145 Rue de La Fayette

145 Rue de La Fayette… Do you know it?

Paris is a city full of secrets. Those who love the capital will tell you that you will discover as much as you seek. Nobody can claim that he knows everything about Paris… because it’s simply impossible!

And speaking of secrets, there is one, visible to all, yet which few people know the existence of. Its name? 145 Rue de La Fayette. And even if you don’t know what this address hides, you’ve probably already walked right past it!

At first glance, the building situated at this address seems perfectly normal. What could be more common than a Haussmann building right in the heart of Paris? Except that when you look more closely, the cat is soon out of the bag…

The front door seems unwelcoming… No bell, no names, no mailbox and very little light. A bit strange?

Finally, if we try to see inside the “apartments” through some open windows, we realise that there is no sign of life whatsoever.

The front looks dirty compared to the buildings next to it. Everything inside seems to be abandoned, dark… And the ceilings! What about those strange ceilings that look rather like bars… Seems a bit creepy?

But who might live there? I assure you right away: nobody. Because this building is actually an illusion. This is an artificial building! A “fake” would be the correct term for it (this term has been adopted by latest generations to describe a video or a rigged picture, when we try to pass it off as reality. This practice is common on the Internet).

Only the front seems to be “real”. But there is no apartment hidden behind this facade. What is there then? Nothing. If you could walk through the door of this fake building and look up, you would see the sky through the bars. But if you looked at the ground, then you would see… a big black hole. Nothingness, leading to the centre of the earth… almost. You would be before “The Mouth of Hell” as described so well by one of the fictional characters created by the Italian writer Umberto Eco.

It is time to solve this mystery and tell you everything: the owner of this address is the RATP. This is actually a giant chimney ventilation: in short, the lung of this vast underground network. Here is a screen capture from Google Maps:

If you want to check for yourself on Google, I suggest you search for “143 Rue de La Fayette” rather than 145, as it sometimes does not find the address and then puts you in the centre of Rue de La Fayette. It can be forgiven for not being able to guess where the non-existent is situated.

And of course, don’t hesitate to go there one day when you get the chance!

See you again very soon on the blog for new discoveries.