Please join us this Friday, March 31st from 5:30pm to 7pm, to kick off the 2023 Season of At Home in the Vieux Carré! We’ll bask in the springtime gardens at 1218 Burgundy, the home of Jon Kemp & John Reed. Built circa 1810, this charming home is one of the oldest Creole cottages in the neighborhood. Its rich history is marked by a series of name changes, the first “LaRionda-Correjolles house” after its builder, Antonio LaRionda, and a later owner, architect Francois Correjolles.
It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021 for its significance as the “Medard Nelson home” and school from 1887 to 1933: an African American private school primarily for African Americans, but also for white children, in defiance of Jim Crow. Later it was used as an arts and crafts center for the students of the adjacent Cabrini School, which was demolished and turned into Cabrini Park. When it was owned by the City, the New Orleans Recreation Department housed a doll museum within, dubbing it “the Doll House.”
Saved from longtime neglect on the auction block in 2007, it was returned to residential use by its current owners who took their time in its full restoration. Today it is a sun dappled home filled with Jon & John’s eclectic collection of paintings, art objects, furniture, and libraries.
Our At Home in the Vieux Carré series is a great way to meet your neighbors and get an inside peak of a gorgeous French Quarter home. Bring your friends from outside the Quarter. Admission is $10 for members, $15 for non-members and FREE for those who sign up or renew their membership that night.
Let us know if you’d like to volunteer! We always need a hand with the Membership and Check-in tables, and behind the bar. Volunteers enjoy free admission to the event. Please email us at info@vcpora.org to sign up!
