designed a fresco and work was displayed by artists from the School of Paris. Yves Klein wanted to paint the obelisk blue; La Coupole gave him a cocktail. César shared an intimate dinner with the bust of President Auriol, Camus celebrated his Nobel prize and Jean-Paul Sartre left hefty tips at his regular table, no. 149..

In May 1968, Cohn-Bendit climbed atop a table. Patti Smith played guitar on the terrace, Renaud busked and Gainsbourg and Birkin came for Sunday lunches. The years flew by... In 1984, Chagall celebrated his birthday at table 73; a few years later François Mitterrand sat at table 82 and ordered his last meal, a lamb curry. In 2008, the interior dome was decorated by four artists to reflect La Coupole's original spirit – nature, women, celebration: Ricardo Mosner, Carole Benzaken, Fouad Bellamine and Xiao Fan.

Name of Source Book: 1,000 Places to See Before you Die, 2011 paperback edition. Page Location in Source Book: 117 Type of Waymark: Site Location of Coordinates: Entrance Cost of Admission (Parks, Museums, etc.): 0.00 (listed in local currency) List Available Hours, Dates, Season: Open 7 days a week, continuous service from 12.00 pm to 12.00 am from Tuesday to Saturday (until 11.00 pm on Sunday and Monday) Breakfast from 8.00 am from monday to friday, and from 8.30 am during the week-end. Official Tourism Website: [Web Link]

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