The Moulin Rouge Hotel was named after the famous Moulin Rouge (Red Windmill) of
Paris. The Moulin first opened
October 6, 1889, as a
music hall, in a building with a windmill motif. This was a symbol of
Louis XIV's reign, during which period the hills of
Montmartre were covered with
windmills. Another distinctive feature outside the building was a large stucco
elephant. Male guests who climbed into the elephant's belly via a
spiral staircase found a room with a
belly dancer.
Slightly skewed, erotic excess was the mode of le Moulin Rouge indoors as well, as evidenced by its most famous performance:
the Can-Can! -- and the man whose
posters made it famous,
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Other stars of the establishment included the salacious
Mistinguett (once the highest-paid female performer in the world) and an icon of
crude humor,
Le Petomane (a "
fartiste!").
Although the Moulin is no longer at the cutting edge of entertainment as it once was, it is still a major
tourist attraction, as well as a piece of
history. Several films have been made about the music hall and the can-can, including a 2001 film of the above title starring
Nicole Kidman.
Recordings from the old Moulin Rouge may be heard at http://www.retroactive.com/may98/moulin.html