The story
As you travel down the sun-dappled corridor of St. Charles Avenue, under the protective canopy of centuries-old live oaks, your eyes are likely drawn to the rhythmic swaying of the green streetcars. But stop for a moment and look toward number 3811.
Rising behind a screen of wrought iron and lush greenery is a monument to the Gilded Age that perfectly captures the soul of New Orleans: the building known today as The Columns. This grand Italianate villa was commissioned in 1883 by Simon Hernsheim, a man whose fortune was built on the aromatic leaves of the tobacco trade. At the time, Hernsheim was the wealthiest man in Louisiana, and he wanted a home that reflected his status.
He hired the famed architect Thomas Sully, who was the master of the New Orleans skyline during the late nineteenth century. Sully didn't just build a house; he crafted a statement. Look at those massive, soaring white columns that give the hotel its name today.
They bridge the gap between the formal elegance of Italianate design and the sprawling comfort of a Southern plantation home. Step closer, and you can almost hear the rustle of silk dresses and the clinking of crystal from Hernsheim’s legendary dinner parties. The interior is a masterclass in Victorian excess, featuring a grand mahogany staircase and a magnificent stained-glass dome that filters the Louisiana sunlight into a kaleidoscope of amber and gold.
It was a place of high society and immense private wealth, yet it eventually found a very different kind of fame. In 1978, these sophisticated halls were transformed into a den of iniquity for the silver screen. The house served as the primary filming location for Louis Malle’s controversial film, Pretty Baby.
The movie was set in Storyville, New Orleans’ infamous legal red-light district, and the mansion’s opulent, slightly fading grandeur provided the perfect backdrop for a high-class brothel. It’s a classic New Orleans irony: a home built for the city’s most respectable merchant later became the world’s most famous cinematic bordello. Today, the house serves as a boutique hotel and a beloved local haunt.
If you have a moment, I highly recommend stepping onto that wide, wrap-around porch. It is widely considered one of the best places in the city to enjoy a Sazerac. As you sit there, you are doing exactly what Orleanians have done for over a century—watching the streetcar roll past, feeling the humid breeze off the river, and soaking in the layers of history that make St.
Charles Avenue one of the most beautiful streets in the world. When you’re ready, let’s continue our journey further into the Garden District.