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Pulp Marseille

Page history last edited by Michael 5 years, 9 months ago

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  1. Districts
    1. Vieux Port
    2. Le Panier
    3. Nouveau Port
    4. La Canebière
    5. La Corniche
    6. Islands
  2. Transport
    1. Shipping
    2. Rail Travel 
  3. Culture
    1. Food
  4. Crime

 

MARSEILLE, France

Population 900,000

 

Hotels for Officers. SPLENDIDE, 61 Boulevard Dugommier, tel. C.69.77, rooms Fr. 60 up. GRAND, 66 La Canebière, tel. C.09.38, rooms Fr. 60 up. DE GENEVE, Place du Change, tel. C.03.46, rooms Fr. 35 up. BEAUVAU, 4 rue Beauvau, tel. D.08.49, rooms Fr. 40 up.

 

Seamen's Homes. SAILORS' CLUB (Mediterranean Mission to Seamen), 36 rue de Forbin, 80 men. Restaurant. Reading and writing rooms, library. CATHOLIC SEAMENS' CLUB (Apostleship of the Sea), 25 rue de Forbin.

 

Seamen's Banks. American Express Co., 13 La Canebière.

 

Seamen's Agency and Legal Aid. American Consulate. Work ashore not permitted.

 

Hospitals. Hotel-Dieu, Place Daviel, tel. Ga.69.72. Hopital de la Conception, 136 rue Saint Pierre, tel. Ga.07.88.

 

Venereal Disease Clinics. Hotel-Dieu (Tues., Fri., 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.; free). Hopital de la Conception (Thurs., 5 to 7 p.m.; Sun., 10 a.m.; free). Maritime Sanitary Service, Esplanade de la Tourette (daily, 8:30 to 10 a.m.; free).

 

Physicians. Dr. Rodocanachi, 21 rue Roux de Brignoles, tel. D 29-25. Dr. E. Hawthorn, 268 rue Paradis, tel. D 30-01.

 

Dentists. L. F. Kelsey, 2 Place de Muy, tel. D.39.19. M. L. Joseph, 2 Cours Belzunce, tel. C.40.07. Maurice Achard, 63 rue Paradis, tel. D.55.85.

 

Laundries. Fraissinet, with agencies throughout the city.

 

Amusements. Opera:  Municipal Opera House. Theatre:  Gymnase. Musical comedy:  Varietes. Moving pictures:  Odeon, Capitole, Pathe Palace, Rialto, Rex, Star (with frequent talking films in English). Sports at Parc Borely.

 

Points of Interest. Cathedral. Notre Dame de la Garde. Saint Victor. Musee des Beaux Arts. Palais de Longchamp. Vieux Marseille. Borely. The island of Chateau d'If (of Monte Cristo fame), by boat from the "old port". The "old port" area includes the city hall, the unusual transporter bridge, two forts, and is quaint and picturesque. The Rove tunnel-canal navigated by small craft. The Tourist Office, 2 La Canebière, give information free of charge.

 

Consulates. American Consulate, British Consulate General.

 

-- from The Seamen's Handbook for Shore Leave, 1944.

 

 

Districts

 

Vieux Port

 

     Ferryboats, fishing boats, yachts, and other small craft -- larger vessels don't berth here. Many warehouses, lower class dwellings, brothels and bars -- mostly mediaeval buildings. In the coming war, it's a haunt for the Resistance and other people avoiding the Germans and Vichy forces -- in January of 1943, the Germans and French clear everyone out and blow it all up one day. Some very fancy yacht clubs have their facilities in the old port.

 

Le Panier

 

     To the north of the old port is another mediaeval "bad part of town". Markets and warehouses here.

 

Nouveau Port

 

     Amore modern port dating from the Second Empire, consisting of several large basins further north from the Old Port. All larger vessels dock here; shipyards are also located here.

     Oil refineries, chemical plants, and shipyards lie to the east of the new port.

 

La Canebière

 

     The main commercial area, east of the old port. Stores, shops, hotels, exchanges, and office buildings line this wide boulevard and the adjacent streets. At the far east end of this line of boulevards is Longchamps Palace (actually a water tower in disguise!).

 

La Corniche

 

     A coastal area, extending to the main sandy beach (Plage du Prado). Lots of small, isolated beaches, and (relatively -- this isn't Cannes) expensive homes and villas. The city's largest park, Parc Borèly, is here.

 

Islands

 

     An archipelago of four islands at the edge of the bay includes the famous Chateau d'If.

 

 

Transport

 

Shipping

 

    "Indian Mail" ships leave and arrive every day -- mostly British and French companies from this harbor.  

 

Rail Travel 

 

    Some express trains of note that stop in Marseille (St. Charles station; 862 km from Paris):

 

 

Culture

 

    The people of Marseille are notorious throughout France for being incorrigible chatterboxes; and the town has a reputation of being France's breeding-ground for gangsters. 

 

Food

 

     Marseille, and particularly the restaurants of the Old Port and of La Canebière in the heart of Marseille, is famous for its bouillabaisse. 

 

Crime

 

     Paul "C-Bone" Carbone, a Corsican, is the leader of the local Mafia. He owns many brothels, engages in racketeering, and earns much money smuggling Parmesan cheese into France from Italy. In the Twenties, he became the first gangster to begin importing opium from Indochina and transforming it into heroin for the American market. The (fascist) mayor and many local politicians are allies of his; his Corsican mafiosi have helped local companies put down strikes, etc. Carbone became a noted collaborator during WW2, and was killed by the Resistance.

 

 

Sources:

 

  • Baedeker's International Trade Developer - American Commercial Gazetteer, pub. 1929 by the International Transportation Association, Washington D.C.

  • The Seamen's Handbook for Shore Leave, edited by Mrs. Henry Howard, pub. 1944 (Eighth Edition) by the New York & American Merchant Marine Library Association, New York City

  • Eugene Fodor's 1936 … On The Continent; pub. (facsimile) 1986 by Hodder & Stoughton, London

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