June 2024. For our first visit to the United States of America since the COVID-19 pandemic, we flew to New Orleans via London Heathrow with British Airways. After two days of exploring NOLA, Amtrak‘s Crescent overnight train brought us from Louisiana to New York, where we we stayed one night only before flying home.
After a hot morning session of exploring New Orleans and a late lunch, we decided to seek some air conditioning at the Louisiana State Museum or Louisiana State Museums. Wikipedia uses the singular, the museum website the plural form.
When facing the Saint Louis Cathedral on Jackson Square, the Presbytère is located on the right of the Roman Catholic place of worship, and the Cabildo on the left.
A brief history of the Louisiana State Museum System
The Louisiana State Museum’s (LSM, and here the webste uses the singular form) origins date back to the late 1890s, when the Louisiana Historical Society (LHS) established a repository for historic documents and artifacts, the official website describes the museum system.
In 1900 the Louisiana legislature established a provisional state museum and two years later a state commission to create an exhibition for the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri. That exhibition was reconstituted for LSM, which presented it at Washington Artillery Hall in New Orleans in May 1905. The following year, the legislature made the museum permanent.
In 1908 the city of New Orleans transferred the Cabildo and the Presbytère to the museum, and on 30 April 1912, the museum held its grand opening to celebrate Louisiana’s statehood centennial.
In 1926 philanthropist and preservationist William Ratcliffe Irby left the Lower Pontalba Building, the Jackson House, and the Creole House to LSM. The Works Progress Administration undertook several projects at LSM in the mid-1930s, including major renovations at the Presbytère and the Lower Pontalba.
WPA workers translated and indexed the colonial documents and conserved painting. In 1947 Stella Hirsch Lemann donated Madame John’s Legacy to the museum; the building opened to the public two years later, one year after the museum added the 1850 House museum in the Lower Pontalba to its roster.
The Friends of the Cabildo (FOC) organized in 1956. Since that time, the FOC has provided financial support, volunteer efforts, and many other contributions to the museum. In 1981, the Louisiana Museum Foundation, a nonprofit organization, was founded to accept and administer grants and community donations on behalf of LSM.
The federal government transferred ownership of the Old U.S. Mint to the Louisiana State Museum in 1966. After extensive renovations, the building opened to the public in 1981, in part housing the Louisiana Historical Center, which gives researchers access to LSM’s document and map holdings. In 1977 the New Orleans Jazz Club donated one of LSM’s most-renowned collections, the Jazz Collection, which includes Louis Armstrong’s first cornet.
On 11 May 1988, a fire inflicted heavy damage on the Cabildo, destroying the third floor. The historic treasure was restored and reopened in 1994. LSM expanded three times in the following decade, acquiring the Wedell-Williams Aviation Museum in Patterson in 1995, the Old Courthouse Museum in Natchitoches in 1998, and the E. D. White House in Thibodaux in 2001.
A new Patterson facility was completed in 2005, with a redesigned aviation exhibition opening in 2008; the building also houses the Cypress Sawmill Museum.
The Capitol Park Museum opened in Baton Rouge in 2006. In 2013 the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum opened in Natchitoches. The Old U.S. Mint became home to the New Orleans Jazz Museum, a branch of the state museum based on its renowned jazz collection, in 2018.
The Presbytère
The Presbytère was built in 1813 as a matching structure for the Cabildo, which flanks the cathedral on the other side, it is one of the nation’s best examples of formal colonial Spanish architecture (with many neo-Renaissance elements. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970, and is now a property of the Louisiana State Museum.
The Presbytère is located on the northeast side of Jackson Square, between the cathedral and St. Ann Street. It is a two-story brick building, originally built with a flat roof that had a balustrade topped by urns. Its ground floor has a nine-bay open arcade of elliptical arches, with pilastered corners. The upper level also has arched openings, all articulated by pilasters, with multipane windows.
The center three bays on both levels have engaged columns on either side, and are topped as a group by a gabled pediment. A dormered mansard roof was added in 1847, which is topped by a louvered cupola.
The Presbytère was designed in 1791 by the French-born Gilberto Guillemard to match the Cabildo, or Town Hall, on the other side of St. Louis Cathedral.
By 1798, only the first floor had been completed, and its second floor was not completed until 1813. Originally called the Casa Curial (‘Ecclesiastical House‘), its name derives from the fact that it was built on the former site of the residence of the Capuchin friars and presbytery (rectory, presbytère in French).
While intended to house clergy, it was never used as a religious residence. The building initially was used for commercial purposes until 1834, when it was used by the Louisiana Supreme Court.
In 1853, cathedral officials sold the Presbytère to the city, and in 1908 the city sold it to the state. In 1911 it became part of the Louisiana State Museum.
In 2005, the cupola was replaced atop the Presbytère. The cupola had been missing since the New Orleans Hurricane of 1915.
Inside the Presbytère
The LSM presents two exhibitions at the Presbytère. ‘Mardi Gras: It’s Carnival Time in Louisiana‘ offers a window into the annual celebration and riotous rituals of Mardi Gras, a festival that is inextricably woven into Louisiana’s way of life and whose roots extend deep into the Middle Ages.
There are parade floats to climb, costumes to see, and historical throws on display as well as rare glimpses into the secretive social club society from which modern-day Mardi Gras krewes evolved. And it’s not a party without music: Mardi Gras albums, records, sheet music and more are also part of the collection.
The ‘Living with Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond‘ exhibit tells of rescue, rebuilding, and renewal. When in 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans’ badly engineered levee system, it resulted in one of the worst disasters in American history, leaving 80 percent of the city flooded and hundreds dead.
The exhibit documents the event, the aftermath, and southeast Louisiana’s ongoing recovery. With interactive exhibits and artifacts that showcase the spirit of the city’s residents, this is a collection you don’t want to miss.
The Cabildo
The Cabildo, originally called Casa Capitular, was originally the seat of Spanish colonial city hall, the building now forms part of the Louisiana State Museum.
The original Cabildo was destroyed in the Great New Orleans Fire of 1788. The building was rebuilt between 1795 and 1799 as the home of the Spanish municipal government in New Orleans.
In 1821, the Spanish coat of arms was removed from the façade pediment and replaced with the extant American eagle with cannonballs by the Italian sculptor Pietro Cardelli and the third floor with mansard roof was later added in 1847, in the French style.
The building took its name from the governing body who met there—the “Illustrious Cabildo,” or city council. The Cabildo was the site of the Louisiana Purchase transfer ceremonies late in 1803, and continued to be used by the New Orleans city council until the mid-1850s.
The building’s main hall, the Sala Capitular (‘Meeting Room‘), was originally utilized as a courtroom. The Spanish used the courtroom from 1799 to 1803, and from 1803 to 1812 it was used by the Louisiana territorial superior court.
Between 1868 and 1910, the Cabildo was the seat of the Louisiana Supreme Court.The Sala Capitular was the site of several landmark court cases, including Plessy v. Ferguson.
In 1895, the building was in a state of decay and proposed for demolition; artist William Woodward led a successful campaign to have the historic building preserved and restored.
In 1911, with the state’s highest court having vacated, the Cabildo became the home of the Louisiana State Museum. The museum displays exhibits about the history of Louisiana from its settlement up through the Reconstruction Era, and about the heritage of the ethnic groups who have lived in the state. The Cabildo was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960.
The Cabildo was extensively damaged by a fire on 11 May 1988, which destroyed the cupola and the entire third floor, but it was restored and reopened to the public in 1994.
In 2005, the Cabildo survived Hurricane Katrina, the eye of which passed 30 miles (48 km) east of downtown, with relatively minor damage. Days after the storm struck, the Louisiana State Police used the business offices of the Cabildo to set up what was called Troop N. From the Cabildo, state troopers patrolled the city’s streets along with police agencies from New Mexico and New York.
Inside the Cabildo
In commemoration of the city’s 300th anniversary, the Louisiana State Museum debuted a new exhibition, ‘We Love You, New Orleans!‘, celebrating people, places, and things that are quintessentially New Orleans including Sidney Bechet’s saxophone, a Mardi Gras Indian suit, memorabilia from Pontchartrain Beach, and a K&B sign, among other things.
Using a variety of artifacts, images, and documents, the exhibition ‘From “Dirty Shirts” to Buccaneers: The Battle of New Orleans in American Culture‘ opens with an exploration of the battle’s history, emphasizing the diversity of its participants, and closes with an investigation of how the battle has been remembered, commemorated and represented.
The three floors of Cabildo exhibitions cover the history of Louisiana by featuring artifacts such as documents, paintings and 3D objects from the museum’s vast collection.
On the top floor, we saw ‘Hunt Slonem: A Retrospective‘, a temporary exhibition which ran until 30 September.
The internationally acclaimed paintings and sculpture of Hunt Slonem (b. 1951) feature prominently in New Orleans and Baton Rouge art collections. Slonem maintains a thriving Manhattan studio while dividing his time between the Northeast and Louisiana. His art, so beloved here, has captured the heart of the contemporary market and flourishes in galleries across the globe.
‘Hunt Slonem: A Retrospective’ considers the influence of New Orleans and its environs on Slonem’s iconic work.
His paintings feature intensely colorful subjects—whimsical bunnies, profuse vandas, cattelayas, and irises and fiery perched motmots and amazons—often suspended in antique frames.
This retrospective explores Slonem’s profound connection with this poetic city and the impact of its exotic mystique on his artistic vision.
Paintings and sculpture lent exclusively by Louisiana patrons and museums are explored in an art historical context, and the precedents for his painterly style and subject matter are briefly considered. The painter’s sources of inspiration in Louisiana are explored.
So?
We found the Katrina exhibition to be very interesting. Actually, we did not allocate enough time to properly visit both museums. By the way, an entrance ticket does not cover both. A combination ticket was not offered to us. No idea if there is one.
And we certainly dod not have time for the 1850 House on Jackson Square.
1850 House
Part of the Lower Pontalba Building on Jackson Square, this rowhouse represents mid-nineteenth-century life in New Orleans. Visitors encounter the stories of the Baroness de Pontalba—the remarkable woman who oversaw construction of the building—and the people who lived here in the 1850s, including enslaved workers and Irish immigrant servants. Highlights include furniture and decorative objects made in New Orleans and a kitchen with a cast-iron range.
The 1850 House doesn’t represent any single family’s house, rather, it reflects mid-19th century prosperity, taste, and daily life in New Orleans. The house is furnished with art and décor that speak to that era as well, including a set of John Slidell’s china, Old Paris porcelain, New Orleans silver, and dozens of notable paintings and furnishings that, taken as a whole, transport you back in time.
Located at the front of the museum, the 1850 House Museum Store helps support the Louisiana State Museums through sales of daily tours and merchandise. Many books with topics including history, food, hauntings, architecture, and children’s stories are available as well as handmade art, jewelry, pottery, and crafts from local Louisiana artists. The online store is also available here!
Standing on opposite sides of Jackson Square, the Upper and Lower Pontalba buildings were designed and financed by the Baroness Micaela Almonester de Pontalba. Her father, Don Andrés Almonester y Roxas, was a Spanish colonial landowner who helped finance The Cabildo, St. Louis Cathedral, and The Presbytère.
Inspired by the imposing Parisian architecture the Baroness favored, the distinctive rowhouses were intended to serve as both elegant residences and retail establishments.
In 1921, the Pontalba family sold the Lower Pontalba Building to philanthropist William Ratcliffe Irby, who bequeathed it to the Louisiana State Museum in 1927.
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