Charles-Augustin Meurice, postmaster in Calais, owned an inn in the port city, which was frequented by English travellers. In 1818, on the strength of his success, he opened a luxury hotel in rue Saint-Honoré in Paris, at the terminus of the Paris-Calais stagecoach. In 1835, in order to expand his hotel, Charles-Augustin Meurice left the rue Saint-Honoré and founded the first Parisian palace, the Hotel Le Meurice, on its present location. During renovation work, the workers took in a stray greyhound. The hotel staff adopted it and the dog was soon stylised on the hotel’s emblem.