Louisiana State Museum - The Presbytère

Which museum is housed in a 18th century Spanish colonial style building on the other side of St. Louis cathedral at Jackson square in the heart of the French quarter of New Orleans?First floor is a documentary about 2005 Hurricane Katrina which caused $200 billion dollars damage in todays dollars, the most costly natural disaster in American History until the 2025 LA fires, which caused $275 billion dollars damage. While I spent a lot of time checking out the Katrina exhibits, it was already well documented on the internet. Did like interactive exhibits depicting the personal stories of people struggling to survive the hurricane. The second floor had exhibits of Mardi Gras throughout history, along with dozens of parade floats, and extravagant costumes. Interesting watching historical photos of time in the past of New Orleans. I've been to New Orleans at least 5 times , but have never found timeshare openings in February and March, the time Mardi Gras is held. Even today 20 years later there are signs of the hurricane with block after block of empty lots in the 9th ward. Not a place you want to be after dark. $6 for seniors and $7 for adults under 65. You're going to pay more for parking.

Also known as the Presbytere. This was one of the places to stop on our list. Due to we didn't come and visit any time near Mardi Gras I really wanted to see there exhibit and learn more. I learned so much. I can't believe you can pay people to save a spot to watch the parade for you. Or that all the throws are paid by the person throwing them. I loved seeing the costume Design sketches come to life. It was a magnificent display with so much information. I love the me me me float. All focused on us taking selfies. I liked learning about the balls and seeing the lavish gifts guests got and how that ball has evolved. The Katrina exhibit was enlightening and heart breaking.I highly Reccomend this museum. If you have the NARM membership you can get in free. I forgot to use mine, but it was only $7pp so it wasn't bad.

For the price it's worth it. It is much better than the Cabildo. So if you want to do one do this one! One level is about Katrina. One thing that surprised me was there are some bad language in some of the exhibits. I personally dont care but some might. I talked a to the owner of Black Butterfly too and he said Katrina was worse than was portrayed on the news. Especially poignant was people died in attics just trying to escape the water. They thought they were safe. Pretty sure they thought the government would b quick to help. Lol They were sadly mistaken. The next level is Mardi Gras costumes and about the designer who made them. It was interesting to me. Once upon a time I wanted to b a fashion designer. The costumes are flamboyant and very detailed. Not sure how they could wear the heavy headdresses. It also showed crowns and the scepters they used. Not going to lie there is a section that is just plain weird and doesn't fit in with the themes. Like they had to fill some space up. Regardless it's well worth the price and many touristy things in Nola is not! The lady who sold us tickets was not very friendly. I noticed customer service in Nola is very lacking. We all gotta work right?!

This museum is worth the visit. The tickets were $7 each and we spent about an hour here. There is a hurricane Katrina exhibit on the first floor and a Mardi gras exhibit on the second floor. The hurricane Katrina exhibit was moving, was interactive and had a lot of details. I liked the costumes and information in the Mardi gras exhibit.

They currently have two exhibits. One on Katrina and the other about Mardi Gras. As we walked through the Exhibits on Louisiana hurricanes it was intersecting to hear the locals touring the exhibit talk about their personal stories from the storm. We are from Florida and have a great respect for hurricanes. Katrina was so devastating but the stories of the resilience of the New Orleanians were very touching. We spent so much time in the Katrina exhibit that we had to do a pretty quick tour of the Mardi Gras display. There is a great deal to see. The costumes were unbelievable!

We had other activities reserved so we only had enough time to see the Katrina exhibit on the first floor. It took about 90 Mins. I wish we could have seen the Mardi Gras part too but its own fault. It was really interesting to see so many different aspects about the Katrina disaster from the lives to the reasons and prevention in the future. Minus one star because I tried to use the Yelp check in discount and the workers acted like they didn't know what I'm talking about. They said I have to buy my ticket Online to use it but there's no code to buy online and Yelp check in offers literally say show to employee on it with a timer so I'm not really sure what game theyre trying to play

The Presbytère is beautiful building in the French Quarter. It was designed in 1791 by the French-born Gilberto Guillemard to match the Cabildo, or Town Hall, on the other side of the stunning St. Louis Cathedral. All three buildings face Jackson Square. It is beautiful example of formal colonial Spanish architecture with many neo-Renaissance elements.It was originally called the Casa Curial, the Ecclesiastical House, because it was built on the former site of the residence of the Capuchin monks, or Presbytère which means rectory in French. Ironically, this building never housed clergy, but once served as the courthouse of the Louisiana Supreme Court.Today, it is part of the Louisiana State Museum and features permanent exhibits on Hurricane Katrina on the first floor and Mardi Gras Traditions on the second floor. Visit and explore the days leading up to and the aftermath of one of the most devastating natural disasters that has ever hit Louisiana in "Living with Hurricanes: Katrina & Beyond." Eyewitness accounts. Oral histories. Artifacts. News Reports. Charity Hospital Banner. A Daily Diary. Watch footage of the devastation. Read about what happened at the hospitals, the Superdome and why the levees failed. Interactive exhibits and animated maps demonstrate the major levee failures and the progression as New Orleans and the surrounding Gulf Coast were devastated and flooded. From engineering missteps to wetlands loss and coastal erosion from hurricane science to disaster management, the videos are educational and heartbreaking. This contrasts with the display on the second floor which celebrates Mardi Gras and the 150th anniversary of Krewe of Rex and the School of Design. Rex was the first daytime parade in modern Carnival. Interesting to see the origins and timeline. The costumes and gowns from the krewe's kings and queens are so elaborate. Loved seeing the complete sets of royal "rare crown jewels" complete with crowns, scepters and tiaras. "Throw me something mister!!"Take a simulated ride on a Mardi Gras float. Climb the stairs and feel like you are going down Canal or St. Charles Street throwing beads, doubloons, and plastic cups as you pass the crowd eagerly awaiting what you toss from the float. A nice museum to compliment The Cabildo and learn more about the history of New Orleans. Admission is just $7. They do accept NARM reciprocity passes.

The Presbytère is located next to the St. Louis Cathedral and faces Jackson Square in the French Quarter. It's a beautiful building on colonial Spanish architecture that used to be the courthouse of the Louisiana Supreme Court.The admission prices are (as of January 2023):- Adults ($7)- Students, senior citizens, active military ($6)- Children 6 and under (free)On the first floor we learned about the events of Hurricane Katrina as it unfolded minute-by-minute and the evacuation efforts. It went over peoples' experiences living and sleeping in the Superdome. The smell was putrid, there were no lights or running water or ventilation systems, and people slept on cement and the bench seats in 100+ degree weather. The carnage was unimaginable and there were items left during the evacuation and found ruined on display.Other parts of the first floor went through hurricane education, how to be prepared for one, the fatal errors and engineering decisions that allowed that level of damage to occur and how the infrastructure was improved due to Katrina. On the second floor was the history of Mardi Gras and the parades. There was also the 150th anniversary of REX, an organization that puts on one of the biggest parades on Mardi Gras.If you buy tickets to other museums also under the LSM, you get 20% off both this museum and the other museum. In our case, we went to the New Orleans Jazz Museum and booked both for a discount. This was a unique museum and I learned a lot about the traditions and history of one of the biggest tragedies in New Orleans history.

Great price at $7, cheaper than most other museums. Great pictures, audio and videos about Hurricane Katrina. Mardi Gras exhibit was ok, perhaps a little old and outdated. Spent an enjoyable 1 1/2 hr in the air conditioning and would recommend for out of town visitors.

There is a check-in offer on Yelp! for a $1.00 discount. The cashier knew nothing of the offer nor did she attempt to find out how to apply it, therefore, minus 1 star. Overall, the exhibits were very good and informative and still worth the entry fee without discount.