Café de la Gare, Historic theater in Le Marais, Paris, France

Café de la Gare occupies a pale stone building of five bays across three levels at 41 rue du Temple, in the 4th arrondissement. Above the ground floor, whose central recessed doorway is flanked by tall glazed doors and white-framed windows, an illuminated sign reads "CAFE DE LA GARE". Two upper levels each hold five tall rectangular windows with white frames and small black metal balconies; curved stone molding caps the top windows. The hall seats 450.

Founded in 1969 by Romain Bouteille with Coluche, Sotha, Patrick Dewaere, Miou-Miou and Henri Guybet, the Café de la Gare began in a restored fan factory in passage d'Odessa near Montparnasse station. In 1971 it moved to 41 rue du Temple, into a 17th-century former post house called the Auberge de l'Aigle d'Or, becoming the capital's largest café-theatre with 450 seats.

The name refers to the Gare de Paris-Montparnasse, near the old fan factory where the troupe began. The founders were actors, not impresarios: Coluche, Romain Bouteille, Sotha, Patrick Dewaere, Miou-Miou and Henri Guybet pooled their fees. Early audiences drew their seat price from a lottery wheel turned by a performer, and were handed a drink and a cushion, often thrown at them.

The entrance is at 41 rue du Temple, at the western end of the Marais, in the 4th arrondissement. The auditorium seats 450, making it one of the largest café-theatres in Paris, so seats are usually available. The building is a 17th-century former coaching inn, the Auberge de l'Aigle d'Or.

The founding members implemented an equal profit-sharing system without hierarchical management, allowing performers complete control over their artistic content.