The Historic New Orleans Collection

The Historic New Orleans Collection (HNOC) is a special place in New Orleans where people can learn about the history and culture of the city and the Gulf South region. It was started in 1966 by General and Mrs. L. Kemper Williams so they could share their collection of Louisiana items with everyone.

HNOC has a museum with many interesting things to see, like old paintings, photographs, and other important objects. There is also a research center where people can study these items. The museum shows exhibitions about many topics, from big battles like the Battle of New Orleans to the tasty foods of New Orleans cuisine, and even life after big storms like Hurricane Katrina. Many of the museum’s exhibits are free for everyone to enjoy.

History

In 1938, a man named General Lewis Kemper Williams and his wife, Leila Hardie Moore Williams, bought two houses in the French Quarter of New Orleans. These houses were special because they collected many important items about Louisiana's history. After Mr. and Mrs. Williams passed away, a foundation was created in their honor. This foundation started The Historic New Orleans Collection, which is a place to learn about and save the history of New Orleans and the surrounding area.

The Williams family lived in one of the houses for 17 years and gathered many valuable items during that time. Their collection helped create a museum and research center that we still have today.

Museum buildings

The Merieult House on 533 Royal Street is the main entrance to the Historic New Orleans Collection. This old house from the 1700s stands on land used since the 1720s. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The museum has special galleries about Louisiana’s history on the second floor and a shop plus changing exhibitions on the first floor.

The Williams Residence, built in 1889, is a two-story brick house in an Italianate style. It has beautiful galleries and three courtyards. The inside looks just like it did when a family lived there in the 1940s and 1950s. Visitors can take tours every day.

Other buildings

Counting House

The Counting House was named for the banking that happened there in the 1800s. It was built as a warehouse by Jean François Merieult between 1794 and 1795. Today, the first floor is used for offices, meetings, and exhibitions when more space is needed.

Maisonette

The Maisonette is a three-story building across from the Counting House. It was built over an older structure from the 1790s and is used for staff offices.

Townhouse

This two-story brick building from the late 1800s was once a bank. Leila Moore Williams bought it in 1947 and sold it in 1965. It joined The Collection again in 1980 when the Williams Foundation purchased it.

Louis Adam House

Louis Adam built this house in 1788 after a big fire destroyed an earlier building. It seems to have survived a second fire in 1794. In the 1930s, a young Tennessee Williams lived there for a short time. It was restored to its original Spanish Colonial style in the 1970s.

Creole Cottage

The double cottage on Toulouse Street was bought by the Collection in 1990. In 1991, an archaeological dig found clues about older buildings on the site, including French barracks from the 1720s and a structure that burned in the 1788 fire.

Williams Research Center

Built in 1915 in the Beaux Arts style, this two-story brick building was originally used for a court and police station. After careful restoration, it opened as the Williams Research Center in January 1996. The public can visit the reading room to see the Collection’s rare items. An annex built in 2007 was the first new building in the French Quarter after Hurricane Katrina.

Notable collections

The Historic New Orleans Collection has many special groups of items about the city's history. One of the most famous is the Tennessee Williams Collection. In 2001, it got the world's biggest group of items by the writer Tennessee Williams. This includes manuscripts, play scripts, letters, photos, and more. There are also special items like notes about making movies and early printed copies of his work.

Another important group is the William Russell Jazz Collection. It has lots of things about jazz music, like instruments, records, photos, and books. It shows how jazz started in New Orleans and spread to cities like New York, Chicago, and California. The collection also has materials about famous jazz musicians and different kinds of music like brass bands and gospel.

There is also a collection about the War of 1812 in the South, especially the Battle of New Orleans. It includes documents, letters, and materials about important leaders like Andrew Jackson. The Clarence John Laughlin Collection has photos and film from the 1930s to the 1980s showing his life and work.

The collection also has items about German settlers in New Orleans, including prints, maps, and family histories. Finally, it also holds the old archives of the Sugar Bowl, which were moved there after Hurricane Katrina damaged their old home.