Porte de Ménilmontant, City gate in 20th arrondissement, France.
The gate stands at the intersection of Boulevard Mortier and Rue du Surmelin in eastern Paris and marks a historical entrance to the city. This structure sits within a residential area and serves as an orientation point in the urban street network.
The gate was built in the 1840s as part of defensive fortifications ordered by Prime Minister Adolphe Thiers to protect Paris. These fortifications represented a major security response of that era.
This location has long served as a transition point between inner Paris and outer neighborhoods where daily urban routines unfold. Today it still carries the character of a district where different generations of residents move through the streets.
The location is accessible via public transportation including RATP bus line 61 and the Île-de-France tramway line 3b. Proximity to multiple transport options makes reaching this spot straightforward.
Photographs by Eugène Atget from 1907 show daily operations around the gate and document neighborhood life of that time. These visual records preserve an image of earlier Paris that has since vanished.
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