Free previewStop 2 of Garden District Walking Tour: Mansions and Lafayette Cemetery
The Saloon That Became Commander's Palace
You're standing at the corner of Washington Avenue and Coliseum Street, right across from the cemetery you just left. Look at the building on the corner, the one painted a bright, unapologetic aqua. Some people jokingly call its style "Victorian Cuckoo." Locals just call it Commander's.
It started small. In 1893 a man named Emile Commander opened a saloon on this corner. This was the City of Lafayette's old ground, by then folded into New Orleans and filling up with the big houses of uptown families. Within a few years, Emile Commander had turned his saloon into a restaurant those families came to. By 1900, the record says, Commander's Palace was drawing gourmets from all over the world. You'll sometimes hear an earlier founding date, 1880, but the usual account is 1893.
Then came the rumors. In the 1920s the owner was Frank Giarratano.
That's the opening. The rest plays at stop 2 of Garden District Walking Tour: Mansions and Lafayette Cemetery (3 min in all). Unlock the tour to hear it all, or try stop 1 free first.
