The 1850 House

We were fortunate enough to have a tour guide to show us around which really brought the story and history of this place to life. I loved hearing about the quirky details and history of the entire building.
I hope that you’ll look past some of the ceiling falling apart in order to give this place a shot. If you’ve never seen an 1850s southern home before, this is a must see for you!
The owner of this place actually was the owner of the entire owner/​creator of Jackson square.

This place costs around $ 2.50 and that’s what it was worth. You enter through the gift shop, which is definitely the highlight of the whole house. The sweet old woman working that day had lost track of her one other employee who was supposed to be giving tours so she told us we could look around on our own. It was a snore fest. Just some old furniture and fake fruit but no history. We took a rest in the inner courtyard but that was about the only redeeming part of the experience. I can imagine it being a lot better with a tour guide who can give some historical context and liven up the environment but without that it was pretty lame.

Cute and cheap. We did a self guided tour. Good way to get away from the crowds outside the door.

If you need to kill a few minutes of time on the cheap, this is it. The gift shoppe actually smells quite pleasant with the soaps, which heavily mask the stench of urine and rotting trash just outside the front door. So now you know why they sell soaps in addition to other touristy trinkets. The soaps smell good, yo.

Maybe I’m too jaded from all the plantation tours I’ve done in the past, but there’s nothing terribly exciting about the 1850 house. The set up is nice and it’s cool to see authentic 19^th century furniture and housing design, but there’s not as much history as one would hope. The highlight for me was the mourning wreath made of family member’s hair (I love the mourning traditions of the Victorians).
If you’ve seen Oak Alley or Destrehan or the Myrtles or any of the many Louisiana plantations, you’ve basically seen the 1850 house. The only real difference is that it’s representative of the middle class and the plantations tend to be the super wealthy. And yes, most of the plantations are 18^th and early 19^th century as opposed to the mid-​19^th century but unless you’re a furniture/​antiquarian the differences are subtle.
If, however, you have 3 $ burning a hole in your pocket and 20 minutes, then this is a great little museum on Jackson Square.
The shop portion of the museum is really nice and the woman who was working was very friendly and answered all of our questions.

So here’s the scoop on the 1850 House: it is great if you are interested in history and you get a good docent. Now, I’ve brought a fair number of visitors through so I’ve been on the tour 4 times, and ¾ were lead by wonderful guides who give you great insight into the cultural roots of New Orleans. ¼ times the docent was not so good and the experience was just okay.
I wouldn’t just wander the building on a self-​guided tour since there aren’t very many signs and it isn’t that interesting in and of itself. I still recommend it to people when they visit, because the majority of my visits have been with good docents who gave an exceptional tour, but be aware that it’s partially the luck of the draw with this place.

My hunny and I stumbled upon this place while cruising through Jackson Square. There happened to be some docents giving tours for $ 3 per person.
We happened to enter the building exactly when the your was going on, so the lady said-​hurry go catch the tour and pay afterwards in true southern fashion.
The docents were cute retired people who love history and excited to share their knowledge about this house that holds so much history.
Check it out if you get a chance! Lots of things to learn!

There is a reason this place is $ 3.
A few old things set up in a building that feels like its structure needs stabilization. Browse an antique store for free for a better experience.

Great historical tour. Lynn was a great tour guide.

A very lovely apartment full of history. Only $ 3

Fun and fast, we took it as an add on to the History Museum. It was worth the few dollars if you have ever wondered what the inside of a New Orleans home looks like inside.
Warning: Larger folks (you know who you are…) this may not be for you. There are steep stairs and narrow passageways. I felt like I was taking my life into my hands on some of the walkways.
It was really interesting anyhow.

Before Katrina the place where I worked often had me bring folks «out» to visit places and this was one of the places we would visit. Most people I brought here found this place not very interesting and I can remember doing this tour as a child and being slightly bored by it myself the first time. There is some cool antique furniture here that I would love to have in my house along with some interesting historical items but this is still a very brief tour. The Cabildo and Presbytere both offer more interesting tours with many more things to see but adding this location to your visit to the Cabildo and Presbythere is a convenient, cheap ($ 3) and quick addition if you want to check it out.

Ever wondered what it was like to live in the Pontalba Apartments in 1850? If so, come check out the 1850 House.
At only $ 3 per person, the tour is one of the cheapest tours you can take. The self guided tour is very brief, but it can be a welcome respite from the heat.
The apartment is set up with period furniture. Unfortunately the rooms are roped off, but the furniture looks great. My favorite room was the children’s bedroom. I may be partial to that room because there is a child sized set of the actual furniture in my bedroom. Way cool.
I recommend this tour. It is cheap, quick and a window into the past.
Note: The tour involves walking up and down three flights of stairs. I do not think it is handicapped accessible.

I wasn’t too impressed with the 1850 House. I guess it was the Prospect. 2 exhibit that was happening at the time and an artist had staged the home as if she lived there in modern day. I wasn’t feeling it. I wanted to see historical information about the families that lived there and I didn’t get that.
The interior was underwhelming. Not very ornate architecturally. All the furniture, from my understanding is not original. I’m glad that I have a membership to Friends of the Cabildo so I didn’t have to pay the $ 6 admissions fee, which I would have been disappointed by. If you’re limited on time, I’d suggest the Presbytere just down the street, the Katrina exhibit is astounding.