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Origin and history

The town hall of the 9th arrondissement occupies the former hotel of Augny, built between 1746 and 1748 by architect Charles-Étienne Briseux for the farmer general Alexandre Estienne, Baron d'Augny. The latter, spared by the Revolution, lived there until his death in 1798. The hotel, rented to artisans and then transformed into Cercle des Etrangers under the Executive Board, became a place of games and masked balls, banned by Napoleon in 1806 for fraud and excess.

In 1829, banker Alexandre Aguado acquired the hotel and renovated it in a Charles X style, eliminating the rococo decorations. After his death in 1842, the property passed into the hands of an insurance company and was bought by the city of Paris in 1848 to install the town hall of the 2nd arrondissement (now 9th in 1860). Two lateral wings, added between 1885 and 1890, enlarged the building, while a major restoration took place between 1972 and 1985.

The hotel preserves remarkable elements: facades on courtyard and garden (XVIII century), a decorated vestibule classified as Historic Monument in 1927, and an Art Deco statue (1932) paying homage to the dead of 1914-1918. Its history reflects the changes in Paris, from the fascists of the Ancien Régime to its contemporary administrative role.

The site is also linked to cultural events, such as the rehearsal of Énée and Lavinie in the presence of Fontenelle, or the Ball of the Victims in 1794, symbolizing its dual vocation: place of power and memory.

Today, the town hall of the 9th arrondissement combines architectural heritage (passage Jouffroy adjacent, interior decorations) and public service, while remaining partially accessible to the public. Its central location, near Le Peletier and Richelieu-Drouot stations, makes it a historical and practical landmark for Parisians.

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