Hôtel Lebrun

Hôtel Lebrun is an eighteenth-century mansion in Paris, shaped by architects, artists and changing civic uses. Charles Le Brun acquired the land in 1651. After his death, his nephew Charles II Le Brun commissioned Germain Boffrand to design the building, completed by master mason Nicolas Saint-Denis in 1717.

Antoine Watteau lived here in 1718 and 1719, while the engraver Edme Jeaurat occupied the mansion from 1720 to 1726. Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon also resided here in 1766, during his tenure at the Jardin royal des plantes médicinales. The City of Paris purchased the property in 1912, and it became the headquarters of the Office des logements sociaux de Paris in 1923. Historical-monument protection followed in 1955, while twentieth-century alterations added surrounding buildings and reshaped the site.

Four façades give the mansion an unusual presence in Paris, with monumental pediments by Anselm Flamen facing the courtyard and garden. A wrought-iron railing by Cafin marks the grand staircase. Immersive theatrical experiences now fill the rooms, including La Belle et La Bête and La véritable histoire du Père Noël.