On Friday night, Supima hosted a party at the stately Hôtel de Pontalba, the home of Jane Hartley, the American ambassador to France. Security, as one might imagine, was tight, and guests were required to show identification and submit to a security checkpoint before entering the building. The 19th century mansion at 41, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris’ 8th arrondissement was built in 1885 in its final version by Louis Visconti, and has housed everyone from Charles Lindbergh to John Kerry and Barack Obama.
We hear that when POTUS comes to town, he stays at the 60,000-square-foot residence. But what’s more is that before evert arrival, security replaces the windows with special ultra-protective versions as a high security measure against any kind of attack. While Hartley is said to reside on the top three floors and use the rez de chaussée for entertaining, the second floor plays host to guests and still contains the small bed on which Charles Lindbergh slept after he crossed the Atlantic Ocean alone without stopping from New York City to Paris in 1927 on his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis.
Plus! The building originally belonged to the Baroness de Pontalba until her death, at which point it was sold to the Rothschild family. During WWII, the mansion was overtaken by the Germans and served as an officers’ club for the Luftwaffe. It was later purchased by the American government in 1948.
On the fashion front, Michael Kors celebrated his 30th anniversary at the Hôtel de Pontalba with a dinner for 200 and a performance from Mary J. Blige; Ralph Lauren has also held a reception there. At the Supima party, there were guests who admitted that they even left a chic fête for Jade Jagger at Le Meurice just to see the grandeur of Hôtel de Pontalba. If you’re in Paris, it’s worth swinging by—especially at night—just to catch a glimpse of the exterior.
