St Louis Cathedral (New Orleans)

The St. Louis Cathedral is one of New Orleans' most notable landmarks. This venerable building, its triple steeples towering above its historic neighbors, the Cabildo and the Presbytere - looks down benignly on the green of the Square and General Andrew Jackson on his bronze horse and on the block-long Pontalba Buildings with their lacy ironwork galleries. Truly, this is the heart of old New Orleans. Since 1727 New Orleanians have worshipped in churches on this site. Half a dozen years earlier, the French engineer, Adrien De Pauger, who arrived in the newly founded city on March 29, 1721, designated this site for a church in conformity with the plan of the Engineer-in-Chief of Louisiana, LeBlond de la Tour, who was at the capital, Biloxi. The new parish church, dedicated to Louis IX, sainted King of France, was thus perhaps the first building in New Orleans of "brick between posts" (briques entre poteaux) construction, an effective method of building that continued to be used in Louisiana until at least the middle of the nineteenth century. De Pauger, unfortunately, died on June 21, 1726, before his church was completed. In his will he requested that he be buried within the unfinished building, a request presumably granted. As far back as 1834 the trustees had consulted with J. N. B. de Pouilly, the French architect. De Pouilly had suggested lengthening the church and adding galleries but he was not very optimistic that even these changes would enlarge the church sufficiently to fit the needs of the growing congregation. A contract was made on March 12,1849, with an Irish builder, John Patrick Kirwan, "for the restoration of the Cathedral of St. Louis." De Pouilly's original specifications, which became part of the contract, called for a reconstruction that left intact only the lateral walls and the lower part of the front and the flanking hexagonal towers of the old church. But as construction proceeded, it became evident that the side walls, too, would have to be demolished. During construction, the central clock and bell tower collapsed. This calamitous incident caused damage estimated as high as $20,000. In the months that followed, inspections by experts sought to determine the cause of the collapse, and proposals and counter-proposals between trustees and builder culminated in the trustees ordering Kirwan to quit the job. De Pouilly, the architect, was also dismissed and the trustees employed another architect.

The St. Louis Cathedral is one of New Orleans' most notable landmarks. This venerable building, its triple steeples towering above its historic neighbors, the Cabildo and the Presbytere - looks down benignly on the green of the Square and General Andrew Jackson on his bronze horse and on the block-long Pontalba Buildings with their lacy ironwork galleries. Truly, this is the heart of old New Orleans. Since 1727 New Orleanians have worshipped in churches on this site. Half a dozen years earlier, the French engineer, Adrien De Pauger, who arrived in the newly founded city on March 29, 1721, designated this site for a church in conformity with the plan of the Engineer-in-Chief of Louisiana, LeBlond de la Tour, who was at the capital, Biloxi. The new parish church, dedicated to Louis IX, sainted King of France, was thus perhaps the first building in New Orleans of "brick between posts" (briques entre poteaux) construction, an effective method of building that continued to be used in Louisiana until at least the middle of the nineteenth century. De Pauger, unfortunately, died on June 21, 1726, before his church was completed. In his will he requested that he be buried within the unfinished building, a request presumably granted. As far back as 1834 the trustees had consulted with J. N. B. de Pouilly, the French architect. De Pouilly had suggested lengthening the church and adding galleries but he was not very optimistic that even these changes would enlarge the church sufficiently to fit the needs of the growing congregation. A contract was made on March 12,1849, with an Irish builder, John Patrick Kirwan, "for the restoration of the Cathedral of St. Louis." De Pouilly's original specifications, which became part of the contract, called for a reconstruction that left intact only the lateral walls and the lower part of the front and the flanking hexagonal towers of the old church. But as construction proceeded, it became evident that the side walls, too, would have to be demolished. During construction, the central clock and bell tower collapsed. This calamitous incident caused damage estimated as high as $20,000. In the months that followed, inspections by experts sought to determine the cause of the collapse, and proposals and counter-proposals between trustees and builder culminated in the trustees ordering Kirwan to quit the job. De Pouilly, the architect, was also dismissed and the trustees employed another architect.