The first of its kind in Louisiana, and only one of a handful across the country, Lula Restaurant & Distillery helps to revitalize a stretch of St. Charles Avenue in a city where spirits were born. From the exterior, it doesn’t look like much has changed about the building that […]
Aloft Hotel: Setting the Bar
Open for two years as of February, the Aloft New Orleans was one of many adaptive reuse projects planned by Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide. Located on the corner of Baronne and Gravier downtown, the 30-story office building originally built in 1962 has been transformed into a mixed-use complex featuring […]
The Troubadour Hotel: Ballad of a boutique
This past fall, New Orleans’ Central Business District welcomed the newest addition to the city’s burgeoning boutique craze, The Troubadour Hotel. Slumber Corners NOLA LLC purchased the long-defunct Rault Center and initiated a $10 million renovation, in coordination with locally-based Campo Architects, that only came to completion a few months […]
A cosmopolitan dining experience: Meril
From concept and design to an eclectic, international menu, Emeril Lagasse’s fourth New Orleans restaurant reflects the new face of the celebrity chef and the ever-changing Warehouse District neighborhood. Several months ago, celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse opened Meril in the burgeoning Warehouse District, mere blocks from his flagship restaurant Emeril’s. […]
Once Again, A Civic Circle
The Greater New Orleans Foundation brings new life to the once-derelict Lee Circle with its Center for Philanthropy, a cutting edge, 22,000 square foot building designed by local architectural firm Waggonner & Ball. Eighteen months and $13 million later, a corner once blighted by an abandoned Shell gas station is […]
Augmenting Tradition: Windsor Court Hotel
The Windsor Court Hotel reopens their distinguished and refurbished Polo Lounge after a summer-long expansion, offering increased seating and an extended performance area without sacrificing opulence or comfort. For over three decades, the Windsor Court Hotel has been an inviting place, offering luxury and refinement to visitors and locals alike. […]
Reviving a Legend: Pontchartrain Hotel
Innovative hospitality and real estate investors AJ Capital Partners in Chicago have reinvigorated the Garden District gem with design that pays homage to the hotel’s illustrious past while simultaneously appealing to future generations. Originally built in 1927, the Pontchartrain is a quintessential New Orleans landmark that has played host to […]
Merging Mediums
New York’s Architecture & Design Film Festival comes to New Orleans for the first time this summer in a celebration designed for professionals and enthusiasts alike. Founded in 2009 by Kyle Bergman, professional architect and film aficionado, the Architecture & Design Film Festival explores the diversity, creativity, social impact and […]
The Refinery: The Sweetness of Downtown Living
Orleans Properties transforms a 200-year-old molasses refinery into luxury residential accommodations. Originally built as the Rodd Bros. Molasses Refinery in the early 1800’s, the building at 701 S. Peters St. in the Warehouse District has gone through extensive renovation to become a high-end, luxury apartment complex dubbed The Refinery. Developer […]
House of the week: Victorian cottage on Lepage St.
As housing prices rise in New Orleans, gorgeous classic homes float ever further from my financial reach. Finding a house that hasn’t had the culture renovated out of it is also becoming more and more difficult, but once in a while I’ll stumble upon a real beauty.
The recreation of a destination: Trinity Restaurant
Before it closed last year, Maximo’s Italian Grill was a lower Decatur dining destination for almost three decades. It was a restaurant with a unique ambiance — an open kitchen where chefs would be chefs where everyone could see and hear, revealing, sometimes quite shockingly, how a high-end restaurant kitchen […]
Capturing the soul of a city: The Ace Hotel New Orleans
Recently renovated from the Art Deco building on the corner of Carondolet and Lafayette Street, the Ace Hotel New Orleans is the Portland-based hospitality group’s first foray into the Deep South. The Warehouse District hotel features 234 rooms, rooftop pool, lush courtyard, restaurant, music venue, event spaces and more. To […]