Architect James Freret designed the house at 937 Esplanade Avenue in 1884 for the Lanaux family, and the building has spent the years since collecting stories.
Freret worked in Victorian Gothic, and the result reads as more vertical and more ornamented than the Creole townhouses a few blocks deeper into the Quarter. Large French windows open onto verandas that look down over the garden. Cathedral ceilings run through the upper floors. The original hardwood has been stained ebony, which sharpens the contrast against the antique furnishings and original artwork filling the rooms.
Ownership took a turn somewhere along the way. Sol Owens, a New Orleans club owner with a reputation, once held the building and used it to house the dancers from his conga line. That chapter tends to come up on tours and in the property’s own promotional material, which suggests the current owners have made peace with it…