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Key figures

Origin and history

The Hotel de Vendôme is a private hotel built in 1707 by architect Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond for Canon Antoine de La Porte, on the current boulevard Saint-Michel (then rue d'Enfer). His plans, published in 1710, reveal a typical architecture of the early 18th century, with a revised façade in 1715-1716 for the Duchess of Vendôme, including a new forebody and a re-used pediment.

In the 18th century, the hotel was occupied by the 5th Duke of Chaulnes, Michel Ferdinand d'Albert d'Ailly, who conducted scientific experiments and kept his library there. His son, the 6th Duke, sublet the hotel until his confiscation during the Revolution. The building, adjacent to the Luxembourg garden, became in 1815 the seat of the École des Mines de Paris, also home to the Museum of Mineralology.

In the 19th century, two expansion campaigns transformed the hotel into a teaching place: between 1840 and 1852 (library, extensions), and between 1861 and 1866 (four wings around a central courtyard). The large staircase was decorated with paintings by Hugard and Abel de Pujol in 1854-1856. Ranked a historic monument in 1994, it preserves 18th century facades and Second Empire developments.

The hotel illustrates the evolution of Parisian private hotels from aristocratic residence to scientific institution. Its history reflects political upheavals (Rvolution, Second Empire) and architectural adaptations for public use.

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