It is one of the earliest venues of the Parisian philatelic trade, and it was one of the first covered commercial passageways in Europe.

Its name came from an attraction built on the site; two large rotundas where panoramic paintings of Paris, Toulon, Rome, Jerusalem, and other famous cities were displayed.

They were a business venture of the American inventor Robert Fulton, who had come to Paris to offer his latest inventions, the steamboat, submarine, and torpedo, to Napoleon and the French Directory.

[2] In 1800, Paris streets were narrow, dark, muddy and crowded, and very few had sidewalks or lighting; they were very unpleasant for shopping.

Stern the famous engraver settled there in 1834, then merchants of postcards and postage stamps, and some restaurants moved in.