Lemann Store - Donaldsonville, LA - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

Lemann store now houses the Donaldsonville Welcome center and museum. Also named ON BUILDING as the Lemann Block, as it takes up an entire city block. Has displays of period retail items one may have expected to purchase here, clothing, appliances, etc.. Building,IMHO, needs alittle maintance (paint, windows repaired etc..) Nice place to visit. MUCH larger than it looks, sticks out.

HISTORY

The B. Lemann & Bro. Building was built in 1877 to house the mercantile business started by Jacob Lemann in 1836. The building was designed be New Orleans architect James Freret, and represents the Italianate style, a popular Victorian revival style reflecting the Italian Renaissance. The ornate two-and-one-half story stuccoes brick structure overlooks the Mississippi River and contains almost sixty thousand square feet. A colonnade of fluted cast iron columns supports a gallery continuing along three facades of the building, covering the entire sidewalk. Once the oldest continuing department store in Louisiana, it has been described as “the finest Italianate commercial building in any river town north of New Orleans.” The store offered groceries, both retail and wholesale, men’s clothing, shoes, hats and lingerie for women, piece goods, notions and hardware. At Christmas time, the second floor became a Toyland. The gallery houses original artifacts which includes display cases, office furniture, and items overstocked and not sold from 1877-1940 .

Street address: 312 Mississippi St Donaldsonville, LA USA 70346 County / Borough / Parish: Ascension Year listed: 1982 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1875-1899 Historic function: Commerce/Trade - Department Store Current function: Commerce/Trade Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   09/25/2015 TaryntheGreek visited it