Place des États-Unis
Encyclopedia
The Place des États-Unis (United States Plaza) is a public space
in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France, about 500 m south of the Place de l'Etoile
and the Arc de Triomphe
.
It consists of a plaza, approximately 140 metres long and thirty metres wide, tree-lined, well-landscaped, and circumscribed by streets, forming a pleasant and shady vest-pocket park
. The park is officially named Square Thomas Jefferson, but buildings facing it (on three sides) have Place-des-États-Unis addresses. The eastern end of the square, however, is capped by the Avenue d'Iéna
and a confluence of streets known as the Place de l'Amiral de Grasse. These streets, all of which debouche into the eastern end of Place des États-Unis, are the Rue Freycinet
, Rue de Lübeck
, Rue de Bassano
, and the Rue Georges Bizet
.
Other streets entering the Place des États-Unis include: the Rue de l'Amiral d'Estaing
, which enters from the south; the Rue Galilée
, which transits the western end of Square Thomas Jefferson; and the Rue Dumont d'Urville which enters the northwestern corner.
water reservoirs. (They were reconstructed in 1866 on higher ground, in the triangle formed by three streets: Lauriston
, Paul Valéry
, and Copernic
, about two hundred metres to the west-northwest.) The Place des États-Unis was originally called Place de Bitche to honor a village in the Moselle
department in northeastern France that valiantly resisted a Prussia
n invasion during the Franco-Prussian War
of 1870.
The square's name was changed when Levi P. Morton
, the American ambassador, saw fit, in 1881, to establish his residence and his country's embassy
there after abandoning unsuitable offices a few blocks away at 95, Rue de Chaillot. The similarity between the name of the Moselle village (Bitche
) and the slightly off-color English word, bitch, made the Americans uncomfortable, so the chargé d'affaires
prevailed upon the préfet
for the Seine department to change the name to something less risible. The French official arranged for the name, Place de Bitche, to be transferred to another site in the 19th arrondissement, near the Pont de Crimée, and rechristened the square
outside Mr. Morton's legation, Place des États-Unis.
by Frédéric Bartholdi was erected in the center of the Place des États-Unis, directly in front of the American diplomatic mission. Purchased by the Committee of Americans in Paris and offered to the City of Paris, the model was a fund-raising tool, displayed with the aim of inspiring support for the building of the full-sized statue and its transport across the Atlantic. The model remained in place until 1888.
Famed publisher, Joseph Pulitzer
(1847–1911), impressed by the work Bartholdi had done in executing the Statue of Liberty, commissioned him to produce another statue, one emblematic of the French-American friendship. The subject matter, General George Washington
and Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, comrades-in-arms during the American Revolutionary War
, was an easy choice. The sculptor designed the bronze statue, which depicts Washington and Lafayette on a marble plinth, clothed in military uniforms, shaking hands; the French and American flags serve as a backdrop. Dedicated in 1895, the statue was installed in the Place des États-Unis. A few years later, Charles Broadway Rouss, the New York City department-store tycoon, purchased an exact replica of the Washington-and-Lafayette statue which he donated to the people of New York City for placement in Morningside Park in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan
.
(1815–1848), who was a pioneer in the use of anesthesia
. The monument was dedicated on 27 March 1910 during the tenth session of the FDI World Dental Federation
, which was then known as the Fédération dentaire internationale. On the right side of the base of the monument, the sculptor, René Bertrand-Boutée, incised the medallion of the physiologist, Paul Bert
, who was also an early experimenter in anaesthetics, respiration, and asphyxia.
On 4 July 1923, the President of the French Council of State
, Raymond Poincaré
, dedicated a monument in the Place des États-Unis to the Americans who had volunteered to fight in World War I in the service of France. The monument, in the form of a bronze statue on a plinth
, executed by Jean Boucher
(1870–1939), had been financed through a public subscription. Boucher had used a photograph of the soldier and poet, Alan Seeger
, as his inspiration, and Seeger's name can be found, among those of twenty-three others who had fallen in the ranks of the French Foreign Legion
, on the back of the plinth. Also, on either side of the base of the statue, are two excerpts from Seeger's "Ode in Memory of the American Volunteers Fallen for France", a poem written shortly before his death on 4 July 1916. Seeger intended that his words should be read in Paris on 30 May of that year, at an observance of the American holiday, Decoration Day
(later known as Memorial Day):
(Also see the article entitled, Lafayette Escadrille
, for more information about Americans fighting on behalf of France during World War I.)
Town square
A town square is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, and town green.Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets,...
in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France, about 500 m south of the Place de l'Etoile
Place de l'Étoile
The Place Charles de Gaulle, , historically known as the Place de l'Étoile , is a large road junction in Paris, France, the meeting point of twelve straight avenues including the Champs-Élysées which continues to the east. It was renamed in 1970 following the death of General and President Charles...
and the Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe
-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...
.
It consists of a plaza, approximately 140 metres long and thirty metres wide, tree-lined, well-landscaped, and circumscribed by streets, forming a pleasant and shady vest-pocket park
Pocket park
A pocket park, parkette or mini-park is a small park accessible to the general public. In some areas they are called miniparks or vest-pocket parks....
. The park is officially named Square Thomas Jefferson, but buildings facing it (on three sides) have Place-des-États-Unis addresses. The eastern end of the square, however, is capped by the Avenue d'Iéna
Avenue d'Iéna
The Avenue d'Iéna is a tree-lined avenue in the XVIe arrondissement of Paris, running from the Trocadéro to the Place de l'Étoile. Passing through Place d'Iéna, Place de l'Amiral de Grasse, Place de l'Uruguay and Place Richard de Coudenhove Kalergi on the way...
and a confluence of streets known as the Place de l'Amiral de Grasse. These streets, all of which debouche into the eastern end of Place des États-Unis, are the Rue Freycinet
Louis de Freycinet
Louis Claude de Saulces de Freycinet was a French navigator. He circumnavigated the earth, and was one of the first to produce a comprehensive map of the coastline of Australia.-Biography:...
, Rue de Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
, Rue de Bassano
Hugues-Bernard Maret, duc de Bassano
Hugues-Bernard Maret, 1st Duc de Bassano was a French statesman and journalist.-Early career:Born at Dijon , he received a solid education, and then entered the legal profession – becoming a lawyer at the King's Council in Paris...
, and the Rue Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
.
Other streets entering the Place des États-Unis include: the Rue de l'Amiral d'Estaing
Charles Hector, comte d'Estaing
Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, comte d'Estaing was a French general, and admiral. He began his service as a soldier in the War of the Austrian Succession, briefly spending time as a prisoner of war of the British during the Seven Years' War...
, which enters from the south; the Rue Galilée
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
, which transits the western end of Square Thomas Jefferson; and the Rue Dumont d'Urville which enters the northwestern corner.
Name origin
The area around the Place des États-Unis was created by the destruction of the old PassyPassy
Passy is an area of Paris, France, located in the XVIe arrondissement, on the Right Bank. It is traditionally home to many of the city's wealthiest residents.Passy was formerly a commune...
water reservoirs. (They were reconstructed in 1866 on higher ground, in the triangle formed by three streets: Lauriston
Jacques Lauriston
Jacques Alexandre Bernard Law, marquis de Lauriston was a French soldier and diplomat of Scottish descent, the son of Jacques François Law de Lauriston , and a general officer in the French army during the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in Pondicherry in India...
, Paul Valéry
Paul Valéry
Ambroise-Paul-Toussaint-Jules Valéry was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. His interests were sufficiently broad that he can be classified as a polymath...
, and Copernic
Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance astronomer and the first person to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe....
, about two hundred metres to the west-northwest.) The Place des États-Unis was originally called Place de Bitche to honor a village in the Moselle
Moselle
Moselle is a department in the east of France named after the river Moselle.- History :Moselle is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
department in northeastern France that valiantly resisted a Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n invasion during the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
of 1870.
The square's name was changed when Levi P. Morton
Levi P. Morton
Levi Parsons Morton was a Representative from New York and the 22nd Vice President of the United States . He also later served as the 31st Governor of New York.-Biography:...
, the American ambassador, saw fit, in 1881, to establish his residence and his country's embassy
Embassy of the United States in Paris
The Embassy of the United States in Paris, France, is the United States oldest diplomatic mission. Benjamin Franklin and some of the other Founding Fathers were the earliest United States Ambassadors to France.It is located at 2 avenue Gabriel, on the northwest corner of the Place de la Concorde,...
there after abandoning unsuitable offices a few blocks away at 95, Rue de Chaillot. The similarity between the name of the Moselle village (Bitche
Bitche
Bitche is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.It is known for its large citadel. The surrounding territory is known as le Pays de Bitche in French and Bitscherland in German.-Geography:...
) and the slightly off-color English word, bitch, made the Americans uncomfortable, so the chargé d'affaires
Chargé d'affaires
In diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission, either on a temporary basis or when no more senior diplomat has been accredited.-Chargés d’affaires:Chargés d’affaires , who were...
prevailed upon the préfet
Préfet
A prefect in France is the State's representative in a department or region. Sub-prefects are responsible for the subdivisions of departments, arrondissements...
for the Seine department to change the name to something less risible. The French official arranged for the name, Place de Bitche, to be transferred to another site in the 19th arrondissement, near the Pont de Crimée, and rechristened the square
Town square
A town square is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, and town green.Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets,...
outside Mr. Morton's legation, Place des États-Unis.
The Statue of Liberty
On 13 May 1885, a bronze model of the Statue of LibertyStatue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
by Frédéric Bartholdi was erected in the center of the Place des États-Unis, directly in front of the American diplomatic mission. Purchased by the Committee of Americans in Paris and offered to the City of Paris, the model was a fund-raising tool, displayed with the aim of inspiring support for the building of the full-sized statue and its transport across the Atlantic. The model remained in place until 1888.
Famed publisher, Joseph Pulitzer
Joseph Pulitzer
Joseph Pulitzer April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911), born Politzer József, was a Hungarian-American newspaper publisher of the St. Louis Post Dispatch and the New York World. Pulitzer introduced the techniques of "new journalism" to the newspapers he acquired in the 1880s and became a leading...
(1847–1911), impressed by the work Bartholdi had done in executing the Statue of Liberty, commissioned him to produce another statue, one emblematic of the French-American friendship. The subject matter, General George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
and Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, comrades-in-arms during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, was an easy choice. The sculptor designed the bronze statue, which depicts Washington and Lafayette on a marble plinth, clothed in military uniforms, shaking hands; the French and American flags serve as a backdrop. Dedicated in 1895, the statue was installed in the Place des États-Unis. A few years later, Charles Broadway Rouss, the New York City department-store tycoon, purchased an exact replica of the Washington-and-Lafayette statue which he donated to the people of New York City for placement in Morningside Park in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
.
Monument to Horace Wells
The Place des États-Unis (Square Thomas Jefferson) is the site of a monument to the American dentist, Horace WellsHorace Wells
Horace Wells was an American dentist who pioneered the use of anaesthesia in dentistry, specifically nitrous oxide .-Life:...
(1815–1848), who was a pioneer in the use of anesthesia
Anesthesia
Anesthesia, or anaesthesia , traditionally meant the condition of having sensation blocked or temporarily taken away...
. The monument was dedicated on 27 March 1910 during the tenth session of the FDI World Dental Federation
FDI World Dental Federation
The FDI World Dental Federation, established in Paris in 1900 as the Fédération dentaire internationale, is the world's leading organization representing the dental profession...
, which was then known as the Fédération dentaire internationale. On the right side of the base of the monument, the sculptor, René Bertrand-Boutée, incised the medallion of the physiologist, Paul Bert
Paul Bert
Paul Bert was a French zoologist, physiologist and politician. He is sometimes given the sobriquet "Father of Aviation Medicine".-Life:Bert was born at Auxerre...
, who was also an early experimenter in anaesthetics, respiration, and asphyxia.
On 4 July 1923, the President of the French Council of State
Council of State
The Council of State is a unique governmental body in a country or subdivision thereoff, though its nature may range from the formal name for the cabinet to a non-executive advisory body surrounding a head of state. It is sometimes regarded as the equivalent of a privy council.-Modern:*Belgian...
, Raymond Poincaré
Raymond Poincaré
Raymond Poincaré was a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France on five separate occasions and as President of France from 1913 to 1920. Poincaré was a conservative leader primarily committed to political and social stability...
, dedicated a monument in the Place des États-Unis to the Americans who had volunteered to fight in World War I in the service of France. The monument, in the form of a bronze statue on a plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
, executed by Jean Boucher
Jean Boucher (artist)
Jean Boucher was a French sculptor based in Brittany. He is best known for his public memorial sculptures which communicated his liberal politics and patriotic dedication to France and Brittany.-Early years:Boucher was born in Cesson-Sévigné near Rennes, Brittany...
(1870–1939), had been financed through a public subscription. Boucher had used a photograph of the soldier and poet, Alan Seeger
Alan Seeger
Alan Seeger was an American poet who fought and died in World War I serving in the French Foreign Legion. A statue to his memory and to...
, as his inspiration, and Seeger's name can be found, among those of twenty-three others who had fallen in the ranks of the French Foreign Legion
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
, on the back of the plinth. Also, on either side of the base of the statue, are two excerpts from Seeger's "Ode in Memory of the American Volunteers Fallen for France", a poem written shortly before his death on 4 July 1916. Seeger intended that his words should be read in Paris on 30 May of that year, at an observance of the American holiday, Decoration Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
(later known as Memorial Day):
They did not pursue worldly rewards; they wanted nothing more than to live without regret, brothers pledged to the honor implicit in living one's own life and dying one's own death. Hail, brothers! Goodbye to you, the exalted dead! To you, we owe two debts of gratitude forever: the glory of having died for France, and the homage due to you in our memories.
(Also see the article entitled, Lafayette Escadrille
Lafayette Escadrille
The Lafayette Escadrille , was an escadrille of the French Air Service, the Aéronautique militaire, during World War I composed largely of American volunteer pilots flying fighters.-History:Dr. Edmund L...
, for more information about Americans fighting on behalf of France during World War I.)
Notable buildings in the Place des États-Unis
- No. 1, Place des États-Unis: the embassy of KuwaitKuwaitThe State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
. Originally the townhouse of the Countess Roza Branicka (1863–1941), this place was also a gathering-place for Polish immigrants at the beginning of the twentieth century.
- No. 2: The Ephrussi Mansion. Constructed in 1886 by Ernest SansonErnest SansonPaul Ernest Sanson was a French architect trained in the Beaux-Arts manner.Sanson entered the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris at the age of eighteen, and followed the courses offered by Émile Gilbert...
for the banker, Jules EphrussiEphrussi familyThe Ephrussi family were a Jewish banking and oil dynasty who originated in Odessa, Ukraine. The family were elevated to the nobility by the Habsburg emperor. The family controlled large-scale oil resources in the Crimea and the Caucasus. They had made their initial fortune controlling grain...
(1846–1915). In 1922, it was acquired by the Egyptian king, Fuad IFuad I of EgyptFuad I was the Sultan and later King of Egypt and Sudan, Sovereign of Nubia, Kordofan, and Darfur. The ninth ruler of Egypt and Sudan from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, he became Sultan of Egypt and Sudan in 1917, succeeding his elder brother Sultan Hussein Kamel...
, whose eventual fall from power prompted the successor government, the Republic of Egypt, to seize it for use as the residence of its ambassador to France.
- No. 3: Here, the American ambassador, Levi Morton, established his residence and, for a brief period, the offices of the entire American legation. The American novelist, Edith WhartonEdith WhartonEdith Wharton , was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, short story writer, and designer.- Early life and marriage:...
, also lived here for a time.
- No. 3B: Embassy of BahrainBahrain' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
. This small brick-and-stone building was built for Olga von Meyendorff (1838–1926) before becoming the home of the painter, Théobald ChartranTheobald ChartranThéobald Chartran was a classical French propaganda painter.As 'T', he was one of the artists responsible for occasional caricatures of Vanity Fair magazine, specializing in French and Italian subjects...
, and his wife, Sylvie. The Chartrans' place was the haunt of artists, writers, and politicians.
- No. 4: The Deutsch de la Meurthe Mansion. Originally constructed for the industrialist and aviation pioneer, Henry Deutsch de la Meurthe (1846–1919), this building was, during World War II, occupied by the GestapoGestapoThe Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
. Beginning in the late 1940s, it was the residence of Francine Worms-Weisweiller (1916–2003), a descendant of the Deutsch de la Meurthe family, who was the patron of Jean CocteauJean CocteauJean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, playwright, artist and filmmaker. His circle of associates, friends and lovers included Kenneth Anger, Pablo Picasso, Jean Hugo, Jean Marais, Henri Bernstein, Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel, Erik Satie, María...
, and her husband, the American financier, Alec Weisweiller.
- No. 6: Former home of Prince Alexander Bariatinski (1870–1910) and of the princess who was born Catherine Alexandrovna YurievskayaCatherine YurievskayaPrincess Catherine Alexandrovna Yurievskaya , was the natural daughter of Alexander II of Russia by his mistress, later his wife, Catherine Dolgorukov. In her own family she was known as Katia...
(1878–1959), the daughter of Czar Alexander IIAlexander II of RussiaAlexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
of Russia. Today, it is a showroom for the wares of the crystal-maker, Arc InternationalArc International (tableware)Arc International is a French manufacturer and distributor of household goods. The company was established in Arques, Pas-de-Calais, where it is still headquartered, as a glass-making firm under the name Verrerie des Sept Ecluses in 1825...
, formerly known as Cristallerie d'Arques
- No. 7: A building constructed on the site of the townhouse Ida RubinsteinIda RubinsteinIda Lvovna Rubinstein was a Russian ballerina, actress, patron and Belle Époque figure.- Early life :Born in Kharkov, or possibly St. Petersburg,p408 into a wealthy Jewish family, Rubinstein was orphaned at an early age. She had, by the standard of Russian ballet, little formal training. Tutored...
, the dancer and patron of the arts, moved into in 1921. Nothing is left of her home, which was designed and decorated by the great Léon BakstLéon BakstLéon Samoilovitch Bakst was a Russian painter and scene- and costume designer. He was a member of the Sergei Diaghilev circle and the Ballets Russes, for which he designed exotic, richly coloured sets and costumes...
. The Nazis seized her valuables during their World War II occupation of Paris. Whether the house was razed as an act of wanton destruction or whether it came down under other circumstances is unclear; sources vary.
- No. 8: This attractive private houseHôtel particulierIn French contexts an hôtel particulier is an urban "private house" of a grand sort. Whereas an ordinary maison was built as part of a row, sharing party walls with the houses on either side and directly fronting on a street, an hôtel particulier was often free-standing, and by the 18th century it...
belonged, at the beginning of the twentieth century, to M. Saint-Paul, an influential counselor of state. Then it housed the renowned literary salon of the poet, Edmée de La Rochefoucauld (1895–1991), a cultivated environment often referred to as the waiting room for the prestigious French Academy.
- No. 10: The De Brantes Building, presently occupied by lawyers' offices.
- No. 11: The Bischoffsheim Building, also called the De Noailles Building, was constructed in 1895 by Ernest Sanson for the financier, Raphaël-Louis Bischoffsheim (1823–1906), and subsequently occupied by his granddaughter, the Viscountess Marie-Laure de NoaillesMarie-Laure de NoaillesMarie-Laure de Noailles, Vicomtesse de Noailles , was one of the 20th century's most daring and influential patrons of the arts, noted for her associations with Salvador Dalí, Balthus, Jean Cocteau, Man Ray, Luis Buñuel, Francis Poulenc, Jean Hugo, Jean-Michel Frank and others as well as her...
(1902–1970), who provided there a haven for artists and writers. Madame de Noailles supported artistic luminaries such as Jean CocteauJean CocteauJean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, playwright, artist and filmmaker. His circle of associates, friends and lovers included Kenneth Anger, Pablo Picasso, Jean Hugo, Jean Marais, Henri Bernstein, Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel, Erik Satie, María...
, Luis BuñuelLuis BuñuelLuis Buñuel Portolés was a Spanish-born filmmaker — later a naturalized citizen of Mexico — who worked in Spain, Mexico, France and the US..-Early years:...
, and Man RayMan RayMan Ray , born Emmanuel Radnitzky, was an American artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France. Perhaps best described simply as a modernist, he was a significant contributor to both the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal...
. She lived at the Place des Etats-Unis from age eighteen until her death in 1970. During her tenure there, she was renowned for throwing exquisite parties and cultural soirees where the guest list often included the likes of Pablo PicassoPablo PicassoPablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
, Alberto GiacomettiAlberto GiacomettiAlberto Giacometti was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draughtsman, and printmaker.Alberto Giacometti was born in the canton Graubünden's southerly alpine valley Val Bregaglia and came from an artistic background; his father, Giovanni, was a well-known post-Impressionist painter...
, Picabia, BalthusBalthusBalthasar Klossowski de Rola , best known as Balthus, was an esteemed but controversial Polish-French modern artist....
, Henri MatisseHenri MatisseHenri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter...
, and Salvador DalíSalvador DalíSalvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
. The house later belonged to the Syrian-born Saudi arms dealer, Akram OjjehAkram OjjehAkram Ojjeh was a Syrian born Saudi businessman. Ojjeh founded Techniques d'Avant Garde, an investment company focused on advanced technologies. Ojjeh was an intermediary in deals between Saudi Arabia and France, particularly arms sales. Ojjeh brokered the sale of tanks, aircraft, Thomson...
, then to his widow, Nahed, who sold it to the crystal-maker, BaccaratBaccarat (company)Baccarat Crystal is a manufacturer of fine crystal glassware located in Baccarat, France. The company owns two museums: the Musée Baccarat in Baccarat, Meurthe-et-Moselle and the Galerie-Musée Baccarat, on the Place des États-Unis in Paris...
. This firm renovated the building with the help of the designer, Phillipe Starck, in order to open a luxurious showroom there, a facility it calls "a museum of crystal"Musée BaccaratThe Musée Baccarat is a private museum of Baccarat crystal located in the 16th arrondissement at 11, place des États-Unis, Paris, France. It is open daily except Sundays, Tuesdays, and holidays; an admission fee is charged....
, and a restaurant named the Crystal Room.
- No. 12: This building, once a vast private houseHôtel particulierIn French contexts an hôtel particulier is an urban "private house" of a grand sort. Whereas an ordinary maison was built as part of a row, sharing party walls with the houses on either side and directly fronting on a street, an hôtel particulier was often free-standing, and by the 18th century it...
, is now the headquarters of the international liquor company, Pernod-Ricard.
- No. 14: A building constructed in 1910 on the site of the townhouse of the duc d'Isly (duke of Isly).
- No. 16: Hôtel de Yturbe. Having served as the American embassy, this structure became the property of Francisco-María de Yturbe y Anciola, the former Finance Minister of Mexico, who spent the last years of his life living there. It then passed to his oldest son, Francisco-Tirso de Yturbe, another Mexican diplomat posted to Paris, then to his second son, Miguel de Yturbe, also a diplomat. Miguel de Yturbe married María Teresa Limantour, daughter of José Yves LimantourJosé Yves LimantourJosé Yves Limantour was a Mexican politician, Secretary of the Finance of Mexico from 1893 until the fall of the Porfirio Díaz regime in 1911.José Yves Limantour was the illegitimate son of Joseph Yves Limantour....
, who was also Finance Minister of Mexico for eighteen years under President Porfirio DíazPorfirio DíazJosé de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...
.
- No. 17: Presently the headquarters of the Association of Regional Daily Newspapers (Syndicat de la presse quotidienne régionale, or SPQR), the building was occupied by Count Charles Cahen d'Anvers and his wife, the countess. Cahen d'Anvers was the man who, in 1935, donated the châteauChâteauA château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...
at Champs-sur-MarneChamps-sur-MarneChamps-sur-Marne is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France in the Île-de-France region from the center of Paris....
to the French state. The Lebanese businessman, Samir Traboulsi, lived here at the time of the Pechiney-Triangle political corruption scandal involving the French firm, PechineyPechineyPechiney SA was a major aluminium conglomerate based in France. The company was acquired in 2003 by the Alcan Corporation, headquartered in Canada...
, and the American aluminum can company, Triangle.
- No. 18: A building at the western end of Square Thomas Jefferson, constructed by the architect, Pierre HumbertPierre HumbertPierre Humbert was a French architect born in 1848 to a noble French family.Humbert built many buildings and "hôtels particuliers" in Paris and other European cities, such as Brussels for the aristocracy and the upper class of the time, such a the prince of Caraman-Chimay, the duke des Cars or...
(b. 1848), for the young and wealthy Madmoiselle Mathilde de Montesquiou-Fézensac (1884–1960), who, much later, in 1920, married the musician and composer, Charles-Marie WidorCharles-Marie WidorCharles-Marie Jean Albert Widor was a French organist, composer and teacher.-Life:Widor was born in Lyon, to a family of organ builders, and initially studied music there with his father, François-Charles Widor, titular organist of Saint-François-de-Sales from 1838 to 1889...
(1844–1937), when she was 36 years old and he was 76.