The Luling mansion on the Esplanade Ridge was designed by architect James Gallier, Jr. for Florence Luling in 1865. Built in the style of a Renaissance palazzo, the house contained twenty-two rooms and sat on thirty landscaped acres, including a lake with a small island. It was a grand estate and much talked-about at the time of construction. Sadly, tragedy struck only a few years later, when both of the Lulings' young sons drowned in nearby Bayou St. John. Shortly after their loss, the Lulings moved to Europe.
In 1871, the same year they took over the nearby Creole Race Track (now, the Fairgrounds), members of the Louisiana Jockey Club purchased the Luling property. The site became well known for hosting many extravagant receptions, dinners, concerts and balls. The club maintained ownership of the estaste until 1905, when the cost of upkeep on the property became prohibitive.
At the time of the mansion's construction and for many years thereafter, the home fronted on Esplanade Avenue. However, most of the original thirty acres was eventually sold and subdivided. There are homes between the Luling house and Esplanade Avenue, so it now fronts on Leda Street. Somewhere along the way, the two wings pictured above disappeared.
The home is now an apartment building. |
