| Embassy of the United States in Paris | |
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| Location | 8th arrondissement, Paris |
| Address | 2 avenue Gabriel |
| Ambassador | Charles Rivkin |
The Embassy of the United States in Paris, France, is the United States oldest diplomatic mission[1]. Benjamin Franklin and some of the other Founding Fathers were the earliest United States Ambassadors to France[1].It is located at 2 avenue Gabriel, on the northwest corner of the Place de la Concorde, in the 8th arrondissement[2].
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The U.S. State Department owns three buildings in Paris to support its diplomatic, consular, trade and cultural activities[3].
The four-story chancery, housing the ambassador's office, faces the Avenue Gabriel and the gardens of the Champs-Élysées; it is beside the Hôtel de Crillon[2]. It was built in 1931, following the demolition of an existing structure[4]. Designed by Delano & Aldrich – an American architectural firm based in New York City, New York – along with French architect Victor Laloux, the building has a façade that conforms with other buildings on the Place de la Concorde, as required by French law[4].
The so-called "Talleyrand building" at 2 rue Saint-Florentin formerly housed the American Embassy Consular Services, Public and Cultural Affairs offices, several other government agencies and the George C. Marshall Center[5]. Most of these offices were moved to the embassy proper[5]. Constructed in 1769 as a private residence, the property was acquired in 1812 by Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, who owned it until his death in 1838[6]. It was then purchased by the banker James Mayer de Rothschild, whose family, owned it for over a century, until 1950, when it was acquired by the U.S. government[6].
The nearby property at 41 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, known as the Hôtel de Pontalba, was built by Louis Visconti for the New Orleans-born Baroness Micaela Almonester de Pontalba between 1842 and 1855[7]. Edmond James de Rothschild acquired the building in 1876[7]. His estate sold it in 1948 to the U.S. government, and today it is the residence of the U.S. Ambassador to France[7].
As of 20 January 2009, fifty-three people had represented, in France, the interests of the U.S. (or its predecessor colonies and/or states prior to the 1789 ratification of the U.S. Constitution) as envoy, minister plenipotentiary, minister, ambassador or chargé d'affaires. (For a complete list of these individuals and the dates and circumstances of their service, see United States Ambassador to France.)
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