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

Naming

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

History

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. 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