The Historic New Orleans Collection facts for kids
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| Established | 1966 |
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| Location | Royal Street Complex: 533 Royal Street Williams Research Center: New Orleans |
The Historic New Orleans Collection (THNOC) is a special place in New Orleans. It's a museum, a research center, and a publisher. Its main goal is to study and protect the history and culture of New Orleans and the nearby Gulf South region. You can find it in New Orleans' famous French Quarter.
This organization started in 1966. General and Mrs. L. Kemper Williams created it. They wanted to keep their amazing collection of Louisiana history items safe. They also wanted to make sure everyone could see and learn from it.
THNOC has a museum with different galleries. These include the Williams Gallery and the Louisiana History Galleries. There's also the Williams Residence, which is a house museum. The Williams Research Center opened in 1996. It helps people study the collection's many items. These items include about 35,000 library books and 350,000 photos, drawings, paintings, and other artifacts.
The museum often has cool exhibits. These shows cover many topics about the Gulf South. You can learn about the Battle of New Orleans or how New Orleans food became famous. They even have exhibits about the Sugar Bowl and life after Hurricane Katrina. Many of these exhibits are free to visit.
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How the Collection Started
In 1938, General Lewis Kemper Williams and his wife, Leila Hardie Moore Williams, bought two buildings in the French Quarter. General Williams was a soldier and a businessman. Their home for 17 years was one of these buildings. During this time, they gathered a huge collection of important Louisiana items.
Leila passed away in 1966, and Kemper in 1971. A foundation was then set up in their names. This foundation created The Historic New Orleans Collection. It was a way to keep their collection together and share it with everyone.
Exploring the Museum Buildings
The Merieult House
The Merieult House is at 533 Royal Street. It's the main entrance to The Historic New Orleans Collection. This house was built in the 1700s. People have used this land since the early 1720s. The house is even listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Today, the Merieult House has the Louisiana History Galleries on its second floor. On the first floor, you'll find the museum shop. There's also the Williams Gallery for special changing exhibits.
The Williams Residence
The Williams Residence was built in 1889. It's a two-story brick house with galleries. This house is a historic house museum. The Williams family lived here in the 1940s and 1950s. The house still looks like it did when they lived there. It's often called a "hidden house" because it's surrounded by three courtyards. You can take tours of the house every day.
Other Important Buildings
The Counting House
The Counting House got its name because banking happened here in the 1800s. It was built as a warehouse around 1794-1795. Today, the first floor is used for offices and meetings. Sometimes, it hosts extra exhibitions.
The Maisonette
The Maisonette is a three-story building. It's across the courtyard from the Counting House. This building was built over an older structure from the 1790s. The Maisonette is where many of the staff offices are located.
The Townhouse
This two-story brick building is from the late 1800s. It was once used as a banking house. Leila Moore Williams bought it in 1947. The Williams Foundation bought it back in 1980. Now, it's part of The Collection again.
The Louis Adam House
Louis Adam built this house in 1788. It was built after the first big New Orleans fire. It seems to have survived the second big fire in 1794. In the 1930s, the house took in boarders. A young writer named Tennessee Williams even lived there for a short time. The house was restored to its original Spanish Colonial style in the 1970s.
The Creole Cottage
The Collection bought this double cottage on Toulouse Street in 1990. In 1991, archaeologists dug there. They found signs of all the buildings that were on the site before. They found evidence of French barracks from the 1720s. They also found a building that burned in the 1788 fire. There was also a home from 1790 to 1820. And they found things related to the cottage that stands there today, built around 1830.
The Williams Research Center
The Williams Research Center building was built in 1915. It has a beautiful Beaux Arts style. It used to be a criminal court and a police station. After a lot of restoration work, it opened as the Williams Research Center in January 1996.
This center holds many rare and important items. Anyone can visit the public reading room to study them. An annex building opened in 2007. It was the first new building in the French Quarter since Hurricane Katrina.
Amazing Collections to Explore
The Historic New Orleans Collection has tons of maps, photos, and documents about New Orleans. It also has many special and rare collections.
The Tennessee Williams Collection
In 2001, THNOC got the biggest private collection of items from the writer Tennessee Williams. He wrote famous plays like A Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie. The collection includes many copies of his writings. There are also playbills, signed books, and letters. You can find photos of Williams with his friends. Some rare items include notes from the filming of The Rose Tattoo. There's also a script for a western play.
THNOC also publishes the Tennessee Williams Annual Review. This is a journal just about his works. You can read it in print or online.
The William Russell Jazz Collection
The William Russell Jazz Collection is huge! It has many items about jazz music. You can see musical instruments, records, and sheet music. There are also photos, books, and magazines. This collection shows how jazz grew in New Orleans. It also follows how musicians moved to places like New York City and Chicago.
The collection includes notes from Mr. Russell's research. There are also audiotapes, programs, and posters. It has many items about musicians like Manuel "Fess" Manetta and Jelly Roll Morton. You can also find materials on brass bands and ragtime music.
The William C. Cook War of 1812 Collection
The William C. Cook collection focuses on the War of 1812 in the Southern United States. It especially covers the Creek War and the war in the Gulf of Mexico. It also has many items about the Battle of New Orleans. Major General Andrew Jackson, a military leader, is well represented. The collection includes important U.S. Army and militia documents. It also has materials about Native American tribes who took part. You can even find documents from the British side.
The Clarence John Laughlin Collection
THNOC also has a large collection from Clarence John Laughlin. He was a photographer. The collection has film negatives, photos, and prints. These items cover the 1930s to the 1980s. They show Laughlin's life and work in New Orleans and around the world.
Germans in New Orleans Collection
The Williams Research Center has many items about German settlers in New Orleans. You can learn about their organizations, music, and businesses. The collection includes prints, photos, and maps. The J. Hanno Deiler Papers have handwritten drafts of his books and speeches. They also have family trees of Louisiana-German families.
The Sugar Bowl Archives
Before 2007, the Sugar Bowl kept its old records at the Caesars Superdome. But the Superdome was damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Even though the records were safe, the Sugar Bowl decided they needed a better home. So, they gave all their materials to The Historic New Orleans Collection.
