“Ghosts by daylight tug the passer’s sleeves” wrote Charles Baudelaire. And here we are on Rue du Bac. This street whispers tales of American and French encounters. Rue du Bac owes its name to a ferry. This ferry transported stone for the Palais des Tuileries around 1550. The street stretches 1150 meters long in the 7th arrondissement.
Rue du Bac has been known by several names. It was first named Grand Chemin du Bac. Later it was Ruelle du Bac and Grande Rue du Bac.
At number 1 on Rue du Bac Auguste Rolin and C. La Horgue built a structure in 1882-83.
Numbers 83 to 85 once housed a monastery. It was the Monastery of the Immaculate Conception built in 1637.
The Hôtel de Ségur stands at number 97. It’s also called Hôtel de Salm-Dyck. Pierre Henry Lemaître commissioned it in 1722. Madame de Staël held salons here from 1786 to 1792. She also used it again from 1796 to 1798.
You can find the Hôtel de La Feuillade at number 101.
Numbers 2 to 4 host the Caisse des dépôts et consignations. This public financial institution was created in 1816.
The door at number 40 opens to a passage. The Hôtel Cochin was inside. Charles de Montalembert once lived there.
André Malraux wrote part of Man’s Fate at number 44 in 1932.
Michel Varin sculpted panels for the door at number 46. These panels represent Prudence and Law.
A building from the 1830s stands at number 70.
The Hôtel de Sainte-Aldegonde is at number 102. It was built in the first half of the 18th century.
Sonia Mossé lived at number 104. She was an artist and actress. She was deported in 1943.
Pierre-Louis Baltard built a studio and house for himself at number 110. James McNeill Whistler occupied the ground floor from 1892 to 1901.
Two hotels stand at numbers 118 to 120. Claude Nicolas Lepas-Dubuisson built them for the Missions étrangères de Paris. François-René de Chateaubriand lived and died at number 120.
The Missions étrangères de Paris are at number 128. The chapel was built between 1683 and 1689.
Older buildings make up the Maison des Filles de la Charité de Saint-Vincent-de-Paul at numbers 136 to 140. The Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal is here. Saint Catherine Labouré is buried here.
The street was once a cattle-driving path. It led to a ferry across the Seine. The ferry went to what is now the Louvre.
The Marquis de Lafayette had a home not far from Rue du Bac. It makes you think about the American Colonies. What would have become of them without France?
Romain Gary lived at number 108. He was a friend to America. He worked as a screenwriter in Hollywood. He was also a consul of France in Los Angeles.
The ghosts of Rue du Bac whisper of revolution. They tell of art and literature. They speak of friendship between nations. They remind us that history is always present. It lingers in the stones and shadows of this remarkable street.