Rubbing shoulders with the most famous men of Paris
Le Chat Noir (The Black Cat, wiki) was a 19th-century cabaret in the bohemian Montmartre district of Paris. It was opened in 1881 by the artist Rodolphe Salis, and closed in 1897 (much to the disappointment of Picasso and others who looked for it when they came to Paris for the Exposition in 1900).
Click pic for bigger & moreIn its heyday it was a bustling nightclub — part artist salon, part rowdy music hall, partially due to an illegal piano. The cabaret published its own journal Le Chat Noir. It began as a small, two room affair, but within three and a half years its popularity forced it to move into larger accommodations a few doors down. Salis most often played, with exaggerated, ironic politeness, the role of conférencier. It was here that the Salon des Arts Incohérents (Salon of Incoherent Arts), the "shadow plays" and the comic monologues got their start.
According to Salis: "The Chat Noir is the most extraordinary cabaret in the world. You rub shoulders with the most famous men of Paris, meeting there with foreigners from every corner of the world."
