New Orleans - French Quarter: Preservation Hall

Preservation Hall, at 726 St. Peter Street, first opened its doors in 1961 serving up nightly authentic New Orleans jazz and dixieland music. The music hall originated with Larry Borenstein, who used the property as an art gallery and held informal jam sessions for his close friends.

The first building on the site was a private residence in 1750. In 1803, Antoine Faisendieu bought the lot from Guillermo Gros and ran a tavern through the War. In 1816, the building burned down in the Orleans Ballroom fire. Gurlie and Guillot bought the "lot with bricks and ruins" and built the three-bay, two-storied structure that stands, mostly unaltered, today. Agathe Manchon bought the property and owned it until 1866.

The defining details of the buildings include board and batten shutters, French doors, a narrow wrought iron gallery, and iron gates flankings the front and rear entrances. Iron subursts rest atop the gates. The most notable feature of the facade is the Spanish Colonial porte-cochère, or coache door, that leads into the interior couryard.

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band began touring the world in 1963, acting as ambassadors of New Orleans and the music that was created in the Crescent City. Visionaries Allan and Sandra Jaffe can be credited with the preservation of the building and creating a truly unique New Orleans and American institution. Their son, Ben Jaffe, is now the Director of Preservation Hall and also plays tuba and upright bass with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Vieux Carré Historic District National Register #66000377 (1966)