New Orleans and Muriel's Jackson Square

When my husband and I had our wedding ceremony, we decided to get back home, we'd have a road trip honeymoon. We saw the amazing scenes like the Grand Canyon, San Antonio, TX, Roswell, NM, but the one I was looking most forward to was New Orleans. That place had been romanticized to me since I was a kid. The jazz, culture, and soul of the city was something I had always dreamed of going to.

Unfortunately, the city wasn't as great as I'd hoped. The streets smelled like urine, there was no music, and it just felt like it had no charm or acceptance to outsiders. We stayed at a hotel in the French Quarter. Everything was decorated beautifully, like the above picture, but it all felt empty too. We saw some interesting sites when walking, but there was a lot of pan handlers out, and locals kept shouting about their hate for tourists as we were checking out the area.

We managed to go by an old church "Cathedral- Basilica of Saint Louis King of France." We couldn't go inside of it, but it was looming and gorgeous. 

The plaque says :

"On The Occasion Of His Second Pastoral Visit To The United States of America

His Holiness

Pope John Paul II

Worshiped With Clergy And Religious In This Historical Basilica

September 12, 1987"

There were many dazzling structures like this magnificent church. 

While I'm not trying to make my experience negative, the city made me feel let down. I really wanted to love New Orleans, but it was a whirlwind of vacant culture through most of my time visiting it.

I'd compare my experience to this - New York City used to have a lot of culture and a rich history to it. This attracted many people to live there to get the "New York experience." This inflated the market, brought in business people who wanted to profit off the popularity, pushed the real New Yorkers out, and now New York is a shell of what it used to be. It looks the part, but it's not what originally enticed people to go and experience it. New Orleans was designed that way too. Corporations took over, money took the front lines. They attract tourists to come based on its past reputation - the historical areas are alluring because of their former culture. (I also don't blame tourists for coming to this place. I know there's a negative sentiment in the world against tourists, but I root for anyone who is willing to travel and see beautiful, historical sites. I wish my own community in California had more tourists - they help the economy, give your city pressure to keep clean, and it's fun to meet people from all over the world.)

The point I'm trying to make though is I don't blame people for wanting to go see New Orleans. I blame those who have capitalized on its success and emptied out anything unique about it to be like everywhere else, because that guarantees them a safe revenue and makes them money. I went to shops and saw bars there that I could have gone to anywhere else in the U.S., I saw many people begging for money on the streets in hopes of guilting those on vacation, and I felt unwanted and scammed for most of my trip.

For most of my time there, my sentiment turned into that other than the way the city looks, there's nothing special about New Orleans; however, one place opened my eyes to see more depth to the area.

"Muriel's Jackson Square" was a restaurant my husband found for us to go to a few blocks from our hotel. Going in there, I got the culture from New Orleans I'd been waiting for. The decor was like a time capsule, and everything was old fashioned and stunning. The biggest highlight though was the staff. New Orleans locals who lived in and loved the city. They were so friendly, and really opened up to us about their lives and experiences. I've worked similar jobs, so it felt nice to click with the service, and hear about their daily lives in the city, especially hearing about the differences from the local parts of New Orleans, to the touristy areas. They wanted to hear about where we were from, and it was just nice to be around and converse with positive people.

The food was also amazing there. I got served a three course meal, and it was some big courses. People in the south don't shy away from good food and large portions. I also had a drink there I loved, called the Witches Brew. It was amazing, coffee and alcohol mixed, although I can't find it on their current menu today. I don't think I've had a better restaurant experience before going there.

The staff told us to go upstairs and see how it was decorated. I took pictures of it, and it's just something you'll have to see. The best I can describe is they represented the past uses for this building throughout the upstairs. They acknowledge its past, and wanted to show it off as part of its present. I felt that was an amazing jewel on top of this sparkling restaurant. I may also be getting some areas messed up or confused. It has been a few years since I've visited.

My husband and I ate in "The Bistro," which is where the main restaurant's indoor seating is. This table was isolated right before we went up the stairs. It's how most of the restaurant was decorated, and being a singular table made it look very private and cozy.

I passed by this room, which looked to be a private event room. It's called "The Plantation" on their website. The restaurant's website says they want to hold up the history and culture of the past, and this room exemplifies that. 

Here's a photo from the balcony of the second story. The nighttime streets of New Orleans were glimmering from up here. I also thought now would be a good time to go into the extensive history of Muriel's building's many past uses. 

In 1718 when the City was first founded, Claude Trepagnier built a small cottage which was the first building on the land that's now Muriel's Jackson Square. Sometime in the mid 1700's, the plot was bought and the cottage was torn down. In its place, an elegant home was built by Jean Baptiste Destrehan. It included everything from a drawing room to a full ballroom, all filled with rich furnishings and decor from Paris. The house was passed down to Jean's son, but after financial burden hit the family it was sold to Pierre Phillipe de Marigny in 1776. After being under new ownership, in 1788 a city-wide fire swept through the French Quarter and the home was badly damaged as a result. Pierre Phillipe de Marigny sold the burnt up remains to Pierre Antoine Lepardi Jourdan. It was restored afterwards, and was brought back to a mixture of it's old glory, with new structuring to let the house stand tall again. There's even charred beams and boards that were found when modern-day renovations were being done. The house remained prominent throughout the early 1800's, up until the Civil War. At that point, it was owned by Julien Poydras, the President of the Louisiana State Senate, who kept it lavish with fine interior styling. 

This building was right across the street from Muriel's, I could see it directly in front of me from the balcony. You can see the very French looking styles of all structures in this area. Jackson Square was designed around the cathedral I took a photo of earlier. It was all meant to be based on French design from the original city planners. 

The house was continually owned by the Poydras family throughout the Civil War. It was sold in 1881 to Theodore Leveau, after economic issues plagued the once-wealthy family who resided in the French Quarter. In 1891, the home was bought by a businessman named Peter Lipari, who was the first to open it up as a commercial property. During this era, it was two separate businesses in the same building - a restaurant named Hill's and a bar known as "The Alec Lanlois Saloon." After this, the building was sold to a man named Frank Taormina in 1916. He turned it into a pasta manufacturer with a grocery store on the lower floor. In this time, it transitioned to become a restaurant called "The Spaghetti Factory." Between 1974 and 2000, the building became a Chart House Restaurant, which was even home to "The Heritage Hall Jazz Band" for several years in the 70's. After purchasing and renovating the building to its former glory, Muriel's Jackson Square was opened in March 2001. This renovation and re-opening was integral to revitalizing the French Quarter of New Orleans, which is now known as a National Historic Park.

While it looks like this is for show, this is actually a room you can book. "The Wine Room" is what it's called, and it can even be gated for a private event. It looked very classy to me as I walked by it.

This is the part of the upstairs known as the Seance Lounge. It has pieces in it to play tribute to the French Quarter, as well as historical items from the building itself. Anything that doesn't match those two themes is meant to make the atmosphere deeper, and more welcoming to the undead, and those exploring to find them. On their site, this is the area where the ghosts of the building mingle in.  

Another angle - plus this was my first peak into the lounge. At first I couldn't believe I was seeing a sarcophagus in a New Orleans restaurant. When I realized what it was, I couldn't wait to go inside. Ancient Egypt has always been a fascination of mine, and the room was dark and eerie looking into it. 

Decor in the Seance Lounge. 

There's no evidence of this, but I'm willing to guess that this is the Heritage Hall Jazz band that played in the building during the 70's.

The opposite side from the Egyptian decor. I did zoom in on the some interesting pieces from this lounge, and those pictures are coming up. You can see why people hypothesize that spirits gather in this area. The red theme is dark, and there's a lot of antique, historical pieces to attract more entities. It must feel like home to them.

Guest like to sit here and see if they can attract any sort of spirit. The most prevalent ghost who remains here is Pierre Antoine Lepardi Jourdan. He was the owner who bought the property from Pierre Phillipe de Marigny after the fire hit. A portion I didn't put in my history section is the Pierre Antoine Lepardi Jourdan absolutely loved this house. He put his heart and soul into restoring the home to its former glory, while adding personal cosmetic touches to match him and his family too. 

Unfortunately, in 1814, Pierre Jourdan became so confident in his gambling ability, that he staked his house deed into the deal. He lost, and he was agonized that he had bet and lost his house, where he had put so much care into. It has been his labor of love, and because of his wager of his home in poker, he lost it. 

The shock didn't leave Pierre Jourdan, and he couldn't handle the reality that he had to leave his home. He decided to take his life in the second story of the house - in the area where the Seance Lounge lives today. 

Pierre Jourdan is said to be seen, felt, and heard in this area the most. It's said he appears as a shimmering light to guest and workers. Glasses have also been witnessed to get thrown from the bar to the brick wall twelve feet away.

However, those at Muriel's do not believe Pierre Jourdan is the only entity to roam this land. They believe servants may have stayed behind with Pierre, to help look after the grounds. Another accepted idea is that the Seance Lounge not only attracts spirits who have ties to this property, but also entities who roam throughout the French Quarter. It's thought that they're enticed to join the Seance Lounge's ambiance, like the environment itself calls the spirits of the area to come and stay in a place that welcomes them home. 

In my time exploring the rooms of this building, the Seance Lounge did feel the most sinister to me, even though the staff claim the spirits are friendly. Maybe it was the deep maroon, scarlet, and red tones everywhere. Maybe it was all of the timeless history put into the space. Maybe it was the energy I could feel of all of the people calling out to attract the spirits. Or maybe it was actually feeling the spirit's who roam around in this lounge. Either way, it was the last room I got to go through, and it's left a lasting impression on me to this day.

My husband and I walked back to our hotel after the meal. It was late, and the streets were almost empty. There was something a little more beautiful, and chilling, about New Orleans in this walk. I imagined all of the history that only one building I coincidentally gone in had, and realized the every nook and cranny of the city is filled with a riveting past. No matter how the French Quarter runs today, it has a unique story behind each and every building in the area. 

In this walk, the city was falling asleep. The streetlights were glowing, the stores were closing, and the day's hustle and bustle had finally settled down. I imagined all of the people and their stories who have ever walked these ancient streets, and wondered how many of them loved the area so much that they decided to stay in New Orleans forever.  

This New Orleans felt right, it felt like the New Orleans I had come here to see. I realized that this New Orleans would never die. Muriel's Jackson Square opened my eyes, and it made me realize that the flourishing history of the city is the ruby gem that's the beating heart of New Orleans. It's like a deep current of what looks to be a lazy river. It's always flowing, even if we can't see it. The past residents, their passion for this area, and stories behind the city's architecture and design are all hidden gems. They represent the foundation that makes New Orleans so special, and just like the entities who have stayed in the city, these gems will always be here too.