Saux, Jean Marie, Building - New Orleans, LA - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

Located at the Pizzati Gate entrance (the original main entrance) to New Orleans' City Park. Building is in great condition, and is now an upscale restaurant, Ralph's on the Park. Was closed on my visit (early morning). Great website listed for Ralph's below.

Great history of the building is located on the State of Louisiana Register website, located here, which states:
The Saux Building is locally significant in the area of exploration/settlement because it is a landmark in the history of the development of the City Park-Mid City residential area of New Orleans. It is the only extant resource which represents the area's entire history. Moreover, the building is inextricably linked with the City Park, which was the most important force in the development of this half square mile neighborhood. The City Park-Mid City area is roughly bounded by Bayou St. John, City Park, and the Lafitte Street railroad yard. The New Orleans City Park initially opened in 1859, but for the first thirty years of its existence it was isolated from the city in a more or less rural setting. After the Civil War the park languished because of lack of city funding. During this period the park was largely devoted to cattle and dairy cow grazing. In 1891 the City Park Improvement Association rescued the park and redeveloped it using an Olmsted plan. During the years that followed people came to the park by the thousands. In 1899 the Park board, in cooperation with some residents along Alexander Street, obtained a grant from the city to pave Alexander Street from Canal Street to the park entrance. The park area became fashionable, and was consequently redeveloped in the early years of this century as a densely packed upper middle class residential area. During this period r the neighborhood, which had been an underpopulated semirural area, achieved its present character with Queen Anne Revival houses and large, pretentious bungalows. The Saux Building is the neighborhood's oldest structure by at least thirty years. Jean Marie Saux built the coffeehouse in response to the initial opening of City Park in 1859. The coffeehouse was located directly across the street from the park's main entrance. Saux foresaw a prosperous trade in selling refreshments to visitors who made the "all day" trip by mule railroad from New Orleans to the park. (The city extended a special line to service the park.) By 1860 Saux's coffeehouse and City Park were successfully in operation and were well patronized. For many, stopping for refreshments at the coffeehouse was part of the recreational experience of visiting the park.

Street address: 900 City Park Ave. New Orleans, LA USA 70119 County / Borough / Parish: Orleans Year listed: 1983 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event Periods of significance: 1850-1874, 1875-1899, 1900-1924, 1925-1949 Historic function: Commerce/Trade, Domestic. Sub - Multiple Dwelling, Restaurant, Specialty Store Current function: Commerce/Trade, Restaurant 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.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   09/25/2010 BrewSleuth visited it