Writers & War Heroes: rue Victor Schoelcher

Improbable Walks, Season 6, Episode 4: This episode about little rue Victor Schoelcher in the 14th arrondissement has it all: history, design, art, writers, photographers, models and World War II heroes... from Lee Miller to Colonel Rol-Tanguy to Simone de Beauvoir. The street is named for Victor Schœlcher--looking rather dapper in this 1832 portrait by Henri Ducaisne. Starting at the top of the street, we walk past the ceramic studio of Karen Swami. Next, the lovely former home of Art Nouveau designer Paul Follet, now the home of the Alberto Giacometti Foundation. This photo shows the arched home, and further on, you can see the contemporary building that replaced the Water Treatment plant where Rol hid his World War II command center. Next, a close-up of the lovely mosaic decoration around the door of Follet's house. Next, a photo of the Giacometti at work, taken in his original Paris studio in the 1950s by his wife Annette. Then, along with their portraits, the 1925 artist studio building where Nin, Miller, and de Beauvoir all lived at different times (Miller's image is a crop from a U.S. Army official image of their WWII woman combat reporters.) Check out the interior of Simone's apartment here. Finally, a photo of Resistance fighters and key Liberation figures, Cecile & Colonel Rol-Tanguy, taken quite a while after the War. Check out the excellent Liberation Museum here.