This street was opened in 1772 along the gardens of the Collège des Bernardins, founded in 1246. At the time of the Revolution, the building served as a staging-point for prisoners condemned as galley slaves, and in 1845 it was converted into a fire station. The refectory, at n° 20, with its three ogive-vaulted aisles divided into 17 bays, is one of the most beautiful Gothic halls in Paris.