Was it fate that led Monsieur Marbeau to acquire this land? Rue Marbeau whispers tales of Parisian history. It sits in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. It is a public road in the northwest.
Rue Marbeau begins at 54, Rue Pergolèse. It ends at 38, Boulevard Marbeau. This is also the Boulevard de l’Amiral-Bruix. The street faces the south corner of Square Alexandre-et-René-Parodi.
The road follows a northwest to southeast axis. Though named “rue,” it is longer and wider than Boulevard Marbeau. Rue Marbeau stretches 203 meters long and 12 meters wide. Boulevard Marbeau is only 96 meters long and 6 meters wide.
The street owes its name to the Marbeau family. They once owned the land stretching from the Trocadéro to Place Dauphine.
The creation of Villa Dupont came about in 1851. Mr. Marbeau acquired land sold by auction. This land was once part of Casimir Périer’s property. It sat south of Porte Maillot, between Rue du Petit-Parc now Rue Pergolèse, and the military road of fortifications, now Boulevard de l’Amiral-Bruix. This stretched to the location of current Avenue Foch.
This land was part of the old pheasantry. It was also called “Petit-Parc”. It extended north of the main park of the Château de la Muette “Grand Parc”. This reached the current location of the OECD. It formed the boundary of the former towns of Neuilly and Passy.
The land of this dependency of the castle was sold as national property in 1796. It went to the Comte de Saint-Simon. It then passed to Casimir Périer, future minister of Louis-Philippe. A land swap then occurred with Paul Dupont. He owned the neighboring land.
Classified in the Parisian road network, Rue Marbeau holds stories within its buildings. Number 3 was once the location of the Hôtel Péneau built in 1907. Today, it is destroyed. Number 17 was the home of Georges Batault. He hid Jean Paulhan. Paulhan had been denounced as Jewish. Number 20 houses the Embassy of Comoros in France. From 1973 to 1990, number 24 was the Embassy of the German Democratic Republic. After German reunification, it became part of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany. The German embassy also possesses numbers 26 and 28. Number 26 is the former mansion of Raymond Poincaré. He died there.
As we stand on Rue Marbeau, remember the families and figures who shaped its story. From landowners to diplomats, their presence lingers.