The Cabildo

The Cabildo was the seat of colonial government in New Orleans, Louisiana; declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960, it is now the home of the Louisiana State Museum. The building—which had been both the site of the Louisiana Purchase Transfer and the home of the Louisiana Supreme Court which handed down the ruling on Plessy v. Ferguson—was severely damaged by fire in 1988, but was restored using authentic French timber framing technology.

The Cabildo now stands, having suffered only minor damage from Hurricane Katrina, as a monument to Louisiana’s state history and national importance, featuring exhibits from its colonial era to the War of 1812’s Battle of New Orleans to the end of the Reconstruction.