An 1826 French Quarter Mansion - Beauregard- Keyes Mansion
In 1826, Joseph LeCarpentier hired architect François Correjolles to design his dream home, complete with rear dependency buildings, in the French Quarter of New Orleans. In 1833, LeCarpentier sold the house to John Ami Merle, who later became the Swiss consul to New Orleans. His family lived there until 1841, when Josephine Laveau Trudeau purchased the property from the creditors of John A. Merle. Following Josephine’s death, her daughter Adonai and her husband inherited the house and continued to live there until the end of the Civil War.
Dominique Lanata purchased the house from Adonai in 1865 as a rental property. Although the house carries his name, General Beauregard never owned it. However, upon his return from the Civil War in late 1865, he, along with his two sons, rented the entire house until 1868 from Lanata.
In 1904, the Lanata heirs sold the house to Corrado Giacona, who operated a wholesale liquor business called Giacona & Co. and became notorious following their involvement in the murder of some local mafia members on the back gallery of the house.
During the early 20th century, the house suffered from severe disrepair, and was fortunately saved from destruction in 1926 by the New Orleans architect General Allison Owen, whose father, William Miler Owen, was one of the founders of the Louisiana Historical Association. General Owen’s purchase of the house provided the Beauregard House, Incorporated, which was established to preserve the house as a memorial to General Beauregard, the time they needed to stabilize it.
Plans for the house museum were put on hold for several years, during which the house served as a homeless shelter, an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting place, and a rest stop and housing center for soldiers during WWII. Minimal repairs were made during this period, but those were sufficient to prevent the house from falling into ruin.
In 1945, purely by accident, author Frances Parkinson Keyes stumbled upon the house while searching for temporary lodging. She eventually took ownership of the property and wrote numerous books there. Keyes and architect Sam Wilson collaborated to restore the house and established the Keyes Foundation shortly thereafter. Following Keyes’s death in 1970, the Beauregard-Keyes House was designated as a museum.
The home is now a museum dedicated to preserving the stories of its past residents — most notably Confederate Army General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard and American author Frances Parkinson Keyes, after whom the house is named.
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What you should know:
Admission includes guided tour of the house and self-guided tour of the gardens.
On the street parking is available, mostly metered, and can be challenging at times.
You could spend up to two hours here.
People are friendly and knowledgeable.
Check website for days and hours of operation.
Location: 1113 Chartres Stree, New Orleans, LA 70116
For more information: Beauregard-Keyes Mansion
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