Claude Debussy's Pianistic Vision
10 Rue de Gustave Doré
Debussy lived here with Gabrielle Dupont during 1893-98
I walked in very cold, drizzly, damp weather towards 10 Rue Gustave Dore, where Debussy moved in 1893. It was an interesting walk from Place de Clichy, through some older areas with houses from the late 1800's to the turn of 1900-1920. The air was misty, totally overcast, and it reminded me of the prelude Brouillards, as has most of this March visit to Paris.
As I turned to Rue Bremontier tall trees line the boulevard, and I could perceive the cut where the railway goes in the middle of Rue Pereiere, perpendicular to Rue Gustave Doré. I turned right onto Rue Pereire and Doré was shortly on the right. Trees line Rue Pereiere, giving the feel of a park, and in the misty air were shadows as people walked past, but no trains. The bridge over the tracks is a girder construction with X's that is seen all around Paris. I could see 10 Gustave Dore, a seven floor building with dormers on the top floor. It is a nondescript building with windows commonly found all over Paris in buildings built around the turn of 1900 into the 1920's.
Across the street buildings had been torn down, and a school was bustling with activity. At the end of the short street on the south east a tall tree stood, while the view towards the northwest featured the wooded railway right of way. I walked to the right of way, to Rue Pereire, and followed it to the Place du Maréchal Juin. It was a pleasant walk in the cold damp air, with some tall trees and a wide right of way where the railway went underground. Some of the houses were art noveau and beaux arts, even more so on Avenue Niels and then Avenue Marc Manon as it winds towards the Place Charles de Gaulle and the Arc du Triumphe.
Debussy moved to Rue Gustave Dore with Gabrielle Dupont in 1893, north of Rue Londres, in a quieter neighborhood