On the third walk, we celebrate ways France and the young American country continued a close relationship even after the end of the War of Independence.
We meet at Musée d’Orsay plaza to talk about the Hotel de Salm, next door, and its importance to post-Revolutionary history in America. Thomas Jefferson watched it being built. We’ll pass by the statue of Thomas Jefferson across the street at Passerelle de Solferino and learn why it’s located there.
Crossing the passerelle, we’ll stand along the parapet across the river/road to see the angle that Jefferson enjoyed while watching construction of Hotel de Salm. A stroll through the Tuileries takes us to Place de la Concord and Hotel de Coislin, where the Treaties of Friendship, Commerce and Alliance were signed and the independence of the U.S.A. was recognized by France.
On rue de Rivoli we'll find a plaque on a column of the gate to the Tuileries, which describes that the legislative assemblies of the French Revolution met here in the Royal Manege. Around the corner on rue Saint-Honoré, we’ll see St. James and Albany Hotel, which was previously Hotel de Noailles, where Lafayette met with Marie Antoinette when he came home for a year during the American Revolution.
Eglise Saint-Roch is next, where the tomb of Amiral de Grasse is housed. King Louis XVI called on this great French admiral to help the Americans in 1781, so he sailed on the flagship “Ville de Paris,” with 120-guns, three decks, and with 28 ships in the fleet to help out at Yorktown.
A walk to rue du Richelieu allows discussion of the four American presidents – John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and John Quincy Adams – who stayed at hotels along this street from time to time (1778-1815). Crossing through the garden of the Palais Royal, where many of the Revolution-era Americans hung out, we arrive at La Bourse de Commerce, built as the City’s Halle aux Blés in 1766. This building is closely related to the lives of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, and we will discuss why.
About the Series
This is a fundraising activity for WICE, and the series is open to all interested persons. The cost is €20 apiece for individual talks / walks, or €100 for the entire series of seven talks / walks.
Note: The dates, times, and location are provisional until the autumn trimester begins on 16 September 2024.
About the Organizer
Mary Jo Padgett is a journalist, teacher, former elected official, public relations consultant, and independent historian, with a special interest in the French connection to the American Revolution.
While living in Paris she was introduced to the book "Paris: Birthplace of the U.S.A." She has used this book as the foundation for walks and presentations, which she has conducted since 2013 for the American Library in Paris, the American Embassy, private groups, and WICE.
She lives in North Carolina, and does presentations at Lifelong Learning programs at community colleges, Furman University, Wofford College, and others. She is donating all proceeds from this series to WICE.
