André Chave

André Chave was born in 1799.[1]

A major landowner of agricultural fields, he became a real estate developer as the city of Marseille grew.[1][2][3] As explained on his public bust, he developed the neighbourhood of Le Camas, and what later came to be known as the Boulevard Chave, both in the 5th arrondissement of Marseille.[3][4]

He had a son, Nicolas Chave, who inherited the neighbourhood developed by his father.[1][5] He commissioned architect Gaudensi Allar (1841-1904) to build a private residence on the corner of the Boulevard Chave and the Place Jean Jaurès.[6] The architect's brother, André-Joseph Allar (1845-1926), designed a bust of his father, which is still displayed there.[1][7]

He died in 1868.[1]

• The Boulevard Chave in Marseille is named in his honour.[8] It stretches from the Place Jean-Jaurès to Gare de Marseille-Blancarde.[8]
• The Théâtre Chave, a theatre near the Place Jean-Jaurès, was established in 1840; it closed down shortly after.[9]
• The Prison Chave was a jail on the corner of Rue Georges and Boulevard Chave.[10] Built in 1852, all capital punishment executions in Marseille were carried out in front of this jail from 1912 to 1934.[10] During World War II, it was used to jail Jews and members of the French Resistance, who published the newspaper L’Aube de la Liberté.[10] It was demolished in 1958.[10]