Peter Claver Building
The former Peter Claver Building, previously the French Hospital, was a historic building in New Orleans, Louisiana. It occupied the square bounded by Orleans, Derbigny, Ann Street, and Roman Streets, just back from Claiborne Avenue.
| Peter Claver Building | |
|---|---|
| Location | 1818 Orleans Street New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Built | 1861 |
| Demolished | 1986 |
It was constructed in 1861 by La Société Française de Bienfaisance, originally offering health care to the city's Francophone community. It became popularly known as "the French Hospital". The hospital closed in closed on October 31, 1949. The building was subsequently rented out for offices.[1]
It served as national headquarters of the Knights of Peter Claver organization during 1951 to 1974, when a new, adjacent building was constructed to serve as its headquarters instead.[2] The building was demolished in 1986.
The original building was constructed in Greek Revival style in 1861, relatively late for applications of that style. It was further developed around 1883. It was used by the French Benevolent and Mutual Aid Society of New Orleans, as the "French Hospital", until 1949.[2]
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated U.S. President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas, was born at the French Hospital on October 18, 1939.[3]
References
- "Ask Julia Street, New Orleans Magazine, February 2009".
- Roulhac Toledano; Mary Louise Christovich; Betsy Swan. New Orleans Architecture Volume VI: Faubourg Treme and the Bayou Road. p. 83.
- Pontchartrain, Blake (June 17, 2019). "Blake Pontchartrain: Where was the French Hospital in New Orleans, and what's its story?". The Advocate. Retrieved September 29, 2019.