"Rosegate" The Brevard-Wisdom-Rice House |
Anne RIce purchased this home in 1989. Her husband, Stan, died in 2002 and, a few years later, she moved to California to be near her son. Ms. Rice used the house as the setting for her Mayfair Witches novels. The photo on the left was taken in 1964, when Judge John Minor Wisdom lived in the home. The same room is shown above in 2010. |
Above, left, 1933; center, 1964, right, same room, 2010. |
This Greek Revival style home in the Garden District was constructed for Albert Hamilton Brevard, a New Orleans merchant, in 1857. At the time of its construction, the house boasted several conveniences unusual for the time, including hot and cold running water. Mr. Brevard died two years after moving in, leaving the house to his daughter. In 1869, Brevard's son-in-law sold the home to the Rev. Emory Clapp, pastor of First Unitarian Church (the first Unitarian church established in the city, by his father, Dr. Theodore Clapp). It was Rev. Emory Clapp who added Italianate elements to the home, as well as, the mirrors in the photos above. Poet Walt Whitman was often a guest of the Reverend's. Rev. Clapp died in 1881, but his widow continued to live in the house until her death in 1934. |
In 1947, the house was purchased by John Minor Wisdom, who was a lawyer and native New Orleanian who'd served in WWII. In 1957, Pres. Dwight Eisenhower appointed Wisdom to the Fifth Circuit Court, headquartered in New Orleans, which then covered the wide area of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Not well known today, Judge Wisdom is considered by many chroniclers of the Civil Rights movement to be an unsung hero of the era. In the 1950's-'60's, he issued many of the decisions responsible for desegregating the six Southern states which were under the mandate of the 5th Circuit. He authored several landmark decisions supporting school desegregation and voters' rights. Judge Wisdom was known as the scholar of the 5th Circuit and remained on the bench until his death in 1999. He was awarded the nation's highest civilian honor in 1993, when he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1994, the U.S. Court of Appeals building in New Orleans was renamed in his honor. |
John Minor Wisdom U.S. Court of Appeals building, New Orleans |
The black and white photos on this page are courtesy of the Library of Congress. The color photos of the Brevard home are courtesy of Luxist. The photo of the Wisdom Court of Appeals building is courtesy of Bobak & Wikimedia Commons. ~ ~ ~ You might like: The John Minor Wisdom U.S. Court of Appeals Building The Story of First Unitarian Universalist Church The link to this page is: http://old-new-orleans.com/NO_Rosegate.html Back to Old New Orleans Whispers - Home |