The Historic New Orleans Collection is a renowned institution dedicated to preserving the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South. The Collection’s physical facilities include multiple historic buildings on two campuses in the Vieux Carré that serve its museum, research, and publishing functions. Waggonner & Ball developed a strategic plan for these properties in combination with Collection-owned properties adjacent to the main exhibition facility with museum consultation from Lord Cultural Resources.
Underway is the restoration of and addition to the two-hundred-year-old Seignouret-Brulatour House. Once restored, the historic structure will host a cafe, gift shop, offices, and gallery spaces. Galleries will relate the 300-year history of French Quarter life as well as the building’s former lives as home to a furniture maker, French wine importers, the Arts and Crafts Club of New Orleans and New Orleans School of Art, and the first television station in Louisiana. Brulatour Court is one of the French Quarter’s best-known courtyards, as it was frequently the subject of artwork and a backdrop for television interviews.
A significant major modern addition, carefully inserted into the center of the urban block, will provide additional gallery space. This new space will, for the first time, allow The Historic New Orleans Collection to accommodate larger and more comprehensive traveling exhibits.