Her father was Spanish; her mother French. To the right of the cathedral is the Lower Pontalba Apartments owned by the State of Louisiana, and to the left of the cathedral is the Upper Pontalba Apartments owned by the City of New Orleans. When the Pontalba family decided to sell off the property in 1920, New Orleans philanthropist William Ratcliffe Irby bought the Lower Pontalba, which he bequeathed to the Louisiana State Museum, which maintains control today. Marker is at the intersection of Chartres Street and St. Ann St., on the right when traveling west on Chartres Street. They are historically significant because they are the oldest continually rented apartment buildings in the United States. Some of our most notable projects include the reroofing and historic masonry restoration of the Lower Pontalba Building in New Orleans, originally built in the 1840s, as well as the historic restoration of The Old President’s House on Louisiana State University’s campus in Baton Rouge. Huber, Leonard V. and Samuel Wilson, Jr. Baroness Pontalba’s Buildings: Their Site and the Remarkable Woman Who Built Them. NEW ORLEANS — Shop owners in the Lower Pontalba building on Jackson Square hope to get a break on rent while the coronavirus significantly curbs tourist traffic in New Orleans… All Rights Reserved. The building fronting Rue St. Peter, upriver from Jackson Square, is the upper Pontalba. The Upper Pontalba Building—now owned by the City of New Orleans—is on St. Peter Street, and the Lower Pontalba Building, owned by the state, is on St. Ann Street. Privacy Policy. Lining two sides of Jackson Square are the resplendent brick row houses named the Pontalba Buildings, which were completed in the early 1850s and remain French Quarter landmarks. In 1930, they sold the property to the Pontalba Building Museum Association, which in turn transferred the buildings to the City of New Orleans. The Pontalba Buildings form two sides of Jackson Square in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. Subsequently, Spanish governor Don Alessandro O’Reilly gave the land to the city in name of King Charles III. Baroness Pontalba’s grand project acted as catalyst for other municipal improvements on the square. During the New Deal, the Work Progress Administration (WPA) restored the historic buildings at the heart of the French Quarter in New Orleans, forming three sides of Jackson Square: the Upper and Lower Pontalba Buildings, the Cabildo and the Presbytère (see project pages on each one). The Pontalbas remain today as the lasting contribution of the Baroness Pontalba to the architectural landscape of the French Quarter. Estranged from her husband, Micaëla returned to New Orleans for a visit in 1831, where she began planning her grand project. From 1849-1851, architect Henry Howard served as the main designer of these red-brick buildings. Kendall, John S. “The Pontalba Buildings.” Louisiana Historical Quarterly 19.1 (1936): 119–149. The French Quarter home was leased to Bernard Tremoulet as a hotel. Baroness Pontalba died in France in 1874, and the Pontalba family retained ownership of the buildings until the 1920s; but they did not take an interest in the townhouses, so they fell into disrepair. Each building included the first recorded use of iron railings which i… In the Winter sunshine, the Lower Pontalba looked as grand, as ever. A successful businesswoman, the Baroness Pontalba invested in real estate properties and purchased large parcels of land on the upriver and downriver sides of the Place d’Armes. Lower Pontalba Building Black-and-white reproduction of a photograph of the Lower Pontalba Building. As described in L’Abeille de la Nouvelle Orleans, Pontalba intended to construct “blocks of buildings that will bear comparison with any in the country and challenge rivalry from abroad.” Though legal and financial battles with her estranged husband delayed her plans, Pontalba resumed her New Orleans project in the late 1840s. [2][3], U.S. National Register of Historic Places, List of National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana, National Register of Historic Places listings in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Pontalba Buildings", History of the National Register of Historic Places, National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pontalba_Buildings&oldid=968178018, National Register of Historic Places in New Orleans, Articles using NRISref without a reference number, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Short description with empty Wikidata description, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Farnsworth, Jean M. and Ann Masson, eds. The state of Louisiana owns the Lower Pontalba across Jackson Square. (You can unsubscribe anytime). The Upper Pontalba Building—now owned by the City of New Orleans—is on St. Peter … Baroness Pontalba, an accomplished businesswoman, invested in real estate, purchasing the land on the upriver and downriver sides of the Place d’Armes. “Jackson Square.” Louisiana Historical Quarterly. Subscribe today to support our mission and contributors. Immigrant laborers crowded into the neighborhood, often bringing large families, cats, pigs, and perhaps a cow or two. In April 1851, the baroness left New Orleans with her two sons and never returned. The row houses were turned into apartments during the 1930s renovations (during the Great Depression). By 1866, the Civil War had obliterated the prosperity of antebellum New Orleans, hitting the French Quarter especially hard. [3] The cast-iron panels in the first floor balustrade feature her initials, 'AP', intertwined in the design. The Pontalba Buildings’ striking cast iron verandas began the vogue for iron galleries in New Orleans. 500 St. Ann Street & 500 St. Peter Street, This page was last edited on 17 July 2020, at 18:40. They were originally built as row houses, not rental apartments. Lining two sides of Jackson Square are the resplendent brick row houses named the Pontalba Buildings, which were completed in the early 1850s and remain French Quarter landmarks. In reaction, Creole families scattered out along the Esplanade Ridge and even into the Americanized uptown suburbs. Fleeing Europe during the Revolution of 1848, Micaëla arrived for her second and last visit to New Orleans and launched her building scheme. 835.6100 f. 504. Micael was born in 1795 and, as was customary in those days, entered into an arranged marriage when she was just a few days shy of turning 16. De Limon Place 401 Rue St. Ann Metairie, LA 70005 o. She constructed two Parisian-style row house buildings between 1849-51, at a cost of over $300,000. With its counterpart, they’re considered to be the first apartment buildings in … According to Christina Vella, historian of modern Europe, the Pontalba Buildings were not the first apartment buildings in the present-day U.S., as is commonly believed. It was Henry Howard, however, who executed the final plans and claimed the design in his autobiographical sketch. Meanwhile, in France, the future Baroness became familiar with such grand Parisian architectural ensembles as the Palais Royale and the Place des Vosges. Finding respite in 64 PARISHES during the COVID-19 crisis? He also may have designed the “AP” monograph adorning the buildings’ cast iron verandas. In 1919, Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré moved to the second floor of the Lower Pontalba at the corner of St. Ann and Decatur, where they remained until 1922. The talented youngest son, Gaston, made a series of sketches of the Quarter during his visit between 1848 and 1851, now archived in the Louisiana State Museum. Often referred to as the “oldest apartment building in the U.S.”, the residential apartments offer an unparalleled living experience in New Orleans – one that combines the building’s fascinating history and unique design with classic modern elegance. The Upper and Lower Pontalba buildings flanking Jackson Square were declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974. Nothing can have a meaner, dirtier and ill-formed effect that these buildings.”. During the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration provided extensive funding for renovation to both the Upper and Lower Buildings. The Upper and Lower Pontalba buildings flanking Jackson Square were declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974. Well-known New Orleans architect James Gallier, Sr., completed a series of preliminary drawings and specifications, which were actually attached to the 1849 building contract for the St. Peter townhouses. The Pontalba Buildings form two sides of Jackson Square in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. La Madeline on Jackson Square, New Orleans, Lower Pontalba Building, 1989.jpg 5,772 × 4,149; 7.93 MB Mostly empty streets of New Orleans at the end of March 2020 with Porsche - JDC - … Twin block-long, red brick structures, generally referred to as the Upper and Lower Pontalba Buildings, face Jackson Square, lining St. Peter and St. Ann Streets. Between 1777 and 1782, Don Andres Almonester y Roxas, Baroness Pontalba’s father, purchased the land piecemeal. In the 1850s, the old square itself was targeted for beautification. Wrought iron balcony, Lower Pontalba Building, New Orleans Contributor Names Genthe, Arnold, 1869-1942, photographer Created / Published between 1920 and 1926. Pontalba Buildings: Lower Pontalba - Grand on This Winter Day - See 12 traveler reviews, 3 candid photos, and great deals for New Orleans, LA, at Tripadvisor. “A pall of poverty and decay hung over the old streets and houses,” preservationist Martha Gilmore Robinson recalled, and “tattered clothes fluttered from the iron balconies of the once proudly fashionable Pontalba buildings.” After the death of the baroness in 1874, her heirs took no interest in the New Orleans properties, and the buildings fell into disrepair. On their 1721 plan of New Orleans, French military engineers Pierre Le Blond de la Tour and Adrien de Pauger designated the site as the center of the settlement’s public, religious, and governmental activities, with buildings on three sides and open to the Mississippi River on the fourth side. 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