The History of our New Orleans French Quarter Hotel

Jean Baptist LeMoyne, Sieur de Bienville, would certainly be impressed if he were to see the Chateau LeMoyne, a small gem of a New Orleans hotel named after the founder of the city. The buildings which house this downtown New Orleans hotel were designed by James Gallagher, an Irish immigrant who settled in New Orleans who later changed his name to James Gallier. The architect behind some of the city’s most impressive structures, he designed portions of what were to be the Chateau LeMoyne in 1847, even before he was to build the town’s City Hall. The solid and meticulous construction of the buildings has allowed these structures to remain as the foundation for this historic New Orleans lodging.

The hotel begins at 317 Dauphine Street, where three elegant Greek Revival townhouses are set several feet back from the street behind small gardens originally enclosed by iron fences. This was an unusual arrangement in the Vieux Carre where, because of space limitations, most houses were built to the line of the banquette. The hotel then sweeps around the downtown-lake corner where it comes to a beautiful ending in another handsome Gallier-designed edifice in the 900 block of Bienville, built around 1857.

The Chateau LeMoyne had a most auspicious debut, officially opening its doors on October 30, 1971 to much fanfare. The colorful opening day celebration featured the inevitable New Orleans parade including a Dixieland jazz band, horse-drawn carriages and hoop-skirted ladies, all led by a police motorcycle escort from the Bienville monument, zigzagging through the streets to the hotel. After the ribbon cutting ceremonies, a festive reception at the main patio and swimming pool was held for specially-invited guests.