Square Faidherbe

The Square Faidherbe marks a sharp break in the dense residential blocks of Le Pré-Saint-Gervais. It features a dense canopy of mature trees that hang over wrought iron benches and wide gravel paths. Before this ground became a public garden in the early twentieth century, it served as the site of a sprawling laundry facility. Washerwomen once worked here in the open air, scrubbing linens from Paris in the local spring water before the rapid urban expansion pushed their trade into history.