Architectural, Cultural sights in New Orleans
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1850 House Museum
The 1850 House is one of the apartments in the lower Pontalba Building. Madame Micaëla Pontalba, daughter of Don Andrés Almonaster y Roxas, built the long rows of red-brick apartments flanking the upper and lower portions of Jackson Sq. Initial plans for the apartments were drawn by the noted architect James Gallier Sr. In 1927, the lower Pontalba Building was bequeathed by William Ratcliffe Irby to the Louisiana State Museum, and three years later the city acquired the upper Pontalba Building, where Micaëla once lived. Today, knowledgeable volunteers from the Friends of the Cabildo give tours of the apartment (every 45 minutes or so), which includes the central court and…
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Pitot House
Come out to Bayou St John to stroll along the bayou (stagnant or not, it is scenic), enjoy a po’boy from the Parkway Tavern, catch one of the many concerts played on the median that runs through the bayou and gape at the gorgeous residences. You’re only allowed to enter one: Pitot House, a restored mansion with a lovely set of gardens in the back. This French colonial plantation-style house was built in 1799 and James Pitot, who was the first mayor of the incorporated city of New Orleans, acquired it in 1810. Built without corridors, the en suite (adjoining) interior rooms allow air to circulate through the louvered shutters on the windows and upstairs back porch. The…
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Gallier House Museum
Walking down the road of New Orleans’ history, take note of the buildings along the way: physical evidence of the city’s evolution. Many of those buildings owe their existence, either directly or in terms of design, to James Gallier Sr and Jr, who added Greek-revivalist, British and American accents to the French/Spanish/Creole architectural mélange evident in so much of the Quarter. In 1857 Gallier Jr began work on this impressive town house, which incorporated all of the above plus the latest in then-contemporary amenities, such as copper interior plumbing, skylights and ceiling vents. The period furniture is lovely; not so much are the intact slave quarters out back – …
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New Orleans Public Library
The New Orleans Public Library fights the good fight despite limited resources and severe damage from Hurricane Katrina. In the aftermath of the Storm, 90% of NOPL employees were laid off, leaving a staff of 19 for the entire NOPL system. At the time of writing three of 14 branches are served by temporary structures, five are closed indefinitely and six, including the main headquarters listed here, have been reopened. The library is worth visiting just for the sake of supporting its good works, although it is a lovely building in its own right. The Louisiana Room, on the 3rd floor, is a good resource of regional history, while the computer room is handy for getting online…
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Beauregard-Keyes House
This attractive 1826 Greek-revival house is named for its two most famous previous inhabitants. Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, a native of Louisiana, commanded the artillery battery that fired the first shots at Fort Sumter in Charleston, SC (starting the Civil War); he lived here for 18 months after the war ended. Author Francis Parkinson Keyes, who wrote 51 novels, many of which were set in New Orleans (and one, the 1962 Madame Castel’s Lodger, which was set in this house), stayed longer: from 1942 until her death in 1970. Her collection of some 200 dolls and folk costumes are also on display. Entry via tours only.
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Gallier Hall
Architect James Gallier Sr designed this monumental Greek-revival structure, which was dedicated in 1853. It served as New Orleans’ city hall until the 1950s, and far outclasses the city’s current city hall (a few blocks away). Today the building is used for private functions and VIP funerals (both Confederate president Jefferson Davis and homegrown R&B legend Ernie K-Doe have lain in state here – only in New Orleans) and is a focal point for Mardi Gras parades, most of which promenade past the grandstand that is put up along St Charles Ave.
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Goodrich-Stanley House
This historic home was built in 1837 by jeweler William M Goodrich. Goodrich sold the house to the British-born merchant Henry Hope Stanley, whose adopted son, Henry Morton Stanley, went on to gain fame for finding the missing Scottish missionary, Dr David Livingston, and uttering the legendary question, ‘Dr Livingston, I presume?’ He was subsequently knighted and founded the Congo Free States. The house originally stood a few blocks away, at 904 Orange St, and was moved to its current spot in 1981. Not open to the public.
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Our Lady of the Rosary Rectory
Built around 1834 as the home of Evariste Blanc, Our Lady of the Rosary Rectory exhibits a combination of styles characteristic of the region. The high-hipped roof and wraparound gallery seem reminiscent of West Indies houses but were actually the preferred styles of the French Canadians who originally settled Bayou St John. However, it’s the house’s neoclassic details that make it obvious that this building is from a later period.
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Robert Short’s House
Robert Short’s House, also known as the Short-Favrot Villa, was the home of a Confederate officer. The house was designed by architect Henry Howard, who is renowned in these parts. It’s an exemplary double-gallery home with fine cast-iron details, further distinguished by a cornstalk cast-iron fence, identical to the more famous one on the French Quarter walking tour.
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Rosegate
Former home of author Anne Rice. The vampire-tale spinner lived here for many years, and regularly invited fans to tour her home. Which, by the way, is beautiful but disappointingly free of bats, organ music, pale women in neck-and-cleavage exposing bustiers or even Tom Cruise prancing about in a frilly jacket (but then, we visited during the day). No longer open to the public.
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Hermann-Grima House
Samuel Hermann, a Jewish merchant who married a Catholic woman, introduced the American-style Federal design to the Quarter in 1831. Hermann sold the house in 1844 to Judge Grima, a slaveholder, after he reportedly lost $2 million during the national financial panic of 1837. Cooking demonstrations in the open-hearth kitchen are a special treat on Thursdays from October to May.
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House of Broel
Built in the 1850s, this is an excellent example of the sort of elegant architecture that makes the Garden District so darn pretty. Look out for the black marble fireplace and original mirror framed by carved tobacco leaves, plus a dollhouse museum that will appeal primarily to those with frilly tastes. Besides these exhibits, the house mainly hosts weddings and other events.
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St Vincent’s Infant Asylum
This large, red-brick orphanage was built in 1864 with assistance from federal troops occupying the city. It helped relieve the overcrowded orphanages filled with youngsters of all races who lost their parents to epidemics. The orphanage is now a hotel, but a sign from orphanage days still hangs from the finely styled cast-iron gallery in front. Not open to the public.
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Sanctuary
This historic house was built by Evariste Blanc, from 1816 to 1822, on land originally granted in 1720–1 to French Canadians. The once-swampy property was later transferred to Don Andrés Almonaster y Roxas, the real-estate speculator who commissioned St Louis Cathedral on Jackson Sq in the French Quarter.
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Grace King House
Behind a handsome wrought-iron fence, this papaya-hued house was named for the Louisiana historian and author who lived here from 1905 to 1932. It was built in 1847 by banker Frederick Rodewald and features both Greek Ionic columns on the lower floor and Corinthian columns above. Not open to the public.
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Joseph Carroll House
A beautiful center-hall house with double galleries laced with cast-iron filaments. The house was designed by architect Samuel Jamison. Peer towards the back of the lot to see the similarly impressive carriage house.
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Factors Row
Edgar Degas painted The Cotton Market in New Orleans while visiting his uncle’s office in this building in 1873.
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