Luling Mansion

Luling Mansion was completed in 1866 and was the home of German immigrant and cotton merchant Florence Luling. The mansion had 22 rooms, stables, billiards parlor, and even a bowling alley. Luling Mansion sat on 30 acres that extended to Bayou St. John and the formal grounds included a small lake with an island.

In the years before the completion of this mansion, there were several tragedies for the Luling family. First, Florence Luling's two sons drowned in the Bayou not long after moving into the home. The next misfortune to hit Florence Luling was the economic consequences of the Civil War. With the end of slavery and sharp declines in the cotton business, Lulling was soon forced to sell his mansion and move back to Europe. The tragedies however did not end with the Luling family. The architects who built the mansion also suffered. In 1866 Gallier Sr. drowned when a paddle steamer he was sailing on sank because of a hurricane. Two short years after his father’s death, Gallier Jr. died of yellow fever during the pandemic that struck New Orleans.

In 1870 Luling sold the mansion to the Louisiana Jockey Club. The mansion’s location to the Creole Racetrack was perfect for the Jockey Club who reopened the track as the as the New Orleans Fair Grounds Race Course. The Louisiana Jockey Club sold the mansion in 1905. The accessory wings of Luling Mansion that contained rooms such as the billiards parlor, kitchens, and bowling alley were later demolished and the former lavish mansion was converted into a bungalow and divided into eight apartments which is still the case today. The thirty acres of gardens were turned into streets and small family homes. The once opulent mansion is now cut off from view and is slowly falling into disrepair. 

Spencer, Luke J. The Luling Mansion, Atlas Obscura. Accessed July 21st 2020. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-luling-mansion-new-orleans-louisiana.

Strachan, Sue. Luling Mansion off Esplanade a site of opulence, tragedy, NOLA.com. July 15th 2019. Accessed July 21st 2020. https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/home_garden/article_129f17ea-9c1f-11e9-97f1-73e1b8b3d28d.html.