Around the corner in New Orleans

Odyssey House

If you've had breakfast in our dining room, you've probably heard me say that you never know what you'll find around the corner in New Orleans.  I've probably written the same there here more than once.  It's true, even if you walk around the same corner every day.

The other night, I was walking the dog and I was struck by how brightly the Odyssey House is lit.  It's like their shooting a movie there.  This isn't unusual in New Orleans, but they aren't shooting a movie at the Odyssey House.  They just keep it lit that way for some reason, a beacon in the night.

If you walk to the lakeside intersection of the 2200 block of Esplanade Avenue, where we are, and turn uptown on North Tonti Street, head two blocks to the intersection of Governor Nicholls Street.  That's the Odyssey House looming up ahead.

It used to be a home for African American widows run by the Sisters of the Holy Family.   I'm not sure when it stopped being a widows' home.  I may have to head out to the convent in the East and ask Sister Agnes or one of the other nuns when that happened.  My guess is the 1990s, but that is only an armchair historian's educated guess.

The sisters' order was founded in our neighborhood by Venerable Mother Henriette Delille, a free woman of color.  They used to operate out of the French Quarter, but they moved out to New Orleans East.  Based on the current convent's architecture, I'm guessing that happened in the 1960s.  Any relation to the timing of Vatican II seems purely coincidental.  The sisters still wear habits.

Corner of N. Tonti and Gov. Nicholls Streets

The sisters sold the widows home, which is an incongruous three story brick building surrounded by shotgun houses that are more typical of the neighborhood.  Willie Mae's Scotch House, which serves the best fried chicken in America according to the Food Network, is about six blocks further uptown on North Tonti.  Lunch only.

So, what's the Odyssey House?  If you are thinking about making a reservation with us, I may as well tell you now because I'll tell you when you are here.  It's a residential treatment facility for people with drug abuse problems.  They are good neighbors.  If this bothers you, you may want to book a room in the French Quarter where the drug-addled blithely roam the streets before they're ready to seek help.  

When the dog and I see people doing group calisthenics in the morning behind Odyssey House, I'm always tempted to join in, but I have to pick up pastries and fresh bread for our guests.

This week, our guests have heard and seen a marching band practicing two blocks up Esplanade Avenue, lakeside, in the afternoon.  They start outside John McDonough High School, where they are headquartered, and they march through the neighborhood making loops up one street and down the next.  They are practicing for Mardi Gras, when they will march in I don't know how many parades. Every day they get better.  There are cheerleaders, too, who get more synchronized.

If you've had breakfast in our dining room, you've probably heard me say that it is like magic to live here.  I sometimes say that it's like a movie.  It is, even when nobody is filming.  You never know what happy surprises you'll find around the corner.  Until you get here, that is.  Don't be a stranger.

A votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.