Ursuline Convent, New Orleans (1824)
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Ursuline Convent
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| Location | 1100 Chartres St., New Orleans, Louisiana |
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| Coordinates | 29°57′37.1″N 90°3′38.51″W / 29.960306°N 90.0606972°WCoordinates: 29°57′37.1″N 90°3′38.51″W / 29.960306°N 90.0606972°W |
| Built | 1752 (original building completed in 1734) |
| Architect | Ignace Broutin, Alexandre de Batz |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical, French Colonial |
| NRHP reference # | 66000376 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | October 9, 1960 |
Ursuline Convent was a series of historic Ursuline convents in New Orleans, Louisiana.
In 1726, nuns from the Ursuline Convent of Rouen (Normandy) go to New Orleans to found a convent, run a hospital and take care of educating youngs girls.
The first building for the Ursuline nuns in New Orleans was designed by Ignace François Broutin in 1727 when the nuns arrived in New Orleans. Michael Zeringue (Johann Michael Zehringer), the King's Master Carpenter from Franconia, Bavaria and progenitor of all "Zeringue" families in Louisiana was the builder. Planning, collecting material, and construction took years. Existing drawings show the building in 1733, although it was not officially finished until the following year.
Colombage (half-timbered) or briquette-entre-poteaux (brick-between-post) was the major form of French Colonial construction in the colony during the 18th century (see also Pitot House). Usually the exterior walls were then given a protective covering of stucco or wooden boards; but the fact that the timbered walls of the Ursuline Convent were left exposed is confirmed by a drawing from 1737. Such construction proved to be inappropriate for the humid climate of New Orleans (with significant deterioration already apparent by 1745), in addition to being a fire hazard.
In 1745 plans for a new building of brick and protected colombage were prepared by Ignace Broutin. The contractor was Claude Joseph Villars Dubreuil, Contractor of Public Works for the King. His wife, Marie Payen de Noyan, was Bienville's sister. This structure was completed in 1751. It is likely that Alexandre de Batz also took part in the design because several payments are listed to him for work on the new building. The new building was laid out adjacent to the site of the older structure, and some materials from the older building were used in the construction of the newer one.
Built of stucco-covered brick, the new building, also known as Old Ursuline Convent, is typical for the French neoclassical architecture. It is a formal, symmetrical building, severely designed in its lack of ornamentation. No applied orders of pilasters or columns relieved the plain walls. Only the slightly arched window set in shallow moldings, the rusticated quoins at the corners and narrow central pedimented pavilion break the even rhythm of the fenestration. The broad plain hipped roof, broken only by small low-set dormers contrasts well with the multi-windowed façade and completes the austere but not unpleasant, finely proportioned building.
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