Hôtel Cartier, Historical monument in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France

Hôtel Cartier is a private mansion in the 8th arrondissement featuring stone columns and ornate carved details across its exterior. The building stands as a prime example of 18th-century French architectural design and craftsmanship.

In 1758 Louis XV had Jacques-Ange Gabriel build two identical facades flanking the Rue Royale; the land behind the western colonnade was split into four lots, and No. 8 was built by Pierre-Louis Moreau-Desproux for his own account. Moreau was guillotined in 1794, and the mansion passed to his daughters before the notary family Péan de Saint-Gilles acquired it in 1830. The facade has been a listed monument since 1900.

Since 1901 the building has housed the Automobile Club de France, which joined it with the neighbouring Hôtel du Plessis-Bellière; between 1898 and 1912 the architect Gustave Rives remodelled the two into a single complex. The club use explains the cars parked along the street in front of the colonnade.

The mansion is located at Place de la Concorde, conveniently near the Concorde and Madeleine metro stations. Keep in mind that this is a private building primarily viewed from the outside and sits in one of Paris's busiest central areas.

In Philadelphia, Horace Trumbauer and Julian Abele reproduced the two matching blocks flanking the Rue Royale on the Place de la Concorde. One of them, now housing the Free Library of Philadelphia, is a replica of the Hôtel Cartier; the other copies the Hôtel de la Marine opposite.