Milton H. Latter Memorial Library

Milton H. Latter Memorial Library Review

A former private home now serves as the most elegant public library in New Orleans. Built in 1907 and taking up an entire city block, this Italianate-beaux arts mansion was once the home of silent-screen star Marguerite Clark. It was then purchased by the Latter family and given to the city as a library in 1948 in memory of their son, who was killed in World War II. Sit and leaf through a copy of Walker Percy's The Moviegoer or John Kennedy Toole's Confederacy of Dunces (two popular novels set in New Orleans), or just relax in a wicker chair in the solarium. This is one of the few mansions on St. Charles Avenue open to the public. Local artisans contributed the murals and carved mantels.