La Chat Noir, was a famous 19th century cabaret in Montmartre district of Paris.  The Chat Noir played a fundamental role in the development of Montmartre. Salis' "cabaret-artistique" opened in 1881 and became a gathering spot for avante-garde artists, poets, musicians and writers who used the cabaret as a sort of artisitic laboratory to recite poems, sing and exhibit paintings.  It was a bustling nightclub - part artisan salon, part rowdy music hall partially due to an illegal piano.  Cabaret published it's own journel Le Chat Noir.  The cabaret's name, chosen for its multiple associations with sources as diverse as Edgar Allen Poe and French folktales, itself became a leitmotif for the district. 
The black cat became the symbol of Montmartre.                                                                              
 

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