Crillon

How the Stage was Set HISTORY IN BRIEF 1755: Construction of a sumptious mansion on Place de la Concorde. 1788: The Count of Crillon bought the mansion, only to have it taken away during the French Revolution. 1909: The Hotel Crillon opened its doors for business. HISTORY IN DETAIL 1755: Building of Place de la Concorde. The Place was designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel in 1755 as a moat-skirted octagon between the Champs-Élysées to the west and the Tuileries Gardens to the east. Filled with statues and fountains, the area was named Place Louis XV to honor the then king. The Place was showcasing an equestrian statue of the king, which had been commissioned in 1748 by the city of Paris, sculpted mostly by Edmé Bouchardon, and completed by Jean-Baptiste Pigalle after the death of the former. At the northern end, two magnificent hôtels particuliers (palace-like façades) were built. The western one (today The Crillon) would be frequented by Queen Marie Antoinette and her elite friends. The hotel was where she came to take piano lessons. 1788: One of the two hôtels was acquired by the Count of Crillon, descendent of the ‘brave Crillon’, comrade in arms to Henry IV, and his spouse Marie-Charlotte de Corbon. 1789: The French Revolution broke out and the mansion was promptly seized. The Place de la Concorde itself became one of the focal points of the Revolution. During the French Revolution the statue of King Louis was torn down and the area renamed "Place de la Révolution". In a grim reminder to the nobility of a gruesome past, when the "Place de Grève" was a site where the nobility and members of the bourgeoisie were entertained watching convicted criminals being dismembered alive, the new revolutionary government erected the guillotine there. The first notable to be executed at the Place de la Révolution was King Louis XVI, on January 21, 1793. Other important people guillotined there, often in front of cheering crowds, were Queen Marie Antoinette, Madame Elisabeth, Madame du Barry, Danton, Lavoisier, and Robespierre. The guillotine was most active during the "Reign of Terror" in the summer of 1794, when in a single month more than 1,300 people were executed. 1799: The hotel was restored to its rightful owners. 1836: The world-famous Obelisk that now takes pride of place in the centre of the Place de la Concorde was installed. The giant Egyptian obelisk decorated with hieroglyphics exalting the reign of the pharaoh Ramses II had once marked the entrance to the Luxor Temple. The viceroy of Egypt, Mehemet Ali had offered the 3,300-year-old Luxor Obelisk to France in 1831. Today the Obelisk aligns the perspective from the Louvre Museum right the way down the to the Arc de Triomphe. 1907: The Société des Grands Magasins et des Hôtels du Louvre took possession of the Crillon Mansion as well as the two buildings adjacent to it on Rue Boissy-d'Anglas, in order to create the largest and most luxurious palace in Paris. The architect Destailleurs was given this prestigious mandate. He did a great job, giving the new hotel a level of comfort and luxury. 1909: Construction work was completed. The Hôtel de Crillon hosted its first gala dinner in its salons on March 11th, and the following day opened the doors to the first travellers. 1918: The hotel was already the place to stay for visiting foreign delegates. That year American General John J. Pershing stayed, as did Assistant Secretary of the United States Navy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, as he made his way on an inspection tour. 1919: During the Paris Peace Conference , President Woodrow Wilson and the entire American delegation stayed at The Crillon. A salon was set up with telephone switchboards run by the famous bilingual American "Hello Girls." 1940: The hotel became the HQ of the German high command during the World War II occupation of France.

Among the many famous guests to have graced The Crillon: From the World of Politics Emperor Hirohito of Japan King George V of England King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophie of Spain Sir Winston Churchill Presidents Herbert Hoover Theodore Roosevelt Richard Nixon Bill Clinton George W Bush Dalai Lama From the World of Entertainment Jesse Norman Elizabeth Taylor Meryl Streep Madonna Jennifer Lopez

Each year, the Hôtel de Crillon holds an annual Bals de Debutantes (Debutante Ball) to benefit the Pierre and Marie Curie Foundation. The very exclusive event is a "coming out" party for twenty-four young ladies between the ages of 15 and 19. All are members of the international social set whose gowns each represents a leading international fashion house. American presidential niece, Lauren Bush caused a sensation when she was presented on the arm of a prince at the 2000 ball. Her appearance led to a modelling contract with Tommy Hilfiger. Other young ladies to make their appearance here have been Lydia Hearst Shaw, daughter of Patty Hearst, Barbara Berlusconi, daughter of Italy's prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, Victoria and Vanessa Traina, daughters of American romance novelist Danielle Steel, Xenia Virganskaya Gorbachev, granddaughter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Alice Ferguson, half-sister of Sarah, Duchess of York and daughter of Major Ronald Ferguson, Penelope Pei-Tang, the niece of architect I. M. Pei, Dree Hemingway-Crisman, grand-daughter of Ernest Hemingway, and Countess Anastasia Tolstoy, the beautiful great great great granddaughter of another writer, Leo Tolstoy, Bao Bao Wan, granddaughter of Wan Li, former chairman of the Chinese National People's Congress and executive vice-premier of China as well as daughter of Wan Jifei, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trading. (Source: Wikipedia)