Bolivar: origin of the name and station history
Served by: metro line 7 bis.
Why this name?
The station takes its name from avenue Simon-Bolivar, which honours Simón Bolívar, the Venezuelan general and statesman, chief architect of South American independence from Spain. It opened with the Louis Blanc - Pré-Saint-Gervais branch of line 7, then passed to line 7 bis when that branch was split off. It lies under avenue Secrétan, between Jaurès and Buttes Chaumont, near the Halle Secrétan, a covered market listed as a historic monument.
Anecdote
During the First World War the station served as an air-raid shelter; during a bombing a crush occurred because the doors opened only outwards, and the metro's doors were afterwards redesigned to open both ways. Its single entrance has been adorned since 1987 by a Guimard pavilion, listed as a historic monument, which used to stand at Barbès-Rochechouart.
Around Bolivar
- Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, 750 m away — A park opened on 1 April 1867, the day of the Universal Exposition, designed by Alphand. Davioud's Temple de la Sibylle stands about 50 m above the lake, which is crossed by a 63-metre suspension bridge designed by Eiffel.
- Bassin de la Villette, 500 m away — Filled with water on 2 December 1808, this basin is the end of the Ourcq canal, created by a decree of Napoleon in 1802, and the starting point of the Canal Saint-Martin.
- Rue de Crimée, 1000 m away — A lively street linking Buttes-Chaumont to the Canal de l'Ourcq, lined with local shops.