NOLA Architecture 014 - St. Vincent Orphan Asylum

St. Vincent Guesthouse

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The St. Vincent Guesthouse is a hotel created from an ancient Orphanage. Many simply refer to it as "The Orphanage". This is where we stay when we require paid lodging in New Orleans. It's also where we recommend people stay. It's very affordable and very "New Orleans". And when we say "very New Orleans", we mean, "sticky-filthy and crawling with cockroaches the size of cats". If you've got a problem with that, you may want to look into some of the cute little bed & breakfasts uptown. The staff are randomly cheery and helpful, surly and quiet or criminally insane. I love them all.

If you were to read reviews on, say Tripadvisor.com, you would see opinions split nearly in half. One group simply loves the "Character" (read: filth) ; "Charm" (read: illiteracy) and "Helpful staff" (read: the guest is happy he was not murdered when he was mugged).

I am SO kidding! The people there are lovely. They're just not too overly concerned when you don't have towels for 3 days. We just know to bring towels now.

The other group on the "opinion sites" feel like they just got out of boot camp, or lived through a slasher movie, "It seemed so lovely and idyllic! Then the sun went down..."

So, I will resolve the two by saying that staying at the St. Vincent Guesthouse is an "experience". You should do it at least once in your life.

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I can't find an exact date for when it was built. Early 19th Century, far as I can tell.

It looks like this reads: "St. Vinsent Infant Asylum"
not "St. Vincent"

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This chute was installed in case of fires. When a room goes ablaze, you start chuckin' the infants out the window and down the chute. This is not a joke.
I don't know if the pool was there to meet them at the bottom 150 years ago (that was a joke).

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Photo from Tripadvisor.com

There are many photographs on the wall of nuns caring for the children of St. Vincent's. Some superstitious people are leery to spend time in a place that housed so many ill and destitute children, but I personally have seen very few lesion-covered, crying phantom-babies wandering the halls at night.

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Mary among the bananas.

Right outside of the western entrance there is a large Mary grotto (or however you say it). I can't really tell what it's made of. Maybe cement covered in latex paint? I don't know.

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This is the grotto from the second balcony.

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This is the front porch or "gallery".

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porch detail

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porch detail

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Stairwell

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Photo from Tripadvisor.com
The rooms are not terrible. I think they each have 12 or 14-foot ceilings and white wicker furniture. Floral fabrics and pastels abound (are you there to enjoy New Orleans or look at your hotel room?). I'm usually only in the hotel long enough to sleep a few hours and grab a quick shower.
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The roof is still tarped 6 months after Katrina (as most of the city was).

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In the middle of the picture you can the see the Superdome. St. Vincent's in nicely situated uptown, but close to downtown.

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As you pan right from the Superdome, you follow the buildings on Canal & Poydras St and can see the World Trade Center, which sits right on the river (second building from right).

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Some interior shots:
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This red-head keeps showing up in my pictures.
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Please click on the image for a larger, more-detailed version.The parking lot looks a lot like the driveway at my house.

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This was taken from the parking lot.

After Katrina, much of the Guesthouse became long-term housing for laborers from out of town who came to rebuild the city. Many of the rooms had the beds removed and bunks put in:

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Photo from Tripadvisor.com

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