ABOUT MAISON SOULE
History of the Mansion
With twenty-two rooms of 17-foot ceilings, three balconies, a kitchen, house and garden. Maison Soule has transformed itself during two centuries from an elegant manor to an orphan asylum, from jazz parlor to a family owned and run contemporary restaurant.
As a prime piece of real estate, only a bead toss from Bourbon Street and directly across from one of the oldest restaurants in the county, Antoine's, Maison Soule has a history as ornate as the scrolled wrought-iron balconies lining its masonry.
Centered in the 300-year-old metropolis of New Orleans, the mansion at 720 Rue de Saint Louis now hosts locals and visitors in a restored history-inspired decorum serving dishes honoring its Creole and French roots.
The Owner
Named after its original owner Pierre Soule, an emigre Frenchman who settled in New Orleans, the mansion possesses both history and mystery within its stuccoed walls.
Known as a U.S. politician and diplomat, Pierre Soule published several articles opposing King Charles X. Soule's revolutionary activities landed him in prison by order of the king, but he escaped his imprisonment and fled to New Orleans in 1828.
As construction on the mansion began in 1829, Soule married Armentine Mercier, a belle of the French Quarter. Soule became a criminal lawyer, exceptional orator, financier and a man of affairs.
A generous friend of French refugees, Soule rose in social circles and was elected the U.S. Senator for Louisiana, serving from 1849 until 1853 when he resigned to accept appointment as U.S. Minister to Spain.
After writing the infamous Ostend Manifesto, a secret document plotting the acquisition of the island of Cuba from Spain, Federal Troops arrested Soule as a confederate sympathizer, charged with treason and imprisoned.
The Ostend Manifesto strained relations between politicians, and the nation took one step closer to Civil War. Soule went into exile in Havana after his release. He returned to New Orleans years later, and in 1870 Soule died in his bedroom on the third floor of the mansion.
Pierre Soule is buried at the end of the street of his home at 720 Saint Louis Street in St. Louis Cemetery No. 2.
The Orphanage
Born free in the North, Louise De Mortie, was an African-American lecturer who moved to New Orleans to help raise funds, aid children, and serve as manager of the Soule Mansion Orphanage.
The home of Pierre Soule became the first domicile for the orphans of gens de couleur.
The Occupants
Years after the orphan asylum closed, the Soule Mansion changed ownership many times. Between World Wars, Mary Lee Kelley ran the Kelsto Club in the space.
In 1966, legendary trumpeter Al Hirt opened Sinatraville, a late-night drinkery with no other entertainment than Frank Sinatra tapes and records.
Notable occupants of the mansion include Jim Garrison, the John F. Kennedy assassination investigator who lived on the third floor from 1967 to 1969. Verita Thompson, best known for her 14-year reputed affair with actor Humphrey Bogart, ran a bar called "Bogey and Me" in the French structure during the 1980's.
From 2002 to 2008, former mistress to President Bill Clinton, Gennifer Flowers, owned the Soule Mansion, opening a piano bar.
The Ghosts
Numerous individuals have passed away in the Soule Manson over the years. Many believe the second-floor servants' quarters and main bedroom to be haunted by the spirits of small children running amok.
