The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly B BUILDINGS
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VOLUME XXXV The Historic New Orleans NUMBER 2 Collection Quarterly SPRING 2018 Shop online at www.hnoc.org/shop QUARTER CLASSIC: A Building’s Road to Restoration EVENT CALENDAR EXHIBITIONS & TOURS Programming related to THNOC’s Original Liberty Jazz Band will perform All exhibitions are free unless otherwise noted. tricentennial exhibition New Orleans, the classic songs from Lewis’s repertoire. Founding Era is listed in white. Wednesday, April 11, 6–7 p.m. CURRENT Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street “SOIRÉE MUSICALE IN $25 for non-members; $15 for THNOC 18TH-CENTURY NEW ORLEANS” members at the Founder, Merieult, and Mahalia Join us for an evening of music popular in levels; free for members at Caillot, Jackson, colonial New Orleans. Harpsichordist Davide Laussat, and Bienville levels; for reservations, Mariano will play selections drawn from the visit www.hnoc.org or call (504) 523-4662. papers of Jean-Charles de Pradel, an early resident of the city. “THE TUNICA-BILOXI AND THE Tuesday, March 13, 6–7:30 p.m. RISE OF LOUISIANA” Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street John D. Barbry, director of development $15 for non-members; $5 for THNOC members and programming for the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe at the Founder, Merieult, and Mahalia levels; of Louisiana, will discuss the rich history free for members at Caillot, Jackson, Laussat, of the Tunica Nation, the artifacts known New Orleans, the Founding Era and Bienville levels. as the Tunica Treasure, and efforts to revital- Through May 27, 2018 ize the language of the Tunica people. Williams Gallery and Louisiana History “WHAT LIES BENEATH: Galleries, 533 Royal Street Tuesday, April 24, 6–7 p.m. ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE 533 Royal Street The Seignouret-Brulatour House: FRENCH QUARTER” Free Professor D. Ryan Gray of the University of A New Chapter New Orleans and Elizabeth Williams of Earth “TRADITIONAL HERBAL Through June 2018 Search Inc. will discuss the archaeological REMEDIES IN THE AFRICAN 533 Royal Street legacy of the Vieux Carré. AMERICAN COMMUNITY” Tuesday, March 20, 6–8 p.m. Born and raised in rural Mississippi, Eddie PERMANENT 533 Royal Street Boyd grew up using traditional herbal Louisiana History Galleries Free; for reservations, visit www.hnoc.org or remedies passed down through the African closed through June 25, 2018 call (504) 523-4662. American community. Having researched 533 Royal Street the effectiveness of the remedies as a faculty MUSICAL LOUISIANA: AMERICA’S member at the University of Michigan College The Williams Residence Tour CULTURAL HERITAGE of Pharmacy, Boyd will present his findings on THNOC Architecture Tour For the 12th year, THNOC and the Louisiana the herbs and their traditional uses. 533 Royal Street Philharmonic Orchestra copresent this free Saturday, May 12, 1–4 p.m. Tuesday–Saturday, 10 and 11 a.m., 2 and 3 p.m. concert at the historic St. Louis Cathedral. This 533 Royal Street Sunday, 11 a.m., 2 and 3 p.m. year’s theme, “Music in the City,” celebrates Free $5 admission; free for THNOC members the diverse peoples who have contributed to Groups of eight or more should call (504) 598- the region’s musical culture. “THE EARLY FRENCH MAPPING 7145 or visit www.hnoc.org to make reservations. Wednesday, March 21, 7:30 p.m. OF LOUISIANA” Educational tours for school groups are St. Louis Cathedral, 615 Pere Antoine Alley Dennis Reinhartz, professor emeritus at the available free of charge; please contact Jenny Free; no reservations necessary University of Texas at Arlington, will give Schwartzberg, curator of education, at (504) 556-7661 or [email protected]. a presentation on the early French maps “ARRIVING AFRICANS AND A that preceded and developed alongside the CHANGING NEW ORLEANS” founding of the city. UPCOMING Join historian and exhibition curator Erin M. Tuesday, May 22, 6–7 p.m. Art of the City preview exhibition Greenwald, now curator of programs at the 533 Royal Street May 8–Fall 2018 New Orleans Museum of Art, for a look at the Free 533 Royal Street formative role Africans played in the cultural, economic, and physical development of early “PULP FACTS: CELEBRATING New Orleans. CITRUS” GENERAL HOURS Tuesday, March 27, 6–7 p.m. The Collection’s fifth culinary symposium will 533 Royal Street explore the juicy topic of citrus. Join us for a 533 Royal Street Free; for reservations, visit www.hnoc.org or day of presentations exploring the history and Williams Gallery, Louisiana History call (504) 523-4662. global impact of these fruits, from marmalade Galleries, Shop, and Tours to limoncello. Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. BILL RUSSELL LECTURE Sunday, 10:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Saturday, June 9, all day For this year’s annual lecture inspired Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street by the work of jazz collector Bill Russell, $25 for non-members, $15 for THNOC 400 and 410 Chartres Street Dr. Michael White, clarinetist, composer, members at the Founder, Merieult, and Mahalia Williams Research Center, Boyd Cruise and Keller Endowed Chair in the Humanities levels; free for members at Caillot, Jackson, Gallery, and Laura Simon Nelson at Xavier University, will discuss the legacy Laussat, and Bienville levels; for reservations, Galleries of jazz clarinetist George Lewis. White’s visit www.hnoc.org or call (504) 523-4662. Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. ON THE COVER Seignouret-Brulatour building garde-de-frise 1947; gelatin silver print by Stuart Moore Lynn gift of Stuart M. Lynn, 1978.102.83 CONTENTS BUILDINGS / 2 Explore the 200-year history of The Collection’s new museum facility. ON VIEW / 6 Off-Site Spotlight: Tricentennial Moments series serves up New Orleans history in miniature. Off-Site PROGRAMS / 9 FROM THE DIRECTOR Tall ships anchor in New Orleans. Perhaps the best thing about being located in the heart of the French Quarter is that we BOOKS / 10 are surrounded by the very history and culture we seek to preserve, exhibit, and make The Tennessee Williams Annual Review available to the public. The spaces we inhabit have their own stories, some stretch- unveils a Williams-penned film treatment. ing even further beyond New Orleans’s 300-year history. That’s why I’m so excited about our new exhibition center, set to open this fall. Located at 520 Royal Street, the RESEARCH / 12 museum facility combines the restoration of the historic Seignouret-Brulatour build- A leading American architect’s vision for ing with the addition of a new state-of-the-art exhibition space, tied together by one of the lakefront emerges from the archives. the most iconic courtyards in the Vieux Carré. As The Collection starts a new chapter in its own history, we are proud to costar in the continuing story of this 200-year-old COMMUNITY / 14 property, which has hosted business magnates, artists, television personalities, and even On the Job the cast of Saturday Night Live. I hope you enjoy learning more about the history of Staff News THNOC’s new addition in this issue of the Quarterly. In Memoriam As we continue our yearlong celebration of New Orleans’s tricentennial, I am pleased to spotlight some of the many media projects that have made use of our holdings to Focus on Philanthropy illustrate various aspects of the city’s history. From WYES’s Tricentennial Moments Donors and WWNO’s TriPod series all the way to the Library of Congress, we are proud to On the Scene assist others in sharing the history of our beloved hometown. Sadly, this issue of the Quarterly says goodbye to one of its longest-serving advo- ACQUISITIONS / 22 cates, Mary Lou Christovich, who passed away in late December. Known for her fierce Acquisition Spotlight: A rare pamphlet support of architectural preservation, authorship of important books, and longtime critiques the work of Creole playwright service on our board of directors, she will be remembered as a tireless guardian of the Victor Séjour. city’s heritage. Our heartfelt condolences go to her family. —PRISCILLA LAWRENCE Recent Additions 2 The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly B BUILDINGS Brulatour Backstory In transforming the Seignouret-Brulatour building into a major museum facility, The Collection joins a long, varied line of esteemed occupants. The Historic New Orleans Collection’s yearlong commemoration of the city’s tricenten- nial will culminate this fall with the opening of its third French Quarter campus, on a property with centuries of history of its own. The 19th-century Seignouret-Brulatour building anchors the new campus, which also includes a picturesque interior courtyard and a new, state-of-the-art structure featuring three floors of galleries. With 12,000 square feet of new exhibition space, innovative interactive installations for children and adults, a shop, and a café, the location will present new and exciting ways for the public to engage with museum collections and programs while also faithfully representing the history of the property. “The expansion of our museum is, in many ways, a return to the focus on preservation that motivated Leila and Kemper Williams to move to the French Quarter and establish THNOC in the first place,” said Deputy Director Daniel Hammer. THNOC hired architectural firm Waggonner and Ball to oversee preservation efforts and new construction. Visitors will enter through a three-story entresol townhouse built in 1816 for French-born furniture maker and wine importer François Seignouret. His B “S” monogram is visible in the garde-de-frise on the third-story wrought iron balcony, an original detail of the building. Other surviving early features include a second-level cast iron balcony, granite columns and lintels, and two service wings in the rear.