The Princes passage dates back to 1860, put up by a chap with a dazzling career: he had top and flops, he was the businessman Jules Mirès. Who knew humiliation and fall...
He was born in Bordeaux (South-West France) in 1809.
Jules then moved in Paris in 1836, to make juicy business. And he had not time to sit and twiddle his thumbs: he founded the famous newspaper Le Petit Journal, founded the Crédit mobilier bank, owned Marseille’s Gas Society... whoa!
But one day, he lost everything, after a fraud trial in 1861.
Whoosh, he was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. Jules was acquitted. But he could kiss goodbye his perfect career... He died in 1871.
Jules Mirès bought the Princes town house raised in 1806 to get back the plot of land and re-raised his passage. The primitive passage was destroyed in 1985 and rebuilt 10 years later!