Hey Blake,
I came across a guidebook for the 1884 World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition held here in New Orleans. I’m intrigued by a listing for a place downtown called the Hotel Chalmette. What can you tell us about it?
The Hotel Chalmette opened in 1881 at the corner of Carondelet and Julia streets. The proprietor was Victor Bero, a restaurateur and caterer known for Victor’s Restaurant, which was located in the 200 block of Bourbon Street in the building that became Galatoire’s Restaurant in 1905.
“The establishment is provided with new and superb furniture and all modern improvements,” The Daily Picayune wrote about the Hotel Chalmette. “To say that it will succeed is only to forecast the prosperity of this well-ordered and spacious house.”…