New Orleans built its carriage houses to be useful, not noticed. They sat behind the main house, behind the wall, behind the gate, doing the quiet work of a working compound. The ones that survived into the 21st century make some of the most interesting places to stay in the city, precisely because they were never meant for guests.
The carriage house on the Captain Leathers compound in the Lower Garden District is one block off St. Charles Avenue, surrounded by a brick perimeter wall with a gated entry that closes the outside world off entirely once you’re through it. Captain Leathers was one of the most celebrated steamboat captains on the Mississippi River in the 19th century, and the compound he built reflects the ambitions of that era: a grand main house, extensive grounds, and a carriage house that once stabled his animals and now offers two bedrooms across 2,000 square feet of renovated space.
The lower level runs on brick floors with high ceilings and French doors that push open directly onto a private brick patio. The yard beyond it is deep and heavily planted, the kind of outdoor space that belongs to a different century than the one just outside the gate. The upper floor carries the same proportions, with wooden floors, tall windows, and the quiet particular to a building set well back from the street. The renovation added stainless steel appliances and marble in the kitchen and baths without erasing the bones of the place.
The location earns its own paragraph. St. Charles Avenue is a one-block walk, which means the streetcar to the French Quarter is essentially at the door. Magazine Street runs parallel for a few blocks in the other direction, lined with the kind of independent restaurants and shops the neighborhood has sustained for generations.
The WWII Museum is an 18-minute walk away. The compound itself sits in one of the quietest pockets of one of the city’s most walkable neighborhoods, which is a combination that takes some luck to find.
The Captain Leathers Carriage House is available through VRBO listing 2300635. Book at vrbo.com/2300635 or search VRBO for Captain Leathers Carriage House Lower Garden District to confirm current availability and rates.
