Built in 1842 and named in honor of landowner André Chave, it has had a tramline since 1892.

[2] The boulevard was named in honor of André Chave (1799–1868), a landowner and real estate developer.

[4] On the corner of the Boulevard Chave and the Rue George, a prison was built in the 1850s.

[7] On the west side, they built an underground tram tunnel, going all the way to the Gare de Noailles.

[7][8] The boulevard was mentioned by French novelist Émile Zola in Chapter 13 of his 1895 novel entitled Les Mystères de Marseille.