Join WICE in a fascinating tour de force of the places in Paris that are intimately associated with the American Revolution.
Through a combination of four PowerPoint presentations and three walks—based on the book "Paris: Birthplace of the U.S.A."—WICE members will gain an in-depth understanding of the critical role France played in the success of the American Revolution.
On the third walk, we’ll celebrate the 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 Tuilleries 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 Tuilleries, which describes that the legislative assemblies of the French Revolution met here in the Royal Manege, and 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. You’ll find out why.
At the end of the walk we can settle into a local café and discuss what we saw.
Note: Participants will meet at 13:30 at the elephant on the plaza of Musée d’Orsay. The organizer, Maryjo Padgett, will have on a scarf. The walk will take about 3 hours.
About the Series
This series is open to WICE members, and registration is required. The cost is €10 apiece for individual talks / walks, or €50 for the entire series of seven talks / walks.
About the Organizer
Maryjo Padgett is an avid student of the "American Revolution in Paris" and since 2013 has led this talk / walk combination for the U.S. Embassy and the American Library in Paris. She is donating all proceeds from this series to WICE.
