Hôtel de Sourdéac, Private mansion in 6th arrondissement, France

The Hôtel de Sourdéac stands at 8 rue Garancière in the 6th arrondissement, not on Rue de Condé. Its pale beige ashlar facade has a central doorway under a carved curved pediment, a small iron balcony before a tall arched window, and barred windows on the ground floor. A stone plaque with an inscription is mounted on the upper right facade, and a blue plaque reads "6".

Built in 1646 on the site of the former Hôtel Garancière for René de Rieux, bishop-count of Léon, the mansion passed to his nephew Alexandre de Rieux, marquis de Sourdéac. Master mason Adam Robelin and his brother Jacques built it; Jean Marot engraved it. In 1717 actress Adrienne Lecouvreur gave her first public performance in its courtyard. It housed the mairie of the former 11th arrondissement from 1818 to 1850, then the Plon publishing house from 1852 to 1988. It was inscribed as a monument historique on 20 October 1928.

The building displays architectural elements from different periods, including decorative capitals adorned with ram heads and detailed ironwork. These crafted details remain part of its visual character and reflect the tastes of its successive occupants.

The mansion stands at 8 rue Garancière, a short walk from the Odéon and Saint-Sulpice metro stations in the 6th arrondissement. It is a private building, so visits are limited to the street and courtyard entrance; look up at the facade from the pavement opposite to read the stone plaque and the ram-headed capitals.

The façade's ram-headed capitals are unusual for 1640s France, where colossal pilasters were common but such carved heads were not. Long attributed to an Italian architect called Bobelini, the design is now credited to master mason Adam Robelin and his brother Jacques; Adam died in 1649.