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Chicago Sunday Tribune,
April 20, 1952:
Saved from
Ruins, Ancient House Lives
in Grandeur of
Fabulous 1880s
Couple Rescues a House, Restores Lost
Grandeur
On a cold day in January, 1948, Harry and Bessie Hiern were
house hunting in New Orleans' French Quarter. They were a
little tired of what the real estate salesman had been
trying to talk them into buying and weary of looking at
houses in general.
Harry, a native of New Orleans with
French ancestry, has his own ideas of what he was searching
for in the section where the fabulous city had flaunted her
charms in the lusty 19th century. His wife also harked back
to the early glories of New Orleans, the family having come
from the Isle of Fair (sic), a haven of memories of Jean
Lafitte and the mysterious bayous (sic).
* * *
Both were equally smitten when the realtor took them to Lamothe
house, at 621 Esplanade av., tho it was little than the shell of
a once great home. This is how the Hierns tell the story of
their purchase and reconstruction of the house:
"The agent led us from one bleak,
bare room to the next, and almost apologetically went thru his
sales talk. He did not mention the magnificent classic Greek
door frames, the ornate ceiling cornices in what had been double
parlors, and the beautiful symmetry of twin stairs and twin
slave quarters.
"Nor did he comment on the four hand
carved Corinthian columns gracing the facade. He talked about
investment returns, but all we heard was the rustle of hoop
skirts on the two winding stairways sweeping up from the large
hall.
"He seemed dazed when we rapidly came
to terms. However, it was not his salesmanship, but the sound of
laughter ringing up from the drawing rooms that led us on. Marie
Lamothe seemed to challenge us to rescue her beautiful house
from years of neglect."
For two months the Hierns could find
no one who wanted to take on the vast job of repairing Lamothe
house.
Suddenly Paul, a giant Negro,
appeared and announced he'd heard they had "a little plastering
to do."
The Hierns thought that was the
understatement of the year. They also were faced with sagging
doors, broken window panes, 100 years of layers of paint to be
removed, and new wiring and plumbing to be done. But Paul took
the job and stayed until his death a year later.
* * *
"He was a canny worker and brought in field hands to help him,"
Hiern said. "He saved us many dollars and guided us in the
necessary repairs, because, as he drawled, 'Ah understands these
old houses.'"
Lamothe house was built in 1880 by
Jean Batiste Lamothe, a wealthy sugar planter who had fled with
his family from Santo Domingo during a slave insurrection. The
family became socially prominent and the house was the scene of
typical southern (sic) balls and gatherings.
Decay and disinterested owners began
to diminish its grandeur late in the 1800's, turning it into the
dilapidated tenement that the Hierns found and restored to a
unique hostelry.
* * *
By December, 1948, restoration of the front had been completed.
The summers (when the house usually is closed) were spent in
restoring the slave quarters.
Now Lamothe house stands in much of
its former glory. The paint has been removed from the black and
gold mantels.
The great cypress floor and wall
timber which were hand hewn and tooled have been refinished to
uncover their magnificence. The ornate friezes and medallions of
the ceiling have been cleaned.
The 12 rooms and several suites are
furnished with New Orleans furniture of the 1840's.
* * *
The furnishings in the main hall date back to 1500. They include
a huge carved oak table with a heavy marble top. The house also
boasts several large console and mantel mirrors with had carved
gold leaf frames.
Hiern rescued the garden patio from a
trash littered areaway. The balconies overlooking it are
festooned with huge sprays of coral Rosa de Montana flowers,
poinsettias, azaleas, lilies, pansies, jasmine, and roses.
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