Old Absinthe House
Quote
"...But our business is with the heart of things; we must go beyond the crude phenomena of nature if we are to dwell in the spirit. Art is the soul of life and the Old Absinthe House is the heart and soul of the old quarter of New Orleans." -- Quote of Unknown Origin
History
This two story building was originally built in 1806 by two Spanish Brothers, Pedro Front and Francisco Juncadelia as their importing firm's headquarters and place of business. They were very much like the neighborhood grocery store, trading through the barter system, for food, tobacco and Spanish booze. It is said the the second floor area is where Jean Lafitte and Andrew Jackson planned the defense and victory strategy for the upcoming battle with the British in the Battle of New Orleans.
In 1815, the nephews of family member, Senora Juncadelia, became the owners. The first floor was transformed into a coffee house and saloon, called "Aleix's Coffee House". In the 1860s, the business at this coffee house sky-rocketed, after its saloon mixologist Cayetano Ferrer made a new drink, The Absinthe House Frappe, using a popular narcotic-like spirit, absinthe, which was very popular in Europe. This drink became so popular, that the owners of this coffee house changed their name to THE ABSINTHE ROOM. A special bar was built to serve this drink; the copper-colored wooden bar with its antique fixtures now seen in this tavern today.
Unfortunately, the side effects caused by its narcotic elements could be serious, causing hallucinations, delirium, madness and even death. Absinthe was outlawed as a dangerous drug in 1912, but safe substitutes such as herbsaint are used now.
However, it wasn't until the Prohibition era, that the authorities threatened to burn down the building, to make them an example of what would happen to those still serving absinthe. The bar owners quickly moved their copper-colored wooden bar out of the building to a warehouse in New Orleans, opening The Absinthe House Bar in the warehouse. It wasn't until 2004, that this original copper-colored bar came back to its original home.
THE ABSINTHE ROOM, eventually changed to THE ABSINTHE HOUSE, and was the favorite pub of many famous and well-known people, during its 200 year old history, including Oscar Wilde, P.T. Barnum, Mark Twain, Jenny Lind, Enrico Caruso, General Robert E Lee, Franklin Roosevelt, Liza Minelli and Frank Sinatra. Indeed, the walls throughout this incredible building are covered in the framed photographs of several of their famous patrons.
