BEAUREGARD-KEYES HOUSE MUSEUM

 

THE HISTORY:

The Beauregard-Keyes House, located in the Vieux Carré, is a raised center-hall residence designed by architect, Francois Correjolles, in 1826. Confederate General, Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard  was not an owner, but a tenant in the house for several years after the Civil War. Famous world-chess player, Paul Morphy, was born in the house.  Author, Frances Parkinson Keyes, for whom the house is also named, first rented one side of the house from Beauregard House Inc., a group of patriotic women who banded together to save the house. Eventually she would obtain a long term lease of the whole property, if she would continue making improvements. In 1934, it was the first structure that New Orleans preservation architect, Richard Koch and his team documented for the Historic American Buildings Survey. In 1948, Keyes created the non-profit Keyes Foundation to ensure the house’s continued preservation and management, and in September 1970, following Keyes’ death, the foundation opened the house to the public as a museum.  

THE PROJECT:

In 1945, Mrs. Keyes hired Mr. Koch to assist in the restoration, the first plans were for work in the rear building and the courtyard. This was the beginning of over a half century of continuous restoration projects with the Koch and Wilson as the consultants. The most recent work involved restoration of the masonry walls in the raised basement and deteriorated joist ends bearing on these walls.  Coming full circle from the initial plans in 1945, the courtyard was again restored, improving drainage by providing a combination of surface and sub-surface drainage.