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Origin and history

The Gaillard Hotel is a former neo-Renaissance mansion located 1 Place du Général-Catroux in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. Built between 1878 and 1882 by architect Jules February for banker Émile Gaillard, it is inspired by the Loire castles, notably Blois and Gien. Designed to house Gaillard's rich collection of medieval and Renaissance art, the building adopts an architectural style highlighting its works.

Émile Gaillard (1821-1902), a Grenoblus banker and patron, was an art lover and student of Chopin, who dedicated a mazurka to him. His collection became too important for his accommodation on Daru Street, and he ordered this hotel on Plaine Monceau. After his death in 1902, the hotel was sold and its collection dispersed at an auction in 1904. The building remained without a buyer until 1919.

In 1919, the Banque de France purchased the hotel as a branch. The transformation works, led by architect Alphonse Defrasse and decorator Jansen between 1920 and 1922, added a building housing a hall and a vault room in the courtyard. The hotel, initially U-shaped with two wings in return, was classified as a historic monument in 1999. The branch closed in 2006 as part of a reorganization of the banking network.

In 2011, the Bank of France launched the Cité de l'Economie (Citéco) project, a museum dedicated to the economy, inaugurated on May 15, 2019 and opened to the public on June 14, 2019. The project, led by the Lion Workshops and the Explosion agency, sparked debate because of its cost during a period of financial crisis. An alternative proposal to transform the hotel into a "Dumas centre", a memorial of slavery, was supported by Prime Minister Manuel Valls in 2015, but finally ruled out.

The Gaillard Hotel illustrates the eclectic architecture of the late 19th century, mixing brick and stone in a style inspired by the French Renaissance. Its history reflects the economic and cultural developments of Paris, moving from a private residence for a collector to a public place dedicated to economic pedagogy.

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