The Boulevard Chave () is a major boulevard in Marseille, France. Built in 1842 and named in honor of landowner André Chave, it has had a tramline since 1892.
Location The Boulevard Chave is located in the 5th arrondissement of Marseille.Adrien Blés, Dictionnaire historique des rues de Marseille, Marseille: Edition Jeanne Laffitte, 1989 It runs from the Place Jean-Jaurès all the way down to the Gare de Marseille-Blancarde.Google Map It is long and wide.
It is bisected by the Rue de Bruys, Rue Eugène Pierre, Rue du Progrès, Rue de l'Église Saint-Michel, Rue Goudard, Rue Escoffier, Rue Louis Astruc, Rue du Camas, Rue George (left) and Rue du Docteur Simone Sedan (right), Rue Madon, Boulevard Sakakini, Rue Berthe Simon, Rue de l’Éguier (left) and Rue Jean Martin (right), Rue Monier, Boulevard Boisson, Traverse de l'Équateur (left) and Rue Audibert (right), and Rue Yves Chapuis.
History and landmarks The boulevard was named in honor of André Chave (1799–1868), a landowner and real estate developer. It was built in 1842 to accommodate the middle class.Michel Calapodis, Les Grecs à Marseille : minorité ethnique ou nation en diaspora ?, Paris: Editions L'Harmattan, 2012, p. 196
Most buildings are three storeys high, with three widows.Marseille Centre There are also Art Nouveau buildings.
On the corner of the Boulevard Chave and the Rue George, a prison was built in the 1850s.Répertoire des travaux de la Société de Statistique de Marseille, Marseille: Société de Statistique, 1855, Volume 18, p. 282 It was demolished in 1958 and later replaced with a primary school.André Bouyala d’Arnaud, Évocation du vieux Marseille, Paris: Les éditions de minuit, 1961
In 1892, the Compagnie du chemin de fer de l'Est-Marseille established a tramline along the boulevard. On the west side, they built an underground tram tunnel, going all the way to the Gare de Noailles.Charles Bertram Black, The Riviera: Or, The Coast from Marseilles to Leghorn, Including the Interior Towns of Carrara, Lucca, Pisa, and Pistoia, A. & C. Black, 1905, p. 8
The boulevard was mentioned by French novelist Émile Zola in Chapter 13 of his 1895 novel entitled Les Mystères de Marseille.Émile Zola, Les Mystères de Marseille: Nouvelle édition augmentée, Arvensa editions, 18 Feb 2014, p. 288
French actor Fernandel (1903-1971) was born at 72 Boulevard Chave.Dominique Auzias, Jean-Paul Labourdette, Guide de l'habitat Marseille, Paris: Petit Futé, 2012, p. 28 A bust in his honor now stands outside the building.
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