The Presbytère
Twin-domed former courthouse turned museum, built in stages over two decades on Jackson Square.
The Presbytère beside Jackson Square in New Orleans follows the twenty-two-year construction of a building commissioned in 1791 by Don Andres Almonester y Roxas as a twin to the neighboring Cabildo, designed by architect Gilberto Guillemard. Fire and Almonester's death stalled the work for years, leaving the second floor missing long after the ground floor stood facing the square. The cathedral's wardens eventually took over the unfinished project, and the completed building never once served the purpose its name promises, filling instead with judges and clerks of the Louisiana Supreme Court starting in 1834.
Audio guides are written and narrated by AI.