The 1850 House, Lower Pontalba Building
523 St. Ann St.
New Orleans, LA. 70116
(504) 523-3939

Hours: 

Tuesday through Sunday 9am - 5pm

Closed all legal holidays

The Pontalba Buildings, which surround Jackson Square on St. Ann and St. Peter Streets, were erected in 1850 by Spanish descendant Baroness Micaela Almonester de Pontalba.

She was the daughter of colonial landowner Don Andres Almonester y Roxas. The buildings were architecturally constructed with French flavor. The row houses, as they are known, were built to be both elegant residences and retail establishments.

Comprising the complete 500 block of St.. Ann, the buildings are built of red brick and a balcony extends the entire block. The black, wrought iron railing and banisters of the second and third floors are made up of various designs. The balcony is adorned with plants of vivid colors...lush greens, bold reds, and flowering plants during the long spring, summer and fall months of the favorable growing seasons. The lower floors, where the retail establishments are located, have large narrow wooden doors with narrow windowpane inserts. Some shops leave the doors ajar when they are open for customers, giving an airy feeling to the lower floor.

1921 served as the year the Lower Pontalba Building was sold by the Pontalba family to William Ratcliff Irby, a philanthropist who donated the building to the Louisiana State Museum in l927. Since that time the state has had control of the buildings.

The Louisiana State Museum has re-created a residence-in-time to give visitors idea of what life was like during the 19th century. The retail stores on the lower level were owned and operated by the Baroness Pontalba. The stores sold domestic goods as well as art of the time.

Today, retail businesses continue to occupy the retail space on the lower floor. Residence leases on the upper floors are highly prized. The sale of art during the historical ante-bellum days carries forward to today as St. Ann is an open air art gallery where artists create canvases and sketches of the ante-bellum days. Paddle wheelers and plantations make up the main theme of artists making a living across the historical building.

Tours are available: 

Friends of the Cabildo Walking Tours

Two hour walking tour through one of the oldest communities in the United States, the historic Vieux Carre. Starting at the 1850 House Museum Store on Jackson Square at 523 St. Ann St.

Tour Times:

Monday 1:30PM; Tuesday - Sunday 10:00AM and 1:30PM.

No reservations needed.

Adults (21+) $10; Seniors (61+) and Students (13-20) $8; Children (12 & under) accompanied by an adult - Free. Tour fee includes 15% discount off Museum store purchases. Customized tours are available on a group basis.

Museum gift shop is operated by the Friends of the Cabildo.

- By Jim Vance