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The Historic New Orleans Collection
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A free history museum and research center devoted to the people, places, and traditions of New Orleans and the Gulf South.

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Hours & Location Hours & Location

Museum: 520 Royal Street, New Orleans, LA
Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Sunday, 10:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

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Holiday Hours

Admission Admission

Admission is free, but tickets are required. Stop by the front desk or reserve tickets online. Ticket covers admission to all exhibitions and certain daily programs.

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Contact Us Contact Us

Museum: (504) 523-4662 
Williams Research Center: (504) 598-7171
Mailing address: 533 Royal Street, New Orleans, LA, 70130

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Exhibitions

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A black-and-white photo of a man and woman standing in traditional attire in front of a shrine with religious images and candles. A vintage television sits nearby. The floor has a patterned design.
Immigrant Cultures

Making It Home: From Vietnam to New Orleans

Elders of the Vietnamese community describe their journey to a new country 50 years ago.

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Aerial view of a lush green marshland with winding waterways creating intricate patterns at Fort St. Phillip, Louisiana. The landscape features patches of dark mud and dense vegetation, capturing the organic texture and flow of the wetland ecosystem.
Land Loss & Climate Change

Edge of Tomorrow: Aerial Views of Louisiana’s Changing Coastline by Ben Depp

A soaring journey that captures the beauty and fragility of Louisiana’s wetlands

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Black and white photo of people in line for voting registration outside a building. Two men are seated near a Voting Applications sign, and several individuals are standing in line, some wearing hats and summer clothing.
The Civil Rights Movement

The Trail They Blazed

Leaders of the local Civil Rights Movement tell their stories of resistance and persistence.

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Illustration of a brown pelican perched on a branch with green leaves in the background. The bird has a long beak and distinctive brown, white, and yellow plumage. The botanical details add a naturalistic setting.
Land Loss & Climate Change

A Vanishing Bounty: Louisiana’s Coastal Environment and Culture

Explore the beauty and history of Louisiana’s natural environment, as well as the threats to its continued existence.

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French Quarter street scene showing at 710 Toulouse Street, and corner of shuttered building at 714 Toulouse, with a man walking along the street in the darkness, his shadow falling upon the wall. Shows cat beside colonnette supporting balcony, a street light, double doorway of the gateway, laundry hanging on second floor of 710 Toulouse, and ironwork balcony of 714 Toulouse. Shows partial view of balcony and building at corner of Toulouse and Royal Streets.
French Quarter Life

French Quarter Life: People and Places in the Vieux Carré

Artistic impressions of New Orleans’s most iconic neighborhood

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Antique map of a city grid with detailed plots, streets, and buildings. It includes a compass rose and features ships sailing on the river at the bottom. The layout is intricate, showcasing a geometrically organized urban plan.
French Quarter Life

French Quarter Galleries

How did the French Quarter go from swampy colonial outpost to the oldest neighborhood in America’s most distinctive city? Learn how 300 years of history shaped New Orleans.

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Tours & Daily Programs

Get more out of your museum visit with a guided tour, pop-up talk, or daily program.

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A guide gestures towards a historical photograph on the wall while speaking to a man and a woman in a gallery setting. The wall has an exhibit description titled A Most Dreadful Visitation: Frederick Douglass and The 1887 Riot.
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Museum Month

Enjoy special activities at HNOC through August and enjoy free access to dozens of local museums all month long with any HNOC membership!

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Two men point at photos featured in the HNOC exhibition "Making It Home: From Vietnam to New Orleans."
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Admission is Always Free


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Latest News

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VCS after

HNOC Launches Improved Collins C. Diboll Vieux Carré Digital Survey

The popular resource for researchers received its first major overhaul since the survey was fully digitized by HNOC in 2012.
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Daniel Hammer, President/CEO of the Historic New Orleans Collection in a suit with an orange tie stands on a balcony, smiling. The background features a multi-level building with large windows and a partial view of a plant.

HNOC President & CEO Named 2025 Icon Award Honoree by New Orleans CityBusiness

The publication’s annual awards honor business leaders who have had a lasting influence on economic development of the New Orleans region.
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Headshot for urban planner David Dixon

Biz New Orleans: Morrison Lecture Explores 20 Years of Post-Katrina Planning

Copresented with Vieux Carre Property Owners, Residents, and Associates and the Vieux Carre Commission Foundation, the event will feature renowned urban planner David Dixon joined by a panel of local experts.
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A group of people view an exhibit in a gallery featuring a large historical illustration and several framed documents. A guide discusses the display, which includes a quote about shame and humiliation in a prison setting.

Innocence Project New Orleans to Honor HNOC with John Thompson Award for Courage & Justice

The Collection will receive the award for its work on the exhibition “Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration.”
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A screenshot of HNOC Senior Editor Nick Weldon on WWL-TV's Great Day Louisiana talking about New Orleans's Superdome.

WWL-TV: Celebrating 50 Years of the New Orleans Superdome

HNOC senior editor Nick Weldon joined “Great Day Louisiana” to explain the history and engineering mastery behind one of America’s most iconic football stadiums.
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Upcoming Events

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Saturday
August 30, 2025
1–3 p.m.
The Shop Presents

Decadence Weekend Book Signing with Larry Bagneris

Join us for a special book signing with Larry Bagneris, gay activist and author of “Call Me Larry: A Creole Man’s Triumph over Racism and Homophobia.”
The Shop
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Author Larry Bagneris signs books at the Shop at the Historic New Orleans Collection.
Saturday
September 6, 2025
1–3 p.m.

2025 Chess Club Meeting

Join HNOC's free, all-ages Chess Club to learn more about the game and help plan future gatherings and events.
Chess Club, Students & Families
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Register Register
A young girl in glasses, wearing a striped shirt, thoughtfully playing chess with purple and yellow pieces. She is sitting at a blue table among other concentrated players in a room with several chess games in progress.
Wednesday
September 10, 2025
4:30–7:30 p.m.
HNOC Ce Soir

HNOC Ce Soir: Making It Home

HNOC’s after hours celebration returns with an exploration of “Making It Home: From Vietnam to New Orleans,” presented in collaboration with One Book One New Orleans.
HNOC Ce Soir
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Visitors explore Making It Home: From Vietnam to New Orleans at the Historic New Orleans Collection.
Saturday
September 20, 2025
10 a.m.–2 p.m.

Family Day: The Trail They Blazed 

Join us for a fun, family-friendly celebration of HNOC’s exhibition about the Civil Rights Movement in New Orleans.
Students & Families
Read More
Register Register
A black and white photo shows two school girls playing together after the integration of Thomas J. Semmes Elementary School in New Orleans.
Wednesday
October 15, 2025
6–8:30 p.m.

Cultivating Lesbian Community: The Daughters of Bilitis in New Orleans

Join us for an evening exploring the history of an important local lesbian community organization, presented in partnership with the LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana.
Panel Discussion
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A vintage photo of lesbian activist Susan Dauzat sitting in a chair, taken in 1969.
Saturday
October 18, 2025
10:30 a.m.–3 p.m.

Caring For Your Family Tree: Branching Out

Workshop, Genealogy
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A family tree diagram with handwritten names connected by green and brown lines. The tree has multiple branches, showing familial relationships over several generations. Names, dates, and connections are detailed in cursive writing.
Saturday
November 1, 2025
10 a.m.–2 p.m.
HNOC Chess Club Presents

Chess Fest 2025

Our annual celebration of chess and community returns, hosted by HNOC’s Chess Club.
Students & Families, Chess Club
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A middle aged woman plays chess with a child at Chess Fest. Another women smiles nearby as she watches the game.
Saturday
November 8, 2025
10 a.m.–7 p.m.
2025 Food Forum

“Come Pass a Good Time”

Our 2025 Food Forum blends history and cultural insights with practical tips for hosting joy-filled gatherings—in Louisiana style.
Signature Program
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Friday
March 27, 2026
9 a.m.–5:15 p.m.
29th Annual

Tennessee Williams Scholars Conference 2026

Founded in 1995, the Tennessee Williams Scholars Conference is a full day of sessions led by highly acclaimed Williams scholars from across the US and abroad.
Signature Program
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A person wearing a fur coat and sunglasses sits on a wooden bench in front of an ornate, multi-story building with wrought-iron balconies. People walk on the street nearby.
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Research & Collections

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410 Chartres Street

Visit the Williams Research Center

Explore centuries of Gulf South culture with unparalleled access to rare documents, art, and historic treasures. Stop in or browse our online catalog.

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Online Catalog
A historic brick building with tall, arched windows and ornate stone details. The facade features a central sign with engraved text. Large doors and lantern-style lights flank the entrance. The structure is framed by neighboring buildings.

From Our Holdings

Explore historic artifacts from HNOC’s vault

Collection Highlights Collection Highlights
Antique map of the Americas depicting sea monsters, ships, and detailed coastlines. Illustrative borders show people and mythical figures, hinting at 16th-century cartography style. Landmasses have Latin inscriptions with decorative compass roses.
Show-and-Tell

Historic Maps from “Cartographic Legacies”

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Etching of a courtyard in New Orleans by Louis Conrad Rosenberg. The scene features tables, chairs, a large tree, a fountain at the center, and buildings in the background. There are people seated and walking, adding a lively atmosphere to the setting.
Staff Picks

The Court of Two Sisters

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A detailed, artistic map titled French Quarter, Vieux Carré. Central circular calendar surrounded by historical illustrations of buildings, street scenes, and events in the French Quarter, framed with decorative borders and figures.
Staff Picks

The How, When, and Where of Discriminating and Enjoyable Drinking

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Colorful vintage poster titled Always for Pleasure features a person in an elaborate costume with feathers and intricate detailing. The person is smiling broadly and surrounded by bold, stylized text and artistic embellishments.
Staff Picks

Vintage Tipitina’s Posters

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A sepia-toned photograph of a formal St. Patricks Day dinner. Numerous men in tuxedos sit at round tables in a grand hall with ornate columns and drapes. The scene conveys a sense of elegance and celebration.
Manuscripts

Hugh McCloskey Papers

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Five children of diverse backgrounds kneel on grass, looking at a glowing star in the night sky. They wear colorful attire representing different cultures. The scene conveys unity and wonder.
Staff Picks

Christmas Card to Tessie, Leona, Ruby, and Gail

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Allison “Tootie” Montana, big chief of the Yellow Pocahontas wearing an elaborate pink and orange feathered costume with detailed beadwork and intricate patterns stands confidently. The outfit includes a large headdress and symbolic designs across the chest and arms.
Signature Collections

Michael P. Smith Collection

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The death notice for John Ward Gurley, dated 1808. The notice in the middle is surrounded with drawings depicting a skull and crossbones, funerial trees, a coffin, and broken column.
Recent Acquisitions

Death Notice for John Ward Gurley 

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First Draft

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Stories from the Historic New Orleans Collection

First Draft

Frame by Frame, Developing a Picture of Vietnamese New Orleans

Mark J. Sindler spent two years documenting the lives of refugees in New Orleans East. His work might be the largest photographic record of Vietnamese resettlement in the United States.

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Vietnamese-American children with their handmade Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns in Marrero in 1979.
1974 25 15 91 Storyville map web
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Learn & Explore

Dive into family friendly content and events at the Collection

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Events

Family Day: The Trail They Blazed 

September 20, 2025, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
Join us for a fun, family-friendly celebration of HNOC’s exhibition about the Civil Rights Movement in New Orleans.
Register Register
Read More
A black and white photo shows two school girls playing together after the integration of Thomas J. Semmes Elementary School in New Orleans.

Publishing

Now available for pre-order

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Books

Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration

by Eric Seiferth, Katherine Jolliff Dunn, and Kevin T. Harrell (curators) and Nick Weldon (editor)

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Buy Now
CAPTIVE STATE cover

Shop & Relax

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The Shop

Our award-winning museum shop offers gifts by local artists, HNOC books, merchandise inspired by objects from our holdings, and much more.

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The Café

Relax and recharge while enjoying a coffee or pastry in our historic and picturesque Brulatour Courtyard.

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Support

Become a Member

The Collection is for everyone! Get the most out of your visit to HNOC and find the membership level right for you.

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A man helps a young girl adjust her headphones at an interactive exhibit in a museum. They stand by a display with screens and audio equipment, focused on the experience. The background features informational plaques on the wall.
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