Le Pont Traversé

Le Pont Traversé, “The Crossed Bridge”, was a famous Parisian bookstore owned by French poet Marcel Béalu.  

The store was housed in a former butcher's shop, a historic monument in Paris whose famous dark blue façade displays carved ox heads and enameled plaques. Located one block from the Luxembourg Garden in Paris’ 6th arrondissement, Béalu’s store for decades catered to poetry lovers, bibliophiles, and anyone with a weakness for antiquarian books and rare editions.

I took this image in 2017 with my iPhone, without realizing its historic significance until 2019 when this image published in “Top 100 Des Lieux Insolites De Paris” by Paris Zigzag

In 2021 amid the Covid pandemic, I visited Le Pont Traversé again, which is now a café.

After Bealu's death in 1993, the bookstore was run by his widow Marie-Josée Comte-Béalu until December 31 2019, when Le Pont Traversé finally closed. The site is now occupied by a café, which maintains the famous name and storefront.

In 2023, I started making note cards of Independent Bookstores Around the World, and Le Pont Traversé became my signature image. I am so happy I captured this place when it was a bookstore; I only wish more independent bookstores could survive amidst the shameless commerce.