St. Charles Avenue is one of the great urban boulevards in the American South, and the best way to experience it isn’t on a tour bus or a rented bicycle. It’s from the second-floor balcony of the Walker Mansion, with a coffee in hand, watching the green streetcars run under the live oak canopy below.
The building went up in 1880, designed by Thomas Sully, the architect responsible for a significant portion of the grandest homes on the avenue during that era. The style is Queen Anne Italianate, which in practical terms means wraparound galleries, tall paired windows, ornate millwork, and a silhouette that announces itself from a block away.
The building has been converted into seven apartments, each private with its own kitchen and bath, each sitting inside a frame of 14-foot ceilings, original hardwood floors with inlay, intricate wainscoting, and chandeliers that were put there when the house was new. Plaster medallions ring the ceiling fixtures in the main rooms.
The shared spaces add to the value. A grand dining hall with seating for ten, a gas fireplace, and original pocket doors is available to all guests. A sunroom off the main corridor catches the morning light and has enough room to sit quietly with a book while the avenue starts moving outside.
The kitchen is equipped at a level that belongs in a different category than most vacation rentals: a Wolf six-burner range, Sub-Zero refrigerator and freezer, and marble countertops. Staying in a building this old at this address typically doesn’t come with appliances like that.
The location does the rest. Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 is half a block away. The Garden District starts just down the avenue. Magazine Street is a short walk, and the streetcar stop sits directly in front of the building, putting the French Quarter about twenty minutes away without needing a car.
The Walker Mansion operates seven individual apartments bookable on Airbnb. Note that the Airbnb calendar defaults to 30-day minimum bookings; contact the host directly for shorter stay availability.
Search Airbnb for Walker Mansion on St Charles Ave or visit facebook.com/WalkerMansiononStCharlesAve for current listings and contact information.
