Rue de Siam
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The rue de Siam or Siam Street is the main arterial street of Brest. Its name comes from the arrival of three ambassadors sent by the King of Siam on the 29th of June 1686 to meet Louis XIV in Versailles. They went with six mandarins, three translators, two secretaries and a score of domestics, loaded of presents. They traveled on the boats l'Oiseau and la Maligne.
They crossed Saint-Pierre Street to go to the hostel of the same name. The inhabitants were so amazed that they renamed the street. It is worth noting that the street was a quite narrow street before World War II.
The rue de Siam is quoted by Jacques Prévert in his poem Barbara.
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[edit] Reputation
The rue de Siam is well known among sailors from all over the world. Those who call at Brest at least once, remember this short name, easy-minded, all there lives long. If you ply along African coasts, it is not rare to meet Bretons, harbour masters, local employees, sent far away from their native Brest, recalling the rue de Siam like others the Eiffel Tower or the Acropolis
[edit] Recent history
From the place de la Liberté, in the centre of Brest, the rue de Siam runs southwest to the Recouvrance Bridge, spanning the river Penfeld. Recouvrance is a working-class district, from old Brest, in contrast to the rue de Siam where there were all the chic stores and cafés of Brest, in the years 1950-60. Dow to the rue de Siam, there used to be l’Epée Café on the right and Les Antilles Restaurant on the left. Midshipmen and officers from all nationalities used to have an aperitif at l’Epée and then, cross the rue de Siam to have supper at Les Antilles.
[edit] References
- This article was initially translated from the Wikipedia article Rue de Siam, specifically from this version.
