Hôtel des Tournelles
It was turned into a gunpowder magazine, then sold to finance the construction of the Tuileries Palace, designed and developed to suit the Queen's Italian style.
Like the Hôtel Saint-Pol, the Hôtel des Tournelles was a collection of buildings spread over an estate of more than 20 acres (8.1 ha), including twenty chapels, several pleasure grounds, ovens and twelve galleries including the Duke of Bedford's famous galerie des courges (so-called due to the painted green squash or courges on its walls.
In 1464, Louis XI built a gallery there which connected this house to the Hôtel-Neuf of Madame d'Étampes, across the rue Saint-Antoine.
The duke of Orléans was assassinated on 23 November 1407 and the hôtel passed to his heirs, becoming the property of Charles VI, who lived there from 1417 onwards.
Different kings of this era stayed for short or long periods at the hôtel – Louis XI made a few brief stays there: Item, the following Thursday [1 June 1440], the Delphin [the future Louis XI] came to Paris and was lodged at the ostel [sic] des Tournelles, hard by the porte Sainct-Anthoine, and stayed only one night, not showing himself in Paris, nor his father the king coming either...[6]Fleeing his coronation festivities,[clarification needed] the new king took refuge there on Tuesday 1 September 1461 after dinner[7] but left for Tours by 25 September.
[citation needed] The hôtel saw several lavish and unusual festivals, such as the "danse macabre" on 23 August 1451 before Charles, Duke of Orléans.
Catherine de Médici, an Italian princess who had grown up in Roman palaces, disliked the Hôtel des Tournelles's medieval appearance and took Henry's death as a pretext to sell it off.
Gaining total power as regent to her young sons, the heirs of Henry, she turned the property into an arsenal, then had it closed and demolished.
[8] This took place in stages and financed her major works on the more modern royal residences in Paris, particularly on the Madrid and the Tuileries Palace.
In August 1603, Henry IV tried to re-use part of the hôtel's buildings to create a silk, gold and silver factory, bringing in 200 Italian artisans for this purpose, but the attempt failed.
Finally, on 4 March 1604, he issued an edict instructing his minister Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully to measure out the site.
On 29 March 1605 Henry wrote to Sully: My friend, I pray you to remember what we talked of together lately, of this place where I wish that I wish to be built before the lodge which serves as a horse market for manufactures, to the end that if you have not marked out there – for renting the rest of the other places to and rent for the rest, it is doubtless that they will be unfaithful and I pray you to give me the news.
