From the Director: Welcome, French President Emmanuel Macron

Welcome to the Historic New Orleans Collection, a free museum, publisher, and research center in the heart of the French Quarter. Founded in 1966, the Collection is dedicated to the stewardship of the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South.

Please feel free to reach out to me or our staff members for any assistance we can provide. The Collection’s 533 Royal Street campus was acquired in 1938 by the institution’s founders, Kemper and Leila Williams, as their home and the epicenter of their work to preserve Louisiana history and awaken public interest in the historic value of the French Quarter. The campus includes some of New Orleans’s most significant buildings and iconic spaces, including the Merieult House, built by Frenchman Jean-François Merieult in 1792; the Counting House, built by Merieult as a warehouse in 1794–95 and redesigned in the Greek Revival style as a banking room in the 1830s; and the beautiful adjacent courtyard. Starting next year, this site will undergo a major renovation to achieve greater accessibility and resiliency—an effort by HNOC to lead the way in positioning the French Quarter as a world exemplar for environmental sustainability in the face of climate change, and to model responsible stewardship of history and culture in the face of over-tourism.

Many important objects illustrating the historic relationship between France and Louisiana are on display in our upstairs galleries. These include the Iberville Prospectus of 1698; a 1767 copy of the Code noir; a model of an 18th-century three-masted French gunship, La Dauphine; the 1803 Procès-verbal of the cession of Louisiana by France to the United States; Jules Lion’s double portrait of a white father and his mixed-race son; Sidney Bechet’s leopard print jacket; and Jacques Amans’s portrait of a Creole woman in a red tignon.

Both our buildings themselves and the objects on display speak directly to the foundational relationship between France and Louisiana. On the occasion of today’s historic meeting between President Macron and Governor Edwards, we pause to acknowledge that the threat of climate change undergirds our institutional mission and impels our commitment to stewardship. The Historic New Orleans Collection’s staff, members, and board of directors are honored to host this important event.

Thank you and have a great visit to New Orleans.

Daniel Hammer
President and CEO
The Historic New Orleans Collection