La Java, a dance hall on rue du Faubourg-du-Temple since 1923

La Java, a dance hall turned club on rue du Faubourg-du-Temple, opened in 1923 in the basement of the Palais du Commerce, at number 105, in Belleville. The arcade, built in 1923 and 1924 by the architect Ferdinand Bauguil, gathers some fifty shops and workshops around galleries lit by glass bricks and a skylight.

La Java became one of the most famous dance halls in Paris. Django Reinhardt played his guitar here, Jean Gabin and Fréhel came by, Maurice Chevalier made his debut and Édith Piaf is said to have taken her first steps here. Musette, accordion and swing followed one another.

The hall later turned to rock and Latin music, then to electronic music. The Palais du Commerce was listed as a historic monument in 1994; its stained glass, wrought-iron stairs and mosaics remain. In 2009 and 2010 Mathieu Boogaerts sang here every Wednesday and recorded an album.

Today the house calls itself the oldest club in France. In the evening, people go down the steps for concerts, then the room becomes an electro, house and techno club until dawn, in the heart of Belleville, in the 10th arrondissement.