Hôtel de Pontalba

The Hôtel de Pontalba, located at forty-one Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, is a large townhouse defined by its symmetrical stone facade and classically proportioned H-shaped plan. Originally commissioned by the New Orleans-born Baroness Micaela Almonester de Pontalba and completed in eighteen fifty-five, the structure reflects the architectural standards of mid-nineteenth-century Parisian noble estates. Since nineteen seventy-one, it has served as the official residence of the United States ambassador to France.