The Church of the Immaculate Conception, Jesuits on Baronne Street, is still there.
1874 Illustration of Jesuits Church and the College of the Immaculate Conception.
Jesuits on Baronne Street
New Orleans author and historian Derby Gisclair shared an illustration of Baronne Street from 1871 on Facebook. Here’s Derby’s description:
An 1874 illustration of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, otherwise known in New Orleans as the Jesuit Church on Baronne Street. The Moorish church was erected in 1851 alongside The College of the Immaculate Conception established four years earlier. The Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) were given extensive lands in New Orleans by Bienville, an area of land known as the Jesuit Plantation that encompassed what we know today as the Central Business District and the Warehouse District.
Their orange groves were located on land that now includes Orange Street in the Lower Garden District. Le Citron Bistro, at the corner of Orange Street and Religious Street, is one of the oldest buildings in the city and recalls the area’s past.
So, Derby points out that the school pre-dates the church, having opened in 1847.
School re-design
The school side of the property contained the building fronting Baronne, along with a walled courtyard and a second building fronting Common Street. The school enjoyed a great deal of post-war growth. Therefore, the priests planned expansion. They demolish the original property. So, they replaced it with a three-story building that ran from the church to the corner. At this time, the order operated the College of the Immaculate Conception as both a high school and college. It was common for Catholic schools to offer go beyond the basic high school diploma program. Therefore, the Jesuits offered baccalaureate degrees.
Jesuits Church, Baronne Street, ca. 1880. Mugnier photo.
This Mugnier photo from 1880ish shows the new building. The schools continued to grow! The order moved the college uptown, on St. Charles Avenue. That location became Loyola University of the South (Now Loyola New Orleans) in 1911. The high school remained on Baronne Street. The school changed its name to Jesuit High School, reflecting the college’s relocation.
Jesuit Church and High School, Baronne Street, late 1920s. Franck Studios photo.
Since the high school continued to enjoy growth, the order acquired property at S. Carrollton Ave. and Banks St. in Mid-City. So they moved the high school to that location in 1926. The school continues to enjoy success at that location. This meant that the Baronne Street building stood unoccupied. The Jesuits leased the property to a developer in 1929. They replaced the school with an 18-story office building, named the Pere Marquette Building. The office building was converted into a hotel and is now the Renaissance New Orleans Pere Marquette Hotel.
Jesuit Church on Baronne Street. Franck Studios photo, ca. 1948
Demolition of the school and construction of the office building in 1929 took a toll on the church. Pilings driven for the building shook the block so much, they severely damaged the church’s foundation. The order was forced to dismantle the church building and build it over on a newer, stronger foundation. The re-built church now includes the familiar minarets.
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