Olivier Plantation House & St. Mary's Orphanage
Located on this site from ca. 1820 to 1949 stood the original David Olivier creole-style plantation house. It was purchased by The New Orleans Catholic Association for the Relief of Male Orphans in 1840 in order to relocate from Bayou St. John the orphanage founded by Fr. Adam Kindelon, the first pastor of St. Patrick's Church. Beginning in 1848 the Brothers and Marianites of Holy Cross cared for and educated orphan boys at the later named St. Mary's Orphan Boys Asylum. In 1853 new brick buildings designed by Henry Howard were built around the house which stood at the center of a large courtyard. For more than 80 years, through the cholera epidemic of 1852, yellow fever epidemic of 1853, the Civil War, WWI and WWII, an estimated 9,000 boys lived here, often more than 300 at a time. St. Mary's closed in 1933.
In 1949, a group of architects and historians mounted an attempt to save the Olivier plantation house from demolition. While this effort was ultimately unsuccessful, it led to the founding of the Louisiana Landmarks Society in 1950, which continues today to advocate for the preservation of New Orleans' historic structures and neighborhoods.
Sponsored by The Congregation of Holy Cross 2016 In celebration of 168 Years of service in New Orleans