Clichy & Montmartre

Gaumont Palace

Gaumont Palace

On his nightly trek through the Place de Clichy in the period of 1932-1934, Henry Miller’s attention would have naturally been drawn to the massive Gaumont Palace. The sleek Art Deco cinema with seating for 6,000 was then the largest film venue in the world.

Postcard of Clichy

Postcard: avenue Anatole France

I was recently directed to this great postcard from the 1930’s of avenue Anatole France in Clichy where Henry Miller and Alfred Perles shared an apartment.

Espace Henry Miller

Espace Henry Miller

Just around the corner from Henry Miller’s former Clichy apartment is the Espace Henry Miller, a neighborhood cultural center named in the writer’s honor which opened in November of 2003. Inside you’ll find gallery and performance space for art exhibitions, concerts, and dance…

Clichy apartment

Clichy (ave. Anatole France)

A plaque on the wall of number 4 avenue Anatole France in Clichy marks Henry Miller’s stay here between 1932 and 1934. This apartment was Miller’s first fixed address in Paris. After living on the bum for two years, shuttling between cheap hotels and the hospitality of friends, he moved…

La Fourche

La Fourche

La Fourche is a Y-shaped intersection in Montmartre where the avenue de Saint Ouen branches away from the avenue de Clichy. Fourche means “fork”, indicating the branching of the streets, but the word can also indicate “crotch”, a double-meaning which Miller found appropriate …

Au Petit Poucet

Au Petit Poucet

Au Petit Poucet (The Little Tomb Thumb), like the Brasserie Wepler, is a red-awninged corner café in the Place de Clichy which Henry Miller visited in the early 1930′s. From here, he wrote letters to Anaïs Nin and Brassaï…

Brasserie Wepler

Brasserie Wepler

The Brasserie Wepler is a large, traditional café with a broad terrace covered in a bright red canopy. It opened in 1892 with a commanding position on the Place de Clichy and quickly became a haunt for such artistic luminaries as Picasso, Modigliani and Apollinaire. In the 1930′s it was Henry Miller’s favorite café…

Place de Clichy

Place de Clichy

The Place de Clichy is a bustling intersection filled with restaurants and movie theaters. While Henry Miller lived in Clichy between 1932 and 1934, he passed through the Place Clichy daily on his walks to and from work at The Chicago Tribune