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Origin and history

The Mascrany hotel, also known as the "upper house" or "Grande Maison des Gobelins", was built in the 17th century in the Croulebarbe district (now the 13th arrondissement of Paris). Originally, this building housed bourgeois apartments, workshops and worker housing linked to dyeing. The property originally belonged to the Gobelin family, dyers who gave their name to the factory and the neighborhood. The wooden staircase ramp, dating from the 17th century, has been listed as a historic monument since 1928.

The ensemble used to extend from Mouffetard Street (present-day avenue des Gobelins) to Bièvre (rue Berbier-du-Mets), including outbuildings such as the "Château de la Reine Blanche". In 1443 Jehan Gobelin settled on these lands to develop dyeing. The property was divided in 1523 between his heirs: Jean Gobelin retained the lower part (the castle of the White Queen), while François obtained the "house d'en haut", corresponding to the present 3 bis rue des Gobelins. An act of 1580 already describes this property as a "large house" with courses, workshops and docks.

In 1646, the house left the heritage of the Gobelin. It was bought in 1670 by bankers Louis and Paul-André Mascrani, and then rented in 1684 by Dutch dyer Jean Glucq, who acquired it in 1686. In 1721 Jean Jullienne brought together the workshops of his uncles (Glucq and François Jullienne) and lived there until his death in 1766. Under his direction, the dye and drapery factory became famous, but his successor, Jean-Baptiste-François de Montullé, caused its decline from 1764. At the beginning of the 19th century, the settlement perished.

Today's architecture, though redesigned, preserves elements of the 15th century, such as beams and arches. The main body, restored between 1686 and 1733, once housed the collection of Jean de Jullienne. The gallery with eight doric columns (1730) and a posterior floor remain in the second courtyard, accessible by a porch. Workers' workshops and housing, once more extended to Gustave-Geoffroy Street (done in 1906), have partly disappeared.

In the 19th century, the property was dismembered, especially when Gustave-Geoffroy Street was drilled in 1906. Today, the historic house, invisible from the street, is surrounded by a brick building of the early twentieth century. It houses private apartments, while an evangelical church occupies the background of the adjoining garden. The vaulted quarries under the buildings testify to the old foundations.

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