History

The original Cabildo was destroyed in the

Great New Orleans Fire (1788) The Great New Orleans Fire (1788) ( es, Gran Incendio de Nueva Orleans, french: Grand incendie de La Nouvelle-Orléans) was a fire that destroyed 856 of the 1,100 structures in New Orleans, Louisiana (New Spain), on March 21, 1788, spanning the s ...

. The Cabildo was rebuilt between 1795–99 as the home of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

municipal government in New Orleans, in 1821 Spanish coat of arms removed from the façade pediment and replaced with the extant American eagle with cannonballs by the Italian sculptor Pietro Cardelli and the third floor with

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...

was later added in 1847, in French style. The building took its name from the governing body who met there—the "Illustrious Cabildo," or city council. The Cabildo was the site of the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...

transfer ceremonies late in 1803, and continued to be used by the New Orleans city council until the mid-1850s. The building's main hall, the Sala Capitular ("Meeting Room"), was originally utilized as a

courtroom A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...

. The Spanish used the courtroom from 1799 to 1803, and from 1803 to 1812 it was used by the Louisiana territorial superior court. During the years between 1868 and 1910, the Cabildo was the seat of the

Louisiana Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Louisiana (french: Cour suprême de Louisiane) is the highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orlea ...

.History of the Louisiana Supreme Court
retrieved on 16 April 2017. The Sala Capitular was the site of several landmark court cases, including ''

Plessy v. Ferguson ''Plessy v. Ferguson'', 163 U.S. 537 (1896), was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that racial segregation laws did not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as the facilities for each race were equal in qualit ...

''. In 1895 the building was in a state of decay and proposed for demolition; artist William Woodward led a successful campaign to have the historic building preserved and restored. In 1911 (the state's highest court having vacated), the Cabildo became the home of the

Louisiana State Museum The Louisiana State Museum (LSM), founded in New Orleans in 1906, is a statewide system of National Historic Landmarks and modern structures across Louisiana, housing thousands of artifacts and works of art reflecting Louisiana's legacy of historic ...

. The museum displays exhibits about the history of Louisiana from its settlement up through the

Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

, and about the heritage of the ethnic groups who have lived in the state. FQDecaturCathedralFlagGray

It was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1960.Patricia Heintzelman (June 30, 1975) , National Park Service and The Cabildo was extensively damaged by a fire on May 11, 1988, which destroyed the cupola and the entire third floor,"Louisiana State Museum" (history), Joseph F. Meany Jr., Karen W. Engelke, ''The Journal of American History'', Vol. 83, No. 3 (Dec. 1996), pages 946–952, webpage
JSTOR-Cabildo
but it was restored and reopened to the public in 1994. In 2005, the Cabildo survived

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

, the eye of which passed 30 miles (48 km) east of downtown, with relatively minor damage. Days after the storm struck, the

Louisiana State Police The Louisiana State Police (French: Police d’Etat de Louisiane) is the state police agency of Louisiana, which has jurisdiction anywhere in the state, headquartered in Baton Rouge. It falls under the authority of the Louisiana Department of P ...

used the business offices of the Cabildo to set up what was called Troop N. From the Cabildo, state troopers patrolled the city's streets along with police agencies from

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Notes

External links

The Cabildo on the Louisiana State Museum website

''The Cabildo: Two Centuries of Louisiana History''
at the Louisiana Dept. of Culture, Recreation & Tourism
Friends of the Cabildo website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabildo Cabildos Pre-statehood history of Louisiana Museums in New Orleans History museums in Louisiana French Quarter Buildings and structures in New Orleans Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana Government buildings completed in 1795 New Spain Colonial United States (Spanish) Spanish Colonial architecture in the United States Louisiana State Museum National Register of Historic Places in New Orleans Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Louisiana

History

See also

Notes

External links