F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “The best of America drifts to Paris. The American in Paris is the best American”. Millions of Americans have visited Paris and even some of the founding fathers. Don’t be surprised if you are strolling the cobblestones and run into one of these fellows remembered in bronze. Jefferson, Washington and Franklin all left a lasting impression on Paris and France, now let’s take a walk to find them.
Starting at the Trocadero in front of the fountain venture to the west away from all the tourists and to a peaceful park. Walk to the left along the building and follow the path to the street. There is good ol’ Ben Franklin sitting under a chestnut tree in the Square de Yorktown. A copy of the statue at the University of Philadelphia by John J. Boyle was a gift to Paris in 1906 by American businessman John Harjes. Harjes wanted to honor the bicentennial of the birth of Franklin with a statue placed near the former Minster to France home on Rue Raynouard.
Just a short walk away we are greeted by another American, at our feet on the Avenue President Wilson on the way to find George Washington. Located in the center of a busy street George Washington perched on top of his horse with his arm and sword raised high in the air. On his way to lead a charge into battle or maybe just to the nearest terrace, he stands majestically in the center of Place d’Iena. A gift to Paris from the Daughters of the American Revolution, the bronze statue by Daniel Chester French was inaugurated on July 3, 1900.
A long but beautiful walk towards the left bank at the end of the Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor we will meet Thomas Jefferson. Before he was president he served as the American representative to France for 5 years. He loved to walk along the River Seine and admired the Hotel de Salm on the Rive Gauche now home to the Musée de La Legion d'honneur. The dome of the building would inspire him for Monticeelllo where he would duplicate it. Today he stands and looks at the building he loved so much with the design written on the papers he holds.
