Fodor's Expert Review Madame John's Legacy
Editor's Note: This property is currently undergoing renovations.
Now a state museum, this is the only example of West Indies architecture and early Creole-colonial home design in the French Quarter. The large, dark rooms of the main living space occupy the second story, and a porch (called a gallery) runs along the front and back of the house, providing ventilation during the steamy summers and shelter from both sun and rain. The house has a colorful past. Its first owner, Jean Pascal, a French sea captain, was killed by Natchez Indians. The current building was constructed in 1789, following the 1788 fire that destroyed much of the Quarter. The name "Madame John's Legacy," was adopted in the late 1800s after a short story by New Orleans writer George Washington Cable. The popular tale was about Madame John, a "free woman of color" who, like many mulatto women at that time, became the mistress of a Frenchman. Having never married, the Frenchman, John (Jean), bequeathed his house and estate to her on his deathbed.