
Landmark set between the domains of the Lord of Auteuil and the Lord of Passy in 1731
'Passy' is an exclusive area of
Paris,
France, located in the
XVIe arrondissement, on the
Right Bank. It is traditionally home to many of the city's wealthiest residents.
History
Passy was formerly a
commune. It was annexed to Paris in
1860.
It is best known to
Americans for being the home of patriot
Benjamin Franklin for the nine years that he lived in France during the
American Revolutionary War. At the time, Passy was a separate village.
Franklin established a small press in his Passy home, to print pamphlets and other material as part of his job to maintain French support of the revolution. He called it the Passy Press. Among other things, he printed passports, even developing a special typeface known as "le Franklin." He also printed a 1782 treatise titled "''A Project for Perpetual Peace''," that laid out a vision for maintaining a permanent peace in
Europe. It proposed for a central governing council, with representatives of all the nations of Europe, that would rule over international disputes.
When Franklin returned to America, the new ambassador to France,
Thomas Jefferson, wrote, "When he left Passy, it seemed as if the village had lost its patriarch."
American railroad tycoon
William Kissam Vanderbilt also kept a home in Passy.
Places in Passy
There is now a ''rue Benjamin Franklin'' and a ''square de Yorktown'' near the
Trocadéro.
The most lively street in the area is the ''rue de Passy'' which goes from the
Muette to the ''place du Costa-Rica'' just behind the Trocadéro.
The
Cimetière de Passy, located at 2, rue du Commandant Schœlsing, is the burial place for many well-known persons including American silent film star
Pearl White, the painters
Édouard Manet and
Berthe Morisot, and composer
Claude Debussy.
See also
★
Auteuil-Neuilly-Passy