Square Colbert

Square Colbert sits behind a simple iron railing, distinguished by the massive, weathered statue of the nineteenth century statesman Jean-Baptiste Colbert looming over its benches. The small garden covers what was once the site of a complex of industrial workshops and courtyards known as the Cour des Miracles of the east side. In eighteen eighty-two, the city cleared these dense, ramshackle tenements to create a light-filled space for local workers to rest, permanently changing the character of this dense neighborhood block.