The palace holds particular historical importance since General Henri Gouraud declared the creation of the state of Greater Lebanon on September 1, 1920, from its porch.

[1] The urban and architectural fabric of the until-then typical medieval Islamic walled city was changed by the Ottoman Ebniye and Turuk Regulations that were enacted in 1848 and 1864 as a part of the Tanzimat reforms and that would serve as a scheme for the development of Beirut until after the French mandate over Lebanon.

The movement catalyzed by the Tanzimat reforms set the foundation of a new framework for buildings characterized by works inspired from several European styles such as neo-Baroque and neo-Gothic.

The Pine Park was chosen for its scenic greenery and its distance from the busy downtown area; a racecourse and a casino similar the ones being built in European capitals were envisioned.

[1][3][4] Horse racing was a common practice in ancient Beirut until it was banished by the Byzantine church authority around the 5th century AD and all the hippodromes were abandoned to decay.

[7] The Pine Residence was built by Alfred Moussa Sursock, a Lebanese nobleman working as an official at the Ottoman embassy in Paris until the beginning of the First World War.

[7][9][10][11][12][13] The Pine Residence was enlarged over time under the French mandate; the Ottoman lounge was reorganized, the "Salon de Musique" and the north–south facade were extended in 1928.

[8] On September 1, 1920, General Gouraud proclaimed from the porch of the Pine Residence the establishment of the State of Greater Lebanon (Arabic: دولة لبنان الكبير Dawlat Lubnan Al-Kabir; French: État du Grand Liban) with its current boundaries and with Beirut as its capital.

Talks ended in 1972 and on October 7 of that year, then-ambassador Michel Fontaine signed the agreement with the administrator of the Mohafazat of Beirut Chafic Abou Haïdar.

It wasn't long before the Lebanese Civil War began and ambassador Argod was compelled to evacuate the embassy premises in May 1975 only to return by the end of 1976 until the Pine Residence was occupied by armed militias in 1978.