A two-story building with a pink facade and green shutters in a historic style. The ground floor has large windows and doors surrounded by columns. There are potted plants at the entrance, and a balcony runs along the second floor.

533 Royal Street

Merieult House

Spanish colonial merchant mansion with dependent wings, originally built 1793–97

533 Royal Street

Merieult House

Spanish colonial merchant mansion with dependent wings, originally built 1793–97

Home
Research & Collections
Our Buildings
533 Royal Street: Merieult House

Merieult House Counting House Service Wing

HNOC’s flagship location is anchored by the Merieult House, built 1793–97 and renovated in the 1830s, 1870s, and 1938–65. The house had residential space on the second floor, over retail shops on the first floor. The large rear courtyard is flanked by a three-story service wing and a counting house, a two-story building containing a ballroom and business offices. The site has been used as retail space, a city residence, banking offices, a hotel, a boardinghouse, antiques stores, art galleries, and a museum.

Timeline

1792: Merchant Jean François Merieult purchases the plot at auction, three years after a devastating fire destroys 80 percent of the colonial city, including the early- and mid-colonial structures on the site. Merieult signs a contract with William Cobb for 7,200 pieces of lumber to be floated down the river from Natchez. Merieult contracts with builders Jacob Cowperthwaite and Robert Jones to lead the construction.

1794: The main house is completed and survives another disastrous fire in the French Quarter.

1795–97: Supporting buildings surrounding the rear courtyard are constructed to serve as a service area, counting house, warehouse, and slave pens for Merieult’s merchant business. Between 1792 and 1812, Merieult bought and sold over 400 enslaved Africans on this site.

City survey plan of the block bounded by Royal and Toulouse Streets, 1819. Collins C. Diboll Vieux Carré Digital Survey at HNOC, 2-062-051

1832: Lizardi Brothers, international bankers who backed the slave trade through bonds and investments in New Orleans real estate, purchase the old property and upgrade it in the Greek Revival style, adding granite posts and lintels on the front facade and a second story to Merieult’s old counting house. They lease the ground floor to retail merchants and the second floor as a boardinghouse.

1878: Jean-Baptiste Trapolin purchases the property and renovates the central passageway to add a graceful stair to a hotel on the second floor.

Louise Raimbault and Jean Baptiste Trapolin, ca. 1870. HNOC, gift of Thelma Mae Mouledoux Trapolin, 2012.0137.2

1932: The property is broken up into apartments. Commander and Mrs. Alvin Hovey-King live on the second floor, above antiques and rare books dealers on the ground floor. Lillian Hovey-King establishes Hové Parfumers here, a business that continues in the Quarter today.

Merieult House showing sign for Hové Parfumers, ca. 1960, photograph by Richard Koch. HNOC, 1983.169.30

1938: Kemper and Leila Williams purchase the property and work with architect Richard Koch to stabilize the structure and renovate the first floor, including shifting the open passageway and rebuilding the stairs to the second floor.

1960s: Kemper Williams, Koch, and curator Boyd Cruise begin a full restoration of the second floor and dependent wings.

1970: The Historic New Orleans Collection officially opens to the public, with museum exhibitions and reading rooms to share the Williamses’ collection of historic artifacts.

533 Royal Street, between 1972 and 1974, photo by Richard Koch. HNOC, 1983.169.32

A crowded room with people seated, facing a speaker at a podium. The room is decorated with portraits on the walls, and a large, ornate painting of three women hangs prominently. A chandelier hangs from the ceiling, adding an elegant touch.

COUNTING HOUSE

The Counting House—the two-story building on the St. Louis Street side of the Merieult House courtyard—is named for the banking activities conducted by the Lizardi Brothers firm on this site in the 19th century. It was first built as a warehouse by Jean François Merieult in 1794–95. When the Lizardi Brothers firm purchased the property in the 1830s they made major changes to Merieult’s warehouse. Besides adding a second story and gallery to the building, the firm completely transformed the first floor, creating a grand Greek Revival room for banking. Today, the first floor is used for meetings, seminars, receptions, and exhibitions when additional space is needed; the second floor is used for administrative offices.

Illustration of a two-story building with green balconies and multiple doors and windows. The facade is adorned with potted plants and small trees. The sky is clear, creating a serene atmosphere.

Service Wing

Across the courtyard from the Counting House, the three-story Service Wing (formerly known as the Maisonette) stretches along the Toulouse Street side of HNOC’s property line, with wooden gallery and railings defining the second and third floors. This service wing is situated on land that was part of the original Merieult purchase; it was constructed over an earlier auxiliary structure that was built at the same time as the Merieult House in the 1790s. An 1819 plan of the Merieult House in the Notarial Archives shows a warehouse on this site.

City survey plan of the block bounded by Royal and Toulouse Streets, 1819. Collins C. Diboll Vieux Carré Digital Survey at HNOC, 2-062-051

Louise Raimbault and Jean Baptiste Trapolin, ca. 1870. HNOC, gift of Thelma Mae Mouledoux Trapolin, 2012.0137.2

Merieult House showing sign for Hové Parfumers, ca. 1960, photograph by Richard Koch. HNOC, 1983.169.30

533 Royal Street, between 1972 and 1974, photo by Richard Koch. HNOC, 1983.169.32

Our Buildings

HNOC’s Architectural Treasures

Every building has stories to tell. Learn more about HNOC’s historic French Quarter properties.

Explore Explore

Research Tools

Collins C. Diboll Vieux Carré Digital Survey

Visit the Database Visit the Database

A detailed historical map of San Franciscos downtown, circa 1906. The buildings are color-coded: red for those damaged in the earthquake and yellow for those destroyed by fire. Streets are clearly marked, with a coastal line at the bottom.

Related Collection Highlights

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.

The Court of Two Sisters

A pictorial memento of the landmark restaurant’s history

Learn More

A person stands outdoors, holding a translucent fabric over their head against a textured wall. The shadow casts an intricate pattern on the wall. A potted plant and some grass are visible in the foreground.

Clarence John Laughlin Archive

Through his dreamlike black-and-white images, the surrealist Louisiana photographer explored, amplified, and commented on the mystique of the South.

Learn More

A nun stands outside a building with three large arched windows. She is facing the windows, holding a book. The building is white with some visible plants and a tree on the right. The scene has a quiet, contemplative atmosphere.

Mother St. Croix Photographs of Ursuline Convent

The ebullient nun documented her cloisters, sisters, and pupils with care and skill. In doing so she became the earliest known woman to photographically record daily life in New Orleans

Learn More