Place Blanche

Place Blanche gets its name from the thick clouds of white gypsum dust that once coated the ground here. This square sits at the foot of the Montmartre hill where workers hauled carts filled with plaster from the local quarries. In eighteen eighty-nine, the Moulin Rouge opened its doors on this very square, and its giant red windmill quickly became the marker for the district. The heavy carts are gone, but the windmill still spins above the evening traffic.