On a quiet residential street in Paris’s 16th arrondissement, the Hôtel Mezzara, a 4-story limestone ensemble designed in the art nouveau style both stands out and blends in. Built in 1910 as a private home for textile manufacturer Paul Mezzara, the building was later acquired by the French government and used as school housing. Vacant for the past decade, it is now poised to become a museum honoring its original architect: Hector Guimard.
Listed as a historic monument by the French Minister of Culture and Communication in 2017, the Hôtel Mezzara has long been a focus for Le Cercle Guimard, an association founded 23 years ago to preserve the architect’s work. On June 23, the Regional Directorate of Public Finance for the Paris region granted the group, along with its partner organization Hector Guimard Diffusion, a 50-year lease to transform the property into the Guimard Museum.
Guimard emerged as a central figure in France’s art nouveau movement, earning early recognition for his bold, organic architecture. He is perhaps best known for his designs for the Paris Métro entrances, commissioned in the early 1900s as the city expanded its public transit system. With their winding cast-iron forms and insect-like curves, the entrances, nicknamed “dragonflies,” brought avant-garde design into the public realm.
Though now celebrated as icons of French design, Guimard’s Métro entrances were initially met with controversy. Critics at the time dismissed them as strange or overly ornate. Guimard’s reputation faded as art nouveau fell out of fashion. He emigrated to the United States during World War II and died in relative obscurity in 1942. After his death, his widow worked to preserve his legacy by donating drawings, furniture, and other works.
Yet many of Guimard’s creations were lost, demolished, or discarded as the city embraced modernism. It wasn’t until decades later that a new wave of admirers, dubbed “Hectorologists,” began to reassess his contribution to architecture and design. Groups like Le Cercle Guimard and Hector Guimard Diffusion have since led the effort to protect and promote his work.
In 2017, Le Cercle Guimard transformed the Hôtel Mezzara—celebrated for its sweeping staircase, ornate cast iron banister, and grand stained-glass windows—into a temporary exhibition space for Hector Guimard, précurseur du design (Hector Guimard, Pioneer of Design), showcasing the site’s potential as a museum.
Today, the two organizations are spearheading the building’s restoration. In collaboration with art nouveau experts, skilled artisans, architects, and cultural partners, they aim to return the Hôtel Mezzara to its original splendor and establish a new private museum dedicated to Guimard’s legacy.
The €6 million ($7 million) renovation is set to begin at the end of 2026, with the museum’s opening planned for late 2027 or early 2028.
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