TRICENTENNIAL PONTALBA LUNCHEON

Dear Friends, I am proud to offer a truly once in a lifetime opportunity to participate in the New Orleans Tricentennial: a chance to meet Charles-Edouard and Isabelle, Baron and Baroness de Pontalba and family members - direct descendants of Micaela Almonester, Baroness de Pontalba.

The luncheon includes two speakers, sumptuous hȃute Creole Cuisine and drinks, and is generously sponsored by Tableau as a benefit for the Louisiana Museum Foundation. We are thankful to Dickie Brennan and his team for their support. 

Pontalba family historian, Pierre de Pontalba will share his family’s legacy in France and New Orleans. Louisiana State Museum guest exhibition Curator Randolph Delehanty, PhD will preview the exhibition that will open Saturday, December 1 at the Founders Ball, and to the public on Sunday, December 2 at The Cabildo. ​

Tableau Restaurant at 616 St. Peter Street, site of Tricentennial Luncheon with the Baron & Baroness Pontalba

Interestingly, the first Baron, Joseph Xavier Pontalba, owned a home on the property that's now the Tableau Restaurant site -  which overlooks the Cabildo, upper Pontalba building and Jackson Square (the Almonester and Pontalba families are directly responsible for all of these important buildings).

Dripping with rich Louisiana French cultural history spanning four centuries, this Tricentennial Pontalba Luncheon opportunity is a wonderful finale to the year.  

Of course, I'm also excited about the Founders Ball the next night at The Cabildo! ​

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Taking a wrong turn six years ago in the French
countryside was incredibly fortuitous!  I met the de Pontalba family!
-Read about that wonderful adventure here-

Tickets for the Pontalba Luncheon and the Founders Ball raise funds for the Louisiana Museum Foundation which supports the Louisiana State Museum. Luncheon tickets are $125 each, most of which is tax deductible, and can be purchased by clicking this link.  Please join us by reserving now. Seating is limited. These remarkable events will sell out.

Founders Ball tickets are $300 each for Louisiana Museum Foundation Members and $350 for non-members. 

So, join me for Lunch at Tableau and at The Cabildo for the Founders Ball!

My best to you,
  Peter

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December 1 At The CaBildo

Founders Ball & Exhibition Opening:

The Baroness de Pontalba &
the Rise of Jackson Square:

How a Father's philanthropy and a Daughter's determination created the urban heart and architectural look of old New Orleans

This Final Tricentennial exhibit draws on the landmark buildings and rich collections of the Louisiana State Museum, portraits, treasures from the Pontalba Family château in France, loans from other collections, and historic and commissioned photographs to revisualize New Orleans' iconic urban core: Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral, the Cabildo, the Presbytère, and the twin Pontalba Buildings.

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SUGGESTED READING

​It’s been a thrill to meet the Pontalba family and to forge their relationship with the Louisiana State Museum...that helped in turn to develop this incredible exhibition as the finale to our Tricentennial year. None of this would have been possible if I hadn't read this book. 

Intimate Enemies is one of my all-alltime favorite books about New Orleans: If you haven't already read it, I encourage you to do so. It will deepen your appreciation of the exhibit and what Jackson Square means to all of us.

​Intimate Enemies New York Times book review

​Ironwork detail with the signature Almonester & Pontalba family logo from the Pontalba Apartments