Built in 1852 by Hittorff, architect of the Gare du Nord railway station, the Napoléon circus staged shows during the winter when the Empress' summer circus on the Champs-Élysées was closed. It was decorated by some of the top artists of its time. Referred to as the Winter Circus from 1870, it has belonged to the Bouglione circus family since 1934. It also served as the location for the filming of a TV series popular in the 1950s in France, La piste aux étoiles.