Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
noted New Orleans architect Emile Weil for businessman Emmanuel V. Ben-
jamin in 1912. It was later owned by J. Edgar Monroe, a shipbuilder and
philanthropist, followed by several other owners. Next to the Benjamin-Mon-
roe house is Danneel Playspot, one of the city's nearly 120 parks and play-
grounds.
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Walk one block and cross Jefferson Avenue. To the right, at 5342 St. Charles,
is the Jewish Community Center, which has occupied the corner of St.
Charles and Jefferson since 1948. The JCC actually dates back to 1855 with
the formation of the Young Men's Hebrew and Literary Society. The society
eventually became the Young Men's Hebrew Association and later the Young
Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association. It changed its name to the
Jewish Community Center upon moving to its current location, the site of the
former Jewish Children's Home. The JCC offers an array of programming,
from summer camp and nursery school to health-and-wellness activities and
Jewish holiday celebrations.
Next to the JCC, at 5300 St. Charles, is De La Salle High School, home of the
Cavaliers, which was founded as a Catholic School for boys in 1949 but
which became coed in 1992. De La Salle is part of the Brothers of the Christi-
an Schools network, which has 1,500 schools in 85 countries.
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Walk one block to Dufossat Street. To the right, at 5120 St. Charles, is the
Milton H. Latter Memorial Library, a former private home that is un-
doubtedly the most stunning of the New Orleans Public Library's 14
branches (see sidebar).
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Walk one block to 5010 St. Charles. The Tudor-style house was built in 1909
for Joseph Vaccaro, founder of the Standard Fruit and Steamship Company,
one of the first businesses to import bananas from Honduras to New Orleans.
Standard Fruit eventually became the Dole Food Company.
To the left, at 5005 St. Charles, is the home of the Orleans Club, an exclusive
women's club. Built in 1868 as a wedding gift from Colonel William Lewis
Wynn to his only daughter, Ann Elizabeth Wynn Garner. The house re-
mained in private hands until 1925, when a group of 300 women purchased it
for a club dedicated to women's interests and the arts. Today, members host
a variety of cultural-arts programs along with debutante teas and other soci-
ety functions.
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Walk three blocks to 4717 St. Charles. The Richardsonian Romanesque
Revival mansion is easily one of the largest houses on the Avenue, at 22,000
