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roof—typical of the Spanish Colonial period. The current, steeply pitched roof was built over it, so that the older roof is still intact in the building’s attic.
The Maisonette functioned as guest rooms for Trapolin’s Royal House hotel, which began operation in 1878. One of the Trapolin daughters, writing to an official of the Works Progress Administration in 1938, described the hotel as serving “foreign consuls, senators, lawyers, and wealthy cotton and sugar planters.”
Williams Residence: 718 Toulouse St.
BUILT: 1889; renovated 1973 TYPE/STYLE: Italianate townhouse FUNCTION: The Collection’s house museum
Surrounded by three courtyards, the Williams Residence has been described as a hidden house. Originally built as the home of hotelier Jean Baptiste Trapolin, it served as an art gallery run by the Works Progress Administration during the 1930s. Kemper and Leila Williams purchased the property in 1938 and lived there from
1946 to 1964. The furnishings and decor remain as they were during the Williamses’ stay, and the Residence is open for tours Tuesday-Sunday.
The Townhouse: 714 Toulouse St.
BUILT: Late 19th century; renovated 1987 TYPE/STYLE: American townhouse FUNCTION: Staff offices (Administration and Technology departments)
The Townhouse is so incorporated into The Collection’s complex of connected structures that it does not appear, from the street, to be a separate building. The two-story brick building was used as a banking house before the Williamses purchased it, and following their sale of the French Quarter complex in 1965, it served as commercial space until The Collection bought it in 1980 to accommodate its growing staff.
Unlike Creole townhouses, which often feature a carriageway leading to a courtyard entrance, this American townhouse has a prominent front door and entry hall with interior stairway.
Residence of Brigadier-General and Mrs. Levis Kemper Williams,
533 Royal Street. Nev Orleans, La. 70130	g
B.	Williams Residence postcard
after 1970; postcard featuring color relief halftone gift of Dottie Gaudet, 2015.0088.1
C.	Courtyard and Maisonette
1993; watercolor and gouache with gold pigment
by Jim Blanchard
1993.38.3


New Orleans Quarterly 2016 Summer (012)
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