New Orleans · French Quarter
Bourbon Orleans Hotel
The hotel says John Davis built its Orleans Ballroom in 1817; from 1881 the Sisters of the Holy Family ran a convent and school there.
- Built
- 1817The Orleans Ballroom was built in 1817 when John Davis rebuilt the Théâtre d'Orléans (per the hotel; Wikipedia says the rebuilt theatre and ballroom reopened in 1819). The hotel's corner building was built new after a 1964 sale, on the site of the former orphan asylum.
- Architect
- Henry Latrobe (Orleans Ballroom, per the hotel)
- Type
- Boutique hotel
- Area
- French Quarter
- Credentials
- Inside a National Register historic district
The story
Construction of the Théâtre d’Orléans began in 1806, but it did not open until 1815 and burned in 1816. In 1817 John Davis rebuilt the theatre and added the Orleans Ballroom, a center of Creole society. In 1881 the Sisters of the Holy Family, the first African-American religious order in the United States (founded by Henriette DeLille in 1842), bought the ballroom for a convent and St. Mary’s Academy for African American girls. The sisters sold the property in 1964 to a hotel company that restored the ballroom and built a new wing at Bourbon and Orleans.
The ghost story
The hotel says stories of a Confederate soldier, children and nuns from the former convent and orphanage, and a lonely ghost dancer help rank it among USA Today 10Best's top 10 haunted hotels in America. These are reported legends.
Source: www.bourbonorleans.com
Good to know
- Breakfast: available
- Parking: on-site paid
- Pets welcome
- Address: 717 Orleans Street, New Orleans, LA 70116
Things to do
Ghost tours in New Orleans
Tours are sold by GetYourGuide and run by local operators. If you book one through these links, we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Ratings and prices are GetYourGuide’s.
Sources (3)
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.