Avenue Kléber, part of Baron Haussmann's rebuilding plan for Paris, was originally known as avenue du Roi de Rome in tribute to Napoleon I’s son. In 1864, a rich Russian nobleman named Alexandr Basilewski constructed a palace at 19 avenue du Roi de Rome, designed by architect Clément Parent.[1] Basilewski sold the palace in 1868 to Queen Isabella II of Spain, who established the palace as her home in exile during the First Spanish Republic. She continued to live there for the next 36 years and the palace was known as the Palais de Castille. After the queen’s death, the property was acquired by hotel magnate Leonard Tauber after a bidding war that involved the United States government and the King of Belgium.[1]