“Who lived in the Hotel Saint-Florentin” you ask. Well buckle up because this street has a story. We’re standing on Avenue Florentine a street with a rich history. It wasn’t always called Avenue Florentine though. It began as a cul-de-sac named cul-de-sac de l’Orangerie. A rather unassuming start for such a prominent street.
In 1730 King Louis XV owned part of the land. The other part belonged to the financier Samuel Bernard. Imagine the opulent lives lived there. Think of the secrets whispered within those walls.
In 1758 the Place de la Concorde was created. The impasse became the Rue de l’Orangerie. Later it became Rue Saint-Florentin named after the Duc de la Vrillière. He was a minister and secretary of state. He built his mansion there. For many years the US Embassy in France resided in this very spot. George C Marshall and William Averell Harriman were among the notable figures who once walked these streets.
The Hotel Saint-Florentin is at number 2. This building has seen it all. It started with Louis Phélipeaux comte de Saint-Florentin around 1768. The architect was Jean-François-Thérese Chalgrin. The plans were by Ange-Jacques Gabriel. Imagine the craftsmanship.
It changed hands many times. Jacques-Charles de Fitz-James bought it in 1777. Natalya Golitsyna lived there in 1783. She moved to Paris for her children’s education. Maria Anna zu Salm-Salm the widow of the 12th Duke of the Infantado owned it. Then the Venetian Ambassador Almoro Pisani lived there until 1792. Lazare Carnot another important figure lived there after.
Around 1800 José Martínez de Hervás became the owner. The Prussian ambassador Girolamo Lucchesini lived there in 1801. Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord bought it in 1812. He lived there with his mistress his daughter and his famous cook Marie-Antoine Carême.
James Mayer de Rothschild bought the mansion in 1838. He never lived there but kept the cook. His son Alphonse lived there with his family. Dorothea Lieven rented it until 1857. Édouard Alphonse de Rothschild inherited it in 1906. In 1939 Jacqueline Piatigorsky left France. The mansion was requisitioned by the Vichy Government. After the war Maurice Thorez briefly used it. Then in 1949 George C Marshall moved in. The US Embassy bought it in 1950.
The Hotel Saint-Florentin housed the US Consulate in Paris until 2007. It is a building full of history. It witnessed pivotal moments in French and global history. It’s more than just a street. It’s a living timeline of significant events and influential people. It’s a piece of living history. We are truly privileged to be standing here.