828 Toulouse St.
New Orleans, LA 70112
29.958012,-90.067104
Only steps away from the karaoke
spectacular that is Razzoo’s bar where tourists flock to drop all inhibitions
by showcasing their horrible vocal skills, sits the Olivier House Hotel. This
is a great place to stay if you want that historical feel while still being
close to all of the activity. As I’ve said before, proximity is the key when
you are stumbling around at four in the morning and you are seeing three of
everything!
The history of the Olivier House
Hotel begins with a young woman by the name of Madame Marie Anne Bievenu, who
was born in 1772. At the tender age of sixteen, she would marry Nicolas
Godefroy Olivier, who was a well-known painter in the community. The Olivier
family would grow to be very prominent in the city, becoming one of the
wealthiest families in the area. By the 1830’s, Nicolas had passed away,
leaving behind a handsome inheritance to Marie and their nine children. With
her newly found funds, Marie decided that she would build a grand home on a
piece of property she already owned on Toulouse Street.
727 Toulouse St.
New Orleans, LA 70130
29.957653,-90.066025
If you are looking for a hotel in
the French Quarter with a vast amount of history, great food and plenty of
haunted tales to keep you awake, look no further than the Hotel Maison De
Ville, as it is the total package. The hotel and adjacent buildings are said to
be some of the oldest still standing in the city. Surviving raging infernos,
powerful hurricanes and more years of abuse than a Bourbon Street walker, the
buildings are a testament to the resiliency of New Orleans.
The main building of the current
hotel was built around 1800 by Jean Baptiste Lilie Sarpy. Adjacent to this
building are four former slave quarters said to have been built around the
1750’s, making these structures some of the oldest in the city along with the
old Ursuline Convent. The slave quarters eventually were used as garconnieres, or antique bachelor pads.
Creole dignitaries used these homes for their unmarried sons to do “who knows
what” with “who knows who” if you get what I’m hinting at! Today, these
cottages are used as private suites and are part of the hotel property.
