History of the Chateau Sonesta Hotel

In the late 1830's and 40's, while searching to expand his booming business, Daniel Henry Holmes saw that there was a definite trend venturing towards uptown New Orleans, the "new" section of the city.

Not wanting to abandon the traditional commercial district in the "old" section of the city, he decided what his store needed was a centralized location.  Being a true innovator, Mr. Holmes selected a site in the primarily residential area of Canal Street for the simple reason that it was the widest thoroughfare in the city, perfectly situated between the "old" and the "new."

On October 15, 1849, he opened one of the most important additions to Canal Street, the D.H. Holmes Department Store.  In the beginning, the new store was operated by a staff of five employees, and for the convenience of his customers he stayed open at night until after the opera.  Holmes offered the finest lace goods, fans, ribbons, leather goods, jewelry, parasols, gloves and a large fabric section, which he acquired on his buying trips in Europe.  Here a lady could procure a complete summer, winter, bridal, mourning, or traveling outfit from Holmes' order and fitting department in a matter of days.

The D.H. Holmes Department Store operated for 140 years (from 1849 until 1989), became a local treasure, and gained a national reputation as one of the outstanding retail establishments in the United States.  Upon the store's closing, the property was donated to the City of New Orleans.  The city in turn, created the Canal Street Development Corporation, a public benefit corporation formed to administer the project of rescuing the pre-Civil War structure.

The City of New Orleans, Historic Restoration Inc. (the developer) and Sonesta International Hotels Corporation joined together on a common mission, to preserve and readapt the use of this historic building by turning it into a truly unique hotel.

The 251-room luxury hotel opened in April 1995, a successful example of public/private partnership.

The transformation of the pre-Civil War landmark into a 20th century hotel included a complete interior renovation and exterior restoration to the building's 1913 facade.  Many special reminders of the building's past have been incorporated into the hotel:

   * Alabaster pillars from the original D.H. Holmes soda fountain adorn the bar in the Clock Bar.

   * Marble accents in the floor of the lobby, as well as the iron (faux marble) columns in the lobby, were preserved from the original structure.

   * The cypress exposed beams in the Atrium Courtyard date back to 1849, and were part of the original building.

   * The famous "clock", which was a favorite meeting place for generations of New Orleanians and missing since the store closed, was returned to the hotel in November of 1995, during a "D.H. Holmes Memorabilia Party' by two well-meaning "preservationists' who had disconnected the clock from its perch on Canal Street for safekeeping.  The Clock presently hangs in its original location on  Canal Street. 

   * Underneath the clock is the $23,000, bronze sculpture of Ignatius Reilly, funded jointly by the hotel and the Downtown Development District.  The statue mimics the opening scene of the 1981 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "A Confederacy of Dunces."  The comical character waits for his mother under the D.H. Holmes clock, clutching a Werlein's shopping bag, dressed in a hunting cap, flannel shirt, baggy pants and scarf.