Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
once stood at this site; it was built for Lawrence Fabacher, who founded Jax
Brewery (see
Walk 6
).
LATTER LIBRARY
With its lavish grounds and neo-Italianate design, the mansion between Dufossat and
Soniat streets fits in perfectly with the other palatial homes along St. Charles Ave.
But instead of housing people, it houses books.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Milton H. Latter Memorial
Library was built in the early 20th century as the private residence of Mark Isaacs,
founder of Maison Blanche, one of the city's legendary department stores.
When Isaacs died in 1912, lumber magnate Frank B. Williams bought the house. His
son Harry Williams, an aviation pioneer, was married to Marguerite Clark, an Amer-
ican stage and silent-film actress. The couple inherited the house after the elder Wil-
liams's death and lived there until 1936, when Harry Williams died in a plane crash.
Clark lived there for another three years before moving to New York.
Racetrack owner Robert Eddy bought the house in 1937, and a decade later, he sold
it to real estate executive Harry Latter. Looking for a way to memorialize their only
son, Milton, who was killed in World War II, Latter and his wife immediately
donated it to the city for use as a public library.
Although the library has undergone numerous renovations over the years, it has pre-
served many of the formal rooms as reading rooms, along with some of the home's
original adornments, among them Czechoslovakian chandeliers, Dutch murals, and
South American mahogany paneling.
Regular events at Latter include book sales, film screenings, author visits, summer
reading programs, early-literacy events, and adult programming. The library is open
seven days a week, so be sure to stop in for a visit while walking the avenue. Call
504-596-2625 or visit
tinyurl.com/nolapubliclibraries
for hours.
•
Walk two blocks to the Benjamin-Monroe Mansion at 5531 St. Charles. The
22-room Italianate Beaux Arts Renaissance Revival house was designed by
