The Postcard
A postally unused Natural Color postcard that was published by the New Orleans News Co. The card was printed by the E. C. Kropp Co. of Milwaukee, Wis.
On the divided back of the card the publishers have printed:
"New Orleans - America's
Most Interesting City.
This fine example of New Orleans Colonial
architecture, once the home of the Confederate
hero General P. G. T. Beauregard, has been set
aside as a shrine for his relics and Civil War
records.
A graduate of West Point, Beauregard is
considered the greatest soldier born in New
Orleans."
The Beauregard-Keyes Historic House and Garden
The BK Historic House and Garden is a historic residence located at 1113 Chartres Street in the French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana.
It is currently a museum focusing on the past residents and associates of the house including its wealthy, pre-civil war French Creole inhabitants, the people they enslaved, the Italian immigrant families who moved in after the civil war, their tenants, and American author, Frances Parkinson Keyes.
History of the BK Historic House and Garden
The land on which the house was built was originally owned by Ursuline nuns, who sold off parcels of their land in 1825.
The home was designed by François Correjolles, and built by James Lambert in 1826 for auctioneer Joseph LeCarpentier. In his design, Correjolles combined elements of a Creole cottage with Greek Revival features, including a Palladian façade.
In particular, he used Creole forms in the interior and on the rear elevation, as well as a cabinet gallery and detached outbuildings, but maintaining the American tradition of a central hall.
Consul of Switzerland John A. Merle became the owner in 1833 and his wife, Anais Philippon, added the adjoining garden.
Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard
Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard married his second wife, Caroline Deslonde, in 1860. Caroline was the daughter of André Deslonde, a sugar planter from St. James Parish.
In 1865, the home was purchased by a local grocer named Dominique Lanata, who rented it out until 1904. His first tenants were the Beauregards.
After the American Civil War, Beauregard returned to 1113 Chartres Street and lived in the house from 1866 to 1868. He then moved with his son René and a widowed older sister to a home at 934 Royal Street, where he lived until 1875.
In 1925, a new owner of the house wanted to tear it down to erect factories. Local women formed the Beauregard Memorial Association to preserve the home.
Frances Keyes
American author Frances Parkinson Keyes purchased the house at 1113 Chartres Street and made it her residence. While living at the house, Keyes wrote numerous books, one of which was set in the house and included Beauregard as a character: Madame Castel's Lodger.
The 1962 novel explored Beauregard's emotional struggles as a twice-widowed Civil War veteran who refused to take the loyalty oath to the Union.
She also wrote a novel called The Chess Players, based on chess champion Paul Morphy, who was also the grandson of the original owner of the house, LeCarpentier.
Keyes began restoration work on the house in 1945 when she hired architect Richard Koch to begin work. She also worked with a local group called the Garden Study Club to replant the garden to its 1830's–1860's look, and rebuild the brick wall surrounding it.
The Orleans Parish Landmarks Commission installed a bronze plaque identifying the home's history in 1958.
Today, the Beauregard-Keyes house is presented in its Victorian style, and showcases items from Beauregard's family, as well as Keyes's studio and her collections of dolls and rare porcelain veilleuses (tea pots).
Keyes wrote several articles about her doll collection for magazines and books. A film, "The Story of the Dixie Doll," produced by Laurie W. McGill discusses not only Keyes' life and books, but her dolls. The house is open for tours.
New Orleans
New Orleans, nicknamed "The Big Easy", is a city located along the Mississippi River in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 according to the 2020 U.S. census, it is the most populous city in Louisiana.
New Orleans is world-renowned for its distinctive music, Creole cuisine, unique dialects, and its annual celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras.
The historic heart of the city is the French Quarter, known for its French and Spanish Creole architecture and vibrant nightlife along Bourbon Street. The city has been described as the "most unique" in the United States, owing in large part to its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage.
Additionally, New Orleans has increasingly been known as "Hollywood South" due to its prominent role in the film industry and in pop culture.
Founded in 1718 by French colonists, New Orleans was once the territorial capital of French Louisiana before becoming part of the United States in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. New Orleans in 1840 was the third most populous city in the United States, and it was the largest city in the American South from the Antebellum era until after World War II.
Hurricane Katrina
The city has historically been very vulnerable to flooding, due to its high rainfall, low lying elevation, poor natural drainage, and proximity to multiple bodies of water. State and federal authorities have installed a complex system of levees and drainage pumps in an effort to protect the city.
New Orleans was severely affected by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, which flooded more than 80% of the city, killed more than 1,800 people, and displaced thousands of residents, causing a population decline of over 50%.
Since Katrina, major redevelopment efforts have led to a rebound in the city's population. However concerns about gentrification, new residents buying property in formerly closely knit communities, and displacement of longtime residents have been expressed.