Presbytere Museum - New Orleans,LA

751 Chartres St.

New Orleans, LA 70116

29.958131,-90.063434 

            Located between the St. Louis Cathedral, Muriel’s and the Place d’Armes Hotel, sits a building that is a mirror image of the previously mentioned Cabildo. The Presbytere was purposely built to mimic the older Cabildo and is also currently operated as a museum. While the Cabildo may focus on military relics, the Presbytere features exhibits such as Mardi Gras memorabilia and depictions of some of the city’s most devastating storms.
            Construction of the Spanish Colonial structure began in 1791 and was known as Casa Curial, or the Ecclesiastical House. The building was designed by Gilberto Guillemard, a French architect and was intended to serve as the rectory for the St. Louis Cathedral. By 1813, the second floor was added, although the Presbytere was never used for its intended purpose. The building was then used for several commercial purposes until the 1830’s, when it was used as a courthouse. By 1911, the ownership was transferred to the State of Louisiana to use the Presbytere as the present-day museum.

            Take a stroll around this interesting museum and you may very well come in contact with the resident haunting. Guests and staff alike feel that a former janitor still patrols the long corridors of the Presbytere. He has often been seen as a tall and slender man with curly brown hair. Although harmless, his main targets are young and attractive women. I guess I cannot really blame him, as an eternity of cleaning toilets and emptying trash cans will make any man lonely.