Reverend Lewis Way and the Promenade des Anglais
Originally from a modest background, Reverend Way had inherited an appreciable fortune.  He was a sincere, if somewhat eccentric, clergyman who believed himself on a divine mission.  He was also a man of progress and initiative who came to Nice in 1822 so that his children could learn to speak French and Italian.

In those days while aristocrats and nobles lived a life of luxury, labourers and the poor lead a difficult life and lived on a meagre existence. In fact their worlds never met; each going about their business as if the other didn't exist. There is a delightful story of how the rich were called "Les Poivres" (pepper) by the poor and the poor were called "Le Riz" (rice); pepper then was as important as gold and carried the same status - the poor ate little other than rice and the catch of the day hence their nick-name. 

In 1823 a very severe frost destroyed most of the orange crop around Nice plunging many field labourers into poverty. Distressed by what he saw, Reverend Way, along with his brother-in-law Charles Whitby, Lady Olivia Sparrow and Lady Mandeville began distributing food to the destitute - until Revered Way hit upon an idea. He suggested to his wealthy English parishioners that the poor should be hired to build a more suitable walkway along the seafront, some two metres wide, between Hotel des Anglais and rue Meyerbeer that would be free from detritus, comfortable to walk along and affording panoramic views. It was to be the forerunner of the future Promenade des Anglais.  By way of explanation, this meant creating a flat, rubble free dirt path along the sea-front from the present day location of Jardin Albert 1re and going four "blocks" down to rue Meyerbeer. For his charitable act, Reverend Way was known locally as "Louis d'Or".

The Hotel des Anglais, built in the middle of the 19th century, was an imposing and slightly colonial-style building. Built slightly back from the Promenade it was preceded by a charming exotic garden that was much admired both by its clientele and passers-by. For the time it offered unimaginable luxury offering only suites with combining rooms as well as a hydraulic lift to reassure crowned heads of state and noble patriarchs who might have found climbing the hotel's four storeys somewhat daunting.

The hotel was replaced in 1913 by the Hotel Ruhl whose architecture reflected the Mediterranean identity of that period. It was designed by Charles Dalmas and held the same iconic value as the Hotel Negresco and welcomed a host of well known people in the 1920s and 1930s. Much to the dismay of its clientele and Niçois, this much loved hotel was demolished in 1970 and replaced by the present, rather bland looking, glass and metal structure of the Méridien-Ruhl hotel. I should mention here that McDonald's is located on the ground and first floor of the building; if you do go there for a snack, go and eat on their first floor and, if possible, try and sit by the windows overlooking the Mediterranean Sea; it adds a certain "posh & upmarket" feel as you eat your fast-food hamburger.

Thus with the blessing of his parishioners the Reverend Way set about opening a subscription and, after hiring 120 men, 89 woman and 74 children for an overall salary of approximately €16,000 in today’s money, work commenced on the ‘Beach Road’. Though they did the best they could, they were not engineers and Reverend Lewis Way found himself obliged to hire several engineers to design and direct his project. By 1824 the dirt walkway was completed and winter residents were now able to partake in an enjoyable stroll along the seafront. 

In 1831 private means again enabled further work on the road but by 1835, with the steady increase of winter residents to Nice and the building of additional hotels and villas to accommodate them, the Town Council decided to obtain ownership of the road and purchase adjacent parcels of land alongside it. In 1844 Beach Road was widen to three metres and renamed rue du Littoral-des-Anglais (English coastal road), la Strada del littorale in official notices and Lou Camin dei Ingles (English path) in Nissart.

To protect both the villas and their private gardens from the rigours of the Mediterranean Sea, but also to make sure new constructions would be aligned, the municipality widened the walkway by a further six metres, often taking land away from the villas in order to achieve their goal. In 1856 it was prolonged to the mouth of the Magnan river and finally called le Promenade des Anglais and planted with palm trees, oleanders, eucalyptus and pepper plants interspersed with flower beds.

Thanks to funds received from the Second Empire, the Malausséna municipality was able to carry out important construction work in 1862: the construction of a three metres high stone breakwater along the seafront; to widen the promenade to 15 metres, while laying down a road measuring 11 metres wide with a 3 metres pavement built in front of the villas. The funds also meant that the Promenade, now stretching some 2 kilometres around the curve of the Baie des Anges, could acquire gas lighting (as a side note, gas lighting was installed in Nice in 1854 although most homes still used oil lamps, if not candles for a few years) which thus made it possible for people to stroll here well into the evening and even late into the night.

Before we continue, and as I've been throwing figures at you for a little while, let's take a short interlude to tell you why the Baie des Anges is so-named. There have been a few stories as to its origin; notably one concerning Saint Raparata's body being brought to shore in a small fishing vessel aided by angels. The truth of the matter is that the name comes from an angel shark that was very abundant until the 19th century in the waters off Nice.

Its latin name is Squatina angelus. Unappealing and rather repulsive, their broad jaws, somewhat toadlike in appearance, were studded with several rows of very sharp teeth. Their squat body was covered with rough skin and quite resistant, according to Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie, and so useful for polishing wood and ivory. But more importantly, the angel shark had two pairs of lateral fins with the pectoral ones being quite developed - that suggested . . .  wings.

Two years later, in 1864, another event occurred which threw the road into singular prominence: the arrival of the railway in Nice. By 1874, the Paris-Marseille-Nice express train took less than 18 hours to bring passengers to the now, biggest city of the Alpes-Maritimes département and resulted in opening up the coastal area that previously the Kings of Piedmont-Sardinia had somewhat neglected.

From that time on, the road was to pursue its relentless journey westward, reaching Saint-Hélène in 1878 and by 1882 linking Carras (present day location of Parc Ferber we mentioned earlier) and ending its course in front of the racetrack - today Nice airport - in 1903. That same year the road was connected to the National Highway.

And here we need to take a short break to quickly touch on the subject of "The Motor Car" (which I'll discuss more at the end of this whole article) as it played an important role in the Promenade. First of all, I should point out that if the Promenade had a road - it was a hard, solid earth one. Secondly, cars then were extremely expensive and only the very well-to-do could afford them so most found their way to Nice and Monaco. The first motorized cars arrived around 1895 and the first taxi in 1896, the same year that the Nice Automobile Club was created.

The first car "race" linked Marseille to Monte-Carlo, via Fréjus, Nice and La Turbie and was held between 29th and 31st January, 1987. Another race, named La Course du Mille occurred on the Promenade des Anglais between 1899 and 1904 with the Grande Semaine Automobile Fleurie (the week of flower-decked automobiles) occurring each year in April just before the Nice-Draguignan race. By 1905 it became evident that something had to be done to improve the vast dust clouds generated by the increasing circulation of cars and so the first tarmac was layed between 1905-1906 on the Promenade des Anglais and Avenue Masséna.

1931 was to be a truly momentous year for the Promenade des Anglais. Firstly, the junction of the Promenade with Quai des Etats-Unis meant that cars could drive along the coastal road without encountering any obstacles from the Port of Nice, round the rocky spur of Rauba Capeu and onwards to the Var valley. Secondly, fifty-two electric Art-Deco style candelabras were installed between Avenue des Phocéens and Boulevard Gambetta and, finally and most importantly, the Promenade des Anglais was officially inaugurated on 29th January 1931 by Prince Albert, Duke of Connaught, the son of Queen Victoria, in the presence of the Duchess of Vendôme and Jean Médecin the Mayor of Nice - thus binding the long-standing Franco-English relationship.

And here, dear readers, I reach a very interesting and, dare I say, frustrating conundrum: for I can find no more than two lines about the Promenade's inauguration. This incredible boulevard, described in such detail from its conception and various transformations spanning over one hundred years, comes to a grinding halt in what concerns its inauguration. And I am at a loss to understand why.

However, I see this as a red flag to a raging English bull and I shall endeavour to ferret out the truth. For example: who is the Duchess of Vendome? What was her connection to Nice? Prince Albert was then eighty-one years old and I do wonder about his state of health in attending the ceremony which then (of course) leads me to ask - was it perhaps his son, Prince Arthur of Connaught (who would have then been forty-eight) who stood in for him? And why are there no photos of such a Regal and significant event in the Promenade's long history?

It is a very moot point indeed and, for the moment, must remain so.

A little earlier in my narration of Nice, I mentioned both the Hotel des Anglais, and its replacement, the very stunning Hotel Ruhl. So I think it is important to tell you of another remarkable landmark - that was out at sea: the Casino de la Jetée-Promenade, the most fashionable venue in Nice until the inauguration of Palais de la Méditerranée.

Casino de la Jetée-Promenade
The project was the brain child of the Marquis d’Espouy de Saint-Paul who wanted Nice to have a replica of London’s Cristal Palace on the Promenade des Anglais. He thus approached James Brunlers, an English architect, and asked for plans to be drawn up.

In November 1875 his project was put before Nice’s municipality. Initially they had misgivings insofar that this would be the second casino established on the Promenade des Anglais, the first one, belonging to Léopold Amat, having gone bankrupt in 1867. Their other problem was where to build it on the Promenade. The Marquis insisted it should be built on the present site of the Jardin Public but the municipality disagreed as they had already drawn up plans to cover the entire Paillon River and move the Jardin Public over it.

They therefore suggested to the Marquis that if he wanted to have his casino on the Jardin Public the new gardens would have to be built first – and at his own cost – prior to destroying the present one.  This idea did not sit well with the Marquis, so he went off and petitioned the Préfecture to grant him a maritime area in front of the Hotel des Anglais instead.  After several requests, Préfet Raynet de Brancion, although acting against the municipality’s advice, gave his consent to the Marquis in March 1879.

Work began at the end of October 1880 and was undertaken by an English building contractor; though following Brunlers’ architectural design the building resembled more Brighton Pier than Cristal Palace.  The casino was sited on a platform measuring 6,500m² that was built at the end of a 130m long wooden pier itself linked to the beach. Its dome would be 20 metres high and topped with an arrow.  By October 1882 most of the external building had been completed and although the internal decors had yet to start, the terraces and exterior walkways were open to the public.

However, in the afternoon of April 4, 1883, just four days prior to its official inauguration, the casino was completely destroyed by fire, the dome crashing down and smashing everything in its wake. Luckily no one was injured but the cause of the fire was never known.

All that remained afterwards would be part of the gangway and entrance which, due to weather conditions, deteriorated further.  In December 1883 the installations were put up for auction but without any takers. That is until October 1886 when a certain Monsieur Lougarre stepped in and would do everything possible to save the Jetée.

By 1887 he had managed to find enough financing and, two years later in 1889, Préfet Raynet de Brancion once again gave his consent to build a casino. This time the project was managed by a Franco-Belgian group under the watchful eye of Denise, a Parisian architect, who gave the new casino a more oriental style.  A Niçoise constructor, Dumontel et Tombarel, was charged with its construction. The platform was raised 2m 10 above sea-level and held together by 250 piles. At the summit of the 35 metre high dome, a gold-plated mermaid held a three-pronged fork as turrets and minarets stood out against the skyline.

The Casino was inaugurated on the 10th January 1891 with the notable absence of the municipality authorities.  In 1907 it was embellished by Mathon, a member of the Académie des Beaux Arts when he added extra gaming rooms, concert halls and galleries.

At the start of World War I, the entire building was used to house injured soldiers but later found its festive vocation again.  It rapidly became the emblem of Nice and renowned for its concerts and popular balls, making its iron and glass silhouette a Mecca for high society in Nice for over half a century until it finally closed its doors on 20th December 1942.

Left abandoned during World War II, its copper, bronze and electrical cables would be stripped by the Italian Army. In January 1944 it then drew attention from the German Commission in charge of recovering iron scrap for the war effort and it was totally dismantled. The disappearance of this singular masterpiece and Niçoise landmark has been regretted by some, while others always found it an ugly blot on the beautiful curve of the Baie des Anges.

Although there is no change to the dusky dark pink of the Promenade’s surface, once you pass the Jardin Albert 1er you are actually in the area known as Les Ponchettes on Quai des Etats-Unis, formerly known as Quai du Midi.

Before we move on, let me draw your attention to a well known, but fading trompe-l’oeil: The Man Up a Ladder Painting a Palm Tree, as you'll see this image (not mine) in nearly every guide book of Nice. Financed by JC Decaux it was painted by the French mural artist, Fabio Rieti in 1984. The fun part of his mural is of course the real palm tree that is located to the left of my photo and throws a super shadow on his mural.

I'm sure you'll be delighted to know that we've now reached 'Old Nice', with its famous flower market in Cours Saleya just a few steps away and its exceptional Baroque and Renaissance architecture and wonderful narrow streets. I have already written about Cours Saleya which you can read by clicking here, so I'm going to continue our journey along Les Ponchettes and rejoin Cours Saleya from another direction later on in our article.