Originally named the Hôtel d'Angoulême when it was built around 1585, it was bought in 1658 by Lamoignon, the president of the first parliament to sit in Paris. Among the people entertained by Lamoignon here was Racine, Mme de Sévigné, Bourdaloue (a Jesuit priest), and Boileau (a literary figure of the time). Malesherbes, destined to conduct the defense of Louis XVI before the Convention, and member of the Lamoignon family, was also born here.

The mansion currently houses the Historical Library of the City of Paris - a rich collection of documents, manuscripts, maps, posters, cuttings, and photographs. The reading room of the library has one of the finest painted ceilings in all of Paris.