The Boulevard Raspail is a boulevard of Paris, in France.

Boulevard Raspail
Boulevard Raspail is located in Paris
Boulevard Raspail
Shown within Paris
Length2,370 m (7,780 ft)
Width30 m (98 ft)
Arrondissement6th, 7th, 14th
QuarterNotre-Dame-des-Champs, Montparnasse
Coordinates48°50′42″N 2°19′43″E / 48.84500°N 2.32861°E / 48.84500; 2.32861
From205, boulevard Saint-Germain and 61, rue du Bac
ToPlace Denfert-Rochereau
Construction
Denomination9 July 1887
Boulevard Raspail crossing the Rue de Sèvres and the Rue de Babylone. Sèvres-Babylone metro station at the left.

Its orientation is north–south, and joins boulevard Saint-Germain with place Denfert-Rochereau whilst traversing 7th, 6th and 14th arrondissements. The boulevard intersects major roadways: Rue de Sèvres, Rue de Rennes and Boulevard du Montparnasse. The Allée Claude-Cahun-Marcel-Moore is situated on the boulevard, in front of the Alliance française.

Its former name was the Boulevard d'Enfer, of which the passage d'Enfer is a vestigial relic.

Located near the Métro stationsRue du BacRennesNotre-Dame-des-Champs and Sèvres – Babylone.

Naming

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The boulevard was named after François-Vincent Raspail (1794–1878), French chemist, physician and politician.

History

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The section between a point approximately 80 m beyond the Rue de Varenne and Rue de Sèvres was dug in 1869. The 90 m section from the Rue Stanislas was opened up by MM. Bernard frères.

The section between the Boulevard Edgar-Quinet and the Place Denfert-Rochereau had incorporated the old Boulevard d'Enfer and the external boulevard (part of the Boulevard de Montrouge) into a single road by the law of 16 June 1859. Its width was 70 m before the decree of 14 September 1892.

The modernist architect Le Corbusier criticizes the Boulevard Raspail in Toward an Architecture for its disregard of proper proportion and capriciousness.[1]

In 1933, the enlarged part of the Boulevard Raspail surrounding n° 51, where it meets the Rue du Cherche-Midi, was named the Place Alphonse-Deville. The chemin de ronde d'Enfer was annexed from the Boulevard Raspail and the Boulevard Edgar-Quinet.

Sites of interest

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References

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  1. ^ "Towards A New Architecture Corbusier Le". archive.org. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
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