It is a very working class, typically Parisian area built on the site of the former village of Chapelle Saint-Denis, between the Belleville and Montmartre hills. The village was located on the road between the city center and the Abbaye Saint-Denis. The village changed very little until the Industrial Revolution. Today, the railroads separate this part of the 18th arrondissement from the excitement of Montmartre. A historically poor neighborhood, Marx Dormoy has retained this character even though gentrification tends to be felt in some parts.