click for poster information Lentree du bal Bullier a Paris De 1847 a 1907, cest le plus grand bal de Paris Paris 29 December 1907 Bullier 1847-1907 THE BAL BULLIER The Bal first opened during the French Revolution and was called ' bal du Prado' and went out of existence in 1791. A second bal with the same name replaced it in 1807. It's fame lasted until it was demolished in 1858.This Prado named the Prado d'Hiver, (winter Prado) had opened another one in 1838 on the avenue de I'Observatoire named the Prado d'Ete` (Summer Prado). It was used when the first one was closed. This" Prado d'Ete` replaced another that around 1840 was named La Closerie des Lilas ( The Lilacs Garden) and later La Chartreuse (remembering convent of the Chartreux). It was a big garden frequented by students and Grisettes ( young women). Everything was astonishing. The men's and women's attire, Pather Carnaud orchestra in which everything became an instrument (anvils, metal sheets, stove pipes, and even pistol shots.) A former employee of the bal de la" Grande-Chaumiere" (Bal of the great Hearth located Boulevard du Montparnasse) Whose name was Bullier bought the Prado d'Ete` in 1843. He transformed it completely, planted 1000 lilacs and renamed it "La Closerie des Lilas". It reopened on May 9th 1847. Bullier kept on enlarging it, opened it all year around and gave it in 1850 a new oriental flair, decorating it gaslights in bouquets and stained glass decorations. They had games of Croquete and places to practice shooting spread around the garden's wooded area. Beranger, Murger, A. Vitu, Theodore de Banville, Vermesch all were regulars of this establishment as it became the Garden Bullier, then the Bal Bullier, finally The Bullier, for short. This is where Clara Fontaine, Rigolatte, and Mogador danced disheveled (wildly) and the mazurka and the scottish replaced the quadrille (French Square Dance) and the valse. These had replaced the Polka. It's "Fronton" (something et the entrench) made of glazed ceramic and installed in 1895 represented "coq gaulois" (gallic rooster) on the emblem of the faculties, with the sentence " Salvatit et placuit" inscribed on it. It also represented a group composed of women and two students wearing the "fallacy" ( some kind of hat) dancing the cancan. This topic had been recommended by a first class pharmacist the son in law to one of the Bullier brothers, also owner of the Bal. The Bullier was requisitioned during the war of 1914-1918 by I'Intendance ( a branch of the government) It was used for the manufacture of uniforms. It was reopened in 1920 competing with Magic City and Luna Park to finally disappear before the last war. It was the last of the great places of popular amusement headed by Jardin Mabille and the Grande-Chaumiere. Francois Bullier (1796-1869) became the owner of the ball known under the name of "Large Chartreuse" located at the 31, avenue of the Observatoire, in 1847. He calls it "the Small estate of the Lilacs" More famous then under the name of "Bal Bullier" the establishment is attended primarily by the students. This bal which the decorations take as a starting point by Alhambra -- proposes various animations like billards or the shooting ( with the cross bow and the gun). Bullier was impassioned of stereoscopy; the Carnavalet museum has stereoscopic funds of photographs having belonged to him. BULLIER Genealogy and History English bullier name bal bullier history genealogy page French bullier name bal bullier history genealogy pages