Fodor's Expert Review Pontalba Buildings

Baroness Micaela Pontalba built this twin set of town houses, one on each side of Jackson Square, around 1850; they are known for their ornate cast-iron balcony railings. Baroness Pontalba's father was Don Almonester, who sponsored the rebuilding of the St. Louis Cathedral in 1788. The strong-willed Miss Almonester also helped fund the landscaping of the square and the erection of the Andrew Jackson statue at its center. The Pontalba Buildings are publicly owned; the side to the right of the cathedral, on St. Ann Street, is owned by the state, and the other side, on St. Peter Street, by the city. On the state-owned side is the 1850 House, and at 540-B St. Peter Street on the city-owned side is a plaque marking the apartment of Sherwood Anderson, writer and mentor to William Faulkner.