Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, New Orleans: style and history

Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, at the corner of Bourbon and St. Philip streets, was most likely built as a house in the 1770s during the Spanish colonial period, making it one of the oldest surviving structures in New Orleans. Legend holds that privateer Jean Lafitte ran a business here in the early 1800s, though no documentation confirms it — the only certainty from surviving records is that the family actually spelled its name Laffite. It is a designated National Historic Landmark.

the building

The name behind the legend. The shop's name may not be coincidental: Jean Lafitte's older brother Pierre was a blacksmith by trade, and their associate Renato Beluche may once have owned the building, suggesting a real smithy once operated here even if Jean's own connection is undocumented.

A haunted reputation. The building is purported to be one of the most haunted venues in the French Quarter, a reputation intertwined with the unverified legends of piracy and contraband long attached to the Lafitte name.

the style

Baroque (c. 1600–1750): Theatrical classicism: curved facades, giant columns rising through several stories, and dramatic staged light.

significance

Individually designated a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is one of the oldest surviving structures in New Orleans, most likely dating to the 1770s.

nearby

Madame John's Legacy 0.1 mi · French Colonial
Gallier House 0.2 mi
Beauregard-Keyes House 0.2 mi · Greek Revival
The Presbytere 0.2 mi · Baroque
Old Ursuline Convent 0.2 mi · Neoclassical · 1734
St. Louis Cathedral 0.2 mi · Neoclassical · 1794

All 38 buildings in New Orleans