623-625 St. Ann St.

"Group Attacks Plan for Motel:
Building Change Request in Quarter Studied:

The Board of Zoning Adjustments has taken under advisement an application from the Vieux Carre property owner who wants to convert his apartment house into a 50-unit apartment house-motel."

623-625 St. Ann Street

Erected: c. 1795-1822
Architect: unknown
Builder: unknown

The record of this lot parallels that of its adjacent half portion at 617-619 St. Ann Street. Originally both were part of a standard side street lot measuring 60' by 150' F.M. The Company of the Indies granted this to Sieur Richaume. Shortly thereafter the lot must have been re-granted, or sold, to Augustin Langlois, who by 1725 had sold this to Father Raphael, Rector of the St. Louis Parish Church. The 1726 census lists P. Raphael, Grand Vicar, on Conde Street where the church was located. By 1735 a small boys' school, housed in a simple little one-roomed building, existed on this site. By 1740 the building and the fence around it had fallen into ruins.

Following this the land was part of the impressive establishment of Jean Baptiste Destrehan; it extended from this lot to the corner of St. Ann and Chartres, and took in the adjacent lot on Chartres also. Located on this section of ground was a French colonial house made of brick on the ground floor with colombage above. There was also a coach house, and a kitchen and servants' quarters. Gardens probably surrounded this along with other luxuries of the day, for Destrehan was a man of means and influence in the community, serving at this time as Treasurer of the Royal Navy.

At Destrehan's death the property went to another personage, Pierre Phillippe de Marigny. This large colonial home on the great corner lot burned in the 1788 fire. By that time this portion had been partitioned, and from then on this particular lot has enjoyed a separate existence. In 1788 there was a warehouse of wood on this lot. The building here continued to be described as "a small house of wood roofed with shingles" through 1795. At that time the property was sold to Marcus Tio, who owned this lot for twenty-seven years. In 1822 the property was inherited by a nephew, Francisco Tio; documents involving this transaction list a "house with a second story constructed of brick and roofed with tiles." Francisco Tio held this until 1856; then it passed on through many hands until 1918; when the Glorioso family acquired the property. It has been in their possession ever since.

It is difficult to date this building, chiefly because it has been restored out of a relationship with its earlier self. The only known reference in the documents on this property relate to Marcus Tio, who owned it from 1795 to 1822. This dwelling may have been built by him, but it doesn't look that old. That may be because it was restored without much sensitivity to surfaces or regard to authentic detail. An old photograph shows the front facade partially stuccoed, with exposed brick above the canopy. The exposed wall is made of irregular soft, old brick. The present facade was entirely rebuilt of "used brick" at the time this building was restored.

Ground floor openings in the old photograph were two, square-headed freight entrances with a narrow doorway in between. Today there are two modern French doors here, faced with rather slight contemporary louvred shutters. One of the larger entrances, which presumably opened into a carriage way, has been made into an arched porte-cochere entrance. Handsome iron gates enclose this massive opening now.

The second floor openings were double-hung windows in the old photograph; now they have been trenched like the openings below. A cast iron gallery, in the acorn and oak leaf pattern, extended over the sidewalk in the old photograph. This is intact today. In the rear are two outbuildings of two stories each. On the 1876 Sanborn Map one of these, extending from the house, was of only one story. At the time this was all used for a wood-working shop. Later it was taken over as a wine warehouse, and the entire rear courtyard was filled in. Today these buildings have been restored, and the whole property is now modern apartments.

"Small fire:

A fire in the rear of the first floor of the Place d'Armes Motor Hotel, 625 St. Ann, did negligible damage early Wednesday morning."

[Advertisement]

"Remember
the Big Old Time
New Orleans

Poor Boy Sandwich

Enjoy One Again, at the
Place d'Armes Café
625 St. Ann"

"Underground Gourmet:
La Normandie Restaurante: marvelous, authentic:

New Orleans' great traditional French-Creole cuisine makes an authentic French restaurant a rarity in New Orleans."