Curtis Plunkett House

In 1889, octogenarian pharmacist Hermann Curtius purchased a prime vacant site on First Street and commissioned New Orleans architect James Freret to design a residence as a retirement home for himself and his sister Caroline. The aging German-born siblings had lived together for years above the family's downtown drug store. Hermann died soon after moving into the fashionable Garden District home, and Caroline continued to live there until 1901, when she succumbed to old age. During the following decades, the property fell into disrepair, served as a multi-family dwelling, and lost its salient Eastlake stylistic features. In 2009, Laura and Bill Plunkett purchased the house when its porch, its most elaborate and prominent feature, was gone. Tulane University held Freret's original watercolor drawing documenting the original appearance, and using this resource as a guide, the new owners and their experts reconstructed the rich ornamentation and intricate detailing of the side porch and painted the exterior with period-appropriate multi-chrome highlights.

New Orleans, Louisiana · United States