Bourbon Street tour features unique homes
Published 2:43 pm Wednesday, October 29, 2008
While world-famous for its nightlife, New Orleans’ Bourbon Street was a fashionable address more than a century and a half ago and remains a splendid place to live.
On Sunday, Nov. 2, five private homes in the Bourbon Street corridor will be opened to the public for the annual “Treasures of Bourbon Street” house tour to give outsiders a chance to see how people live in this unique urban neighborhood.
The homes will be on view from 1 to 5 p.m. Tickets ($15 per person) must be purchased by 3:30 p.m. on the day of the tour at 729 Dumaine St. or 1111 Bourbon St. The event is being sponsored by the non-profit Historic Bourbon Street Foundation which strives to preserve the residential heritage of Bourbon Street.
The tour will feature:
729 Dumaine St. — A small gem of Victorian architecture furnished with contemporary pieces and an art collection, including paintings by the artist owner. The brick walled patio includes a Bonsai collection.
839 Bourbon St. — This 1830s Creole townhouse features a lush courtyard entered through an arched loggia and containing rare cast and wrought iron furnishings. The dining room, which looks out over the courtyard through tall French doors, contains Empire Federal and Victorian antiques.
816 St. Philip St. — A two-story brick townhouse dating from the 1800s contains antique furnishings and a ghost story featuring a previous owner. To the rear of the home is a large courtyard garden.
1100 Bourbon St. — An early 1800s Creole cottage that acquired huge shuttered Victorian dormer windows after an 1870s fire. The ground floor of the building, true to French Quarter tradition, has been occupied by a corner grocery since the early 1900s. The property was owned by the same family for a century until it recently was acquired by a young couple who have renovated the second floor.
1111 Bourbon St. — This Victorian cottage is filled with a collection of Louisiana, Empire and Victorian antiques. A two-story rear structure dates from the early 1800s and looks down on a romantic courtyard.
For more information about the “Treasures of Bourbon Street” home tour, call 504-524-3621.