Place des États-Unis

Square Thomas Jefferson
Square Thomas Jefferson street sign. It says “Square Thomas Jefferson; 1743-1826; Author of the 1776 Declaration of Independence; United States ambassador to France from 1785 to 1789; President of the United States from 1801 to 1809.

Parts of the place are also called Square Thomas Jefferson, but it’s not actually clear to me where the place ends and the square starts.

Washington & Lafayette
Statue of Washington and Lafayette at the Place des Etats-Unis. The inscription on the front of the base says “Lafayette and Washington; In recognition of France. A tribute to its generous support during the struggle of the people of the United States for independence and liberty.” On the back, it says “Commemorative monument. Given to the City of Paris by Joseph Pulitzer. 1895.”

My favorite part of this place (other than the kids’ slide, of course), is the statue of Washington and Lafayette at the west-northwest end. It was commissioned by Joseph Pulitzer, of Pulitzer Prize fame, and made by Frédéric Bartholdi, who also did the Statue of Liberty. There is a replica of this statue at Lafayette Square, next to Morningside Park in Manhattan.

WWI American Volunteer Memorial
Memorial to Americans who voluteered to fight for France in World War I.

A monument to American volunteers for France during WWI is located at the east-southeast end of the place.

Building number 11 here is named (among other things) the Hôtel Bishoffsheim. Woodrow Wilson stayed here during one of his post-World War II visits to take part in the negotiations for the Treaty of Versailles1.

This place got its present name in 1881. Before that, it was called Place de Bitche. Bitche is a community in north-eastern France, not … what you were thinking (I’m allowed to say it if it’s another language, right?). The US embassy was here at that time, at number 3 (the author Edith Wharton seems to have lived at the same address for a while too).

Edith Wharton Plaque
Plaque at 3 Place des Etats-Unis noting that Edith Wharton lived there. It says: EDITH WHARTON, 1862-1937, American writer, first woman of letters to receive the Pulitzer Prize (1921), stayed in this house.

The name was causing some problems, so they asked that the name be changed, and it actually was.2

The east end of the Place abuts Place de l’Amiral de Grasse, which has a memorial to the leaders of the victory at Yorktown.