Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Peyton and Eli Manning. An ESPN documentary,
The topic of Manning,
tells
the story of growing up Manning and features scenes of father and sons toss-
ing the football in the front yard.
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Walk one block to Coliseum Street and turn right. At 2425 Coliseum is the
Joseph Merrick Jones House, home of actor John Goodman and the former
home of Nine Inch Nails singer Trent Reznor. The house is named for a law-
yer who lived there in the mid-1900s. Joseph Merrick Jones also served as
secretary for public affairs for the US State Department during World War
II and as president of Tulane University.
•
Walk two block to 2627 Coliseum, a Swiss chalet-style mansion built in 1876
by architect William Freret for James Eustis, a US senator and ambassador
to France. Today, the house is owned by Academy Award-winning actress
Sandra Bullock, whose ties to New Orleans go back to Hurricane Katrina in
2005. Following the storm, Bullock adopted the heavily damaged Warren Ea-
ston Charter High School in Mid-City and has played a significant role in the
school's subsequent success. While in New Orleans, she adopted her son,
Louis, and in 2010 bought the Coliseum Street mansion.
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In the next block, at 2707 Coliseum, stands the so-called Benjamin Button
House, the primary residence used in the Brad Pitt-Cate Blanchett film
The
Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
The Academy Award-winning movie,
based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, was filmed almost entirely in
New Orleans. The 8,000-square-foot white center-hall cottage was built in
1832 and has been owned by three generations of the Nolan family. In the
movie it served as the old folks' home where Queenie, the resident manager
played by Taraji P. Henson, raises Button, who, of course, was played by Pitt.
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Continue walking down Coliseum to the corner of Washington Avenue. The
mammoth turquoise structure on the right is the legendary Commander's
Palace, a fine-dining institution renowned not just in New Orleans but
worldwide. Owned today by noted restaurateur Ella Brennan, it dates back
to 1880, when Emile Commander opened the only restaurant patronized by
the Garden District's distinguished families. Known for its modern Louisi-
ana and Creole cuisine—with Sunday jazz brunch among its most popular
meals—Commander's has won countless accolades (see sidebar).
•
Cross Washington Avenue and turn right. You're now in front of Lafayette
No. 1 Cemetery, established in 1833 in what used to be known as the city of
Lafayette. The cemetery is dedicated to musician Theodore Von LaHache,
