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BUILDING ARCHITECTURE & HISTORY
Louis J. Dufilho, Jr. Apothecary & Residence
514/516 Chartres Street, New Orleans, LA
Louis J. Dufilho, Jr. purchased the 514/516 Chartres Street lots on
June 5, 1822 from Philip Sadler. The original Creole townhouse was
constructed between 1822 and 1823. Dufilho officially opened his
apothecary for business in 1823. The courtyard originally had
several structures that do not exist today.
In 1837, New Orleanian architect, J.N.B. DePouilly proposed and
constructed the updates to Dufilho’s building – three-story masonry
porte cochere building with an entresol level.
According to City Records, in 1855, Dufilho sold the building and
the contents of the apothecary to Mrs. Celestine Pauline Fleitas,
widow of James Dupas. She in turn, sold the building in 1875 to
Peter Boehm who opened the Crescent City Paper Warehouse on the
site.
The building changed hands several times and was vacant for several
years. On December 15, 1937, Mayor Robert S. Maestri purchased the
building from the Interstate Trust and Banking Co. in liquidation.
Mayor Maestri donated the building to the City of New Orleans in the
same year to be used as a Napoleon Museum . Officials confused the
history of 514 Chartres Street with the history of the Nicholas
Girod House at 500 Chartres Street. The Girod House was the home
designated for Napoleon’s exile, not 514 Chartres. After additional
research, the City of New Orleans realized the significance of Louis
J. Dufilho, Jr. and of 514 Chartres to the history of pharmacy and
designated the site as the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum. After some
building repairs and artifact collection, the Museum officially
opened its doors in 1950.
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