New Orleans, Part 4: The Garden District

On one of the days, while Jim, Lisa, and Patty were attending their conference, I decided to purchase a trolley pass, and take the St. Charles trolley and roam the Garden District.

The Garden District was settled in the 1850’s by successful entrepreneurs of that time.  They built large, elegant mansions exemplifying many architectural styles, including Greek Revival, Italianate, and Queen Anne Victorians.

The whole area was once a number of plantations.  The plantations were sold off in parcels, mainly to wealthy Americans, who did not want to live in the French Quarter with the Creoles.  The district was laid out by a New Orleans architect, planner, and surveyor, Barthelemy Lafon.  Originally the area was developed with only a couple of houses per block, each surrounded by a large garden, thus giving the district its name.

The district is also known for being the home, at some point or another in the recent past or present, of

Nicolas Cage, Mos Def, John Goodman, Archie Manning, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Trent Reznor, and (Jim's favorite) Sandra Bullock.


This mansion, built in 1872, was designed in a free Renaissance style by James Freret.  It's construction is believed to have cost around $100,000.  The original owner, Bradish Johnson, was a sugar planter.  The mansion is currently the private Louise S. MeGehee School for girls.

This mansion was the former home of Archie Manning and childhood home of Peyton and Eli Manning.


1407 First Street is also known as the Pritchard-Pigott house.  This house is an example of a Greek Revival double-galleried town house.


Some skull and crossbones found under the floorboards of the mansion at 1331 First Street, during the last renovation, created quite a bit of excitement.  The owners, however, believe the bones were voodoo relics hidden by servants long ago. This mansion was built in the 1860's by builder-architect Samuel Jamison in the Italianate style.

The mansion at 1315 First Street is adorned with beautiful and elaborate iron lace, portraying a romantic period of time.

This mansion is one of many homes in the Garden District owned by author Anne Rice, and is used as the setting in a few of her books. Built in 1857, for $13,000, this mansion has been traditionally called "Rosegate" after the rosette pattern worked into the fence.  It is said that if you see a black limo parked in front, Anne is inside.

Built by slaves, the mansion on 1134 First Street was owned by Judge Jacob U. Payne, a friend of Jefferson Davis, who was the President of the Confederacy.  In 1889, Davis died in one of the rooms.


This mansion is known as Warwick Manor.  Once a grand Garden District home, this mansion has also served as a private school for children and affluent parents.



Often when guests, in the nineteenth century, visited elegant Southern homes, such as the mansion at 1213 Third Street, they would stay for weeks.


The mansion at 1331 Third Street, was built in 1850 for Michael Musson, a prominent cotton merchant who was president of the Cotton Exchange and also served as the New Orleans postmaster.
 

The mansion at 1415 Third Street, was built in 1865 for Walter Robinson.  This home represents an architectural style of the time preceding the Civil War, and is also believed to be the first home to have indoor plumbing in New Orleans.  At the time of our visit, this mansion was for sale.


This home is a renovated carriage house.  It sits on land that once part of several large plantations, which was later divided up into, what is today called, the Garden District.

2605 Prytania Street, is known as the Briggs-Staub house.  It has a matching Gothic guest house, which was built as servants quarters, that repeats the lines of the main cottage.  Although many mansions built in New Orleans before the Civil War included slave quarters, it is said that Charles Biggs, the original owner, did not own slaves, but instead employed Irish servants.

Built in 1859, for $23,750, Colonel Short's Villa, or the Short-Favrot House, at 1448 Fourth Street, has one of three cornstalk pattern fences, in the New Orleans area.  One of the other cornstalk pattern fences is in at the Cornstalk Hotel in the French Quarter.  

This cast-iron fence was erected by Wood & Miltenberger, the New Orleans branch of the Philadelphia foundry of Wood & Perot.

This beautiful mansion is accented with a gingerbread trim and elaborate iron work railing.  It also has a magnificent ballroom inside, which would have been cool to see.

This mansion is known as the Gilmore-Parker house.  It was built in 1853, for Thomas Course Gilmore, an English cotton merchant.  The mansion was later sold by the Gilmore heirs to John M. Parker, whose son, John M. Parker, Jr., lived and later became the governor of Louisiana.

This mansion is currently owned by the Women's Opera Guild, and is open for tours.  The home was built in 1859 for an American merchant.

This mansion is another home owned by Anne Rice.  It was once an active Catholic chapel and is known as Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel.

This mansion was built in the early 1850's for Joseph H. Maddox, owner of the New Orleans Daily Crescent, which was an important newspaper at the time.  While we were there, there was a crew working on the inside.

This mansion features Corinthian columns and stucco.  Although most homes in the district have brick exteriors, most were painted, or stuccoed, and then painted to look like stone.

This is a true Southern-style home.  One can almost imagine the lovely Southern belles and gents that once enjoyed the host of social events here.

This mansion is an example of how homes built in the 19th century, typically harmonized with their lush outside surroundings.

This mansion is believed to be the oldest home in the district.  It was built for Thomas Toby, a manager of large plantations from Philadelphia.  Because it use to be at the end of the bus line, it became known as "Toby's Corner."  The home is currently owned by a fourth generation family member.

Located along St. Charles Street, Claiborne Cottage is a Greek Revival cottage built in 1857, by John Vittie.  The home was originally built for Sophronie Claiborne Marigny, daughter of Louisiana's first Governor, and wife of a prominent political and military figure, Mandeville Marigny.  Since then, the house has had several subsequent owners, and served as a grammar school, high school, and convent before being restored to a private Garden District residence in 1980.  Today the cottage is another of the homes in the district owned by Anne Rice.

Laid out in 1833, by the original residents of the Garden District, the cemetery was almost full within the first 20 years of operation, due to residents who had succumb to yellow fever.  Anne Rice frequently uses Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 for locations in her stories.

Besides the homes already mentioned above, there were many more that I took picture of, just for fun.  I tried not to repeat any, but I apologize now if I did.

Also in the Garden District, and in the French Quarter, the streets were lined with these little guys.

Along St. Charles Street, and throughout downtown, it was common to come across mini decorated trolley cars and these weird ball dog statues.

Another fun thing we noticed on St Charles Street, was that a majority of the trees were full of beads.  Unfortunately, Jim took the picture from a moving bus, so it is kind of fuzzy, but you get the idea.