[1] In 1710, Henri François d'Aguesseau, Chancellor of France, acquired a tract of land which included the present site of the Hôtel de Pontalba.

Baron de Rothschild hired Felix Langlais to substantially renovate, enlarge, and embellish the residence, leaving only the original gatehouse and portals intact, but following much of the H-shaped ground floor plan.

[1] During the German occupation of France, the mansion, then owned by Baron Maurice de Rothschild, was requisitioned as an officers' club for the Luftwaffe.

In 1948, the American government purchased the building, primarily for the United States Information Service.

These offices were moved to the Hôtel Talleyrand as restoration was completed in 1971 during the tenure of Ambassador Arthur K. Watson.