Hermann-Grima House museum 1831 New Orleans, Louisiana

One of my favorite period house museums in the French Quarter.

Prior to the Civil War, prosperous Creole families enjoyed an elegant lifestyle in the Vieux Carré. Walk through this meticulously restored residence and experience the Golden Age of New Orleans.

The Hermann Grima House decorated for Creole Christmas

Built in 1831, HERMANN-GRIMA HOUSE is one of the most significant residences in New Orleans. This handsome Federal mansion with its courtyard garden boasts the only horse stable and functional 1830s outdoor kitchen in the French Quarter.

Painstakingly restored to its original splendor through archaeological studies and careful review of the building contract and inventories, the museum complex accurately depicts the gracious lifestyle of a prosperous Creole family in the years from 1830 to 1860.

 

Samuel Hermann, a Jewish merchant who married a Creole Catholic woman, introduced the American-style Federal design to the Quarter in 1831. Hermann sold the house in 1844 to Judge Grima, a slaveholder, after he reportedly lost $2 million during the national financial panic of 1837.

The parlor

The parlor was decorated and furnished by the National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of Louisiana. The furniture in the Parlor is representative of the style that would have been used by the Hermanns and Grimas.  Every effort has been made, through the use of inventories and family stories, to decorate the house as the Hermanns and Grimas decorated it, with all furniture dating to the period of our interpretation – 1830 to 1860. 

Parlors were used as areas for entertaining guests and as activity areas for the family. Creoles were known for their love of music, games, cards, gambling, and entertaining.

The pianoforte was invented as a result of the desire to combine the sustaining capacity of the clavichord with the power of a harpsichord. The revolutionary hammer action (strings were hit, not plucked, as with the older keyboard instruments) of the pianoforte was inspired by the dulcimer, a smaller folk instrument, the playing of which entailed the striking of taut strings with small hammers.

Family members and their guests ate their formal meals in the dining room. The main meal of the day usually started between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. This was a practical time for the meal for a number of reasons: it allowed the majority of the cooking to be completed before the worst heat of the day began; it allowed people to sit down and not be too active during the hottest portion of the day; and it allowed leftovers to be served at a light dinner later in the day (this was important, because there was no true form of refrigeration in the early and mid 19th century).

The table setting and meals were elaborate, with the popular service of the period being French Table Service. In this service, symmetry was a key element. All plates and serving pieces were supposed to be balanced by corresponding pieces. Each meal featured two or three main courses with anywhere between 4 and 12 dishes in each course. Between each course, guests remained seated as layers of tablecloths were removed. The last cloth would be taken away for the final dessert or fruit course, which was served on a bare table.

The dinning room table for Creole Christmas

Felix Grima would have used his library as a private sanctuary, as well as a public office space for his notarial clients.  He was primarily a notary, serving as a Criminal Court Judge for only a few years.  Felix Grima graduated from the College d'Orleans, a “university” built in the Faubourg Tremé that emphasized the classics.  He studied law with the distinguished attorney, Etienne Mazureau.  When Mazareau was appointed State Attorney General, he made Felix his assistant. 

"Portrait of Marie Emeranthe Becnel Brou (Madame Samuel Hermann)", oil on canvas, signed and dated "1833 by Jean Joseph Vaudechamp

One of the Hermann's daughters by Jean Joseph Vaudechamp 1833

Portrait; Lucien Hermann; 1834; by Jean Joseph Vaudechamp; oil on canvas.

Lucien Hermann (1811-1885) was the youngest son of the Hermann family. He was approximately 22 in this portrait. He followed in his father’s footsteps, opening his own successful business firm. He married Mary Ann Clarke in 1850 and shortly thereafter moved to San Francisco with his new wife, his adopted daughter, Leonide, his brother, Samuel Hermann, Jr., and his sister-in-law, Eugenie. He remained in San Francisco for the rest of his life.

Hermann-Grima Front Bedroom

Although it seems odd to have a bedroom located at the front of the house, the building contract for the Hermann-Grima House specifies two downstairs bedrooms. When the house was built, the Hermanns were in their late 50s and may have desired a more accessible bedroom. A downstairs bedroom would also have been cooler than an upstairs bedroom, since heat rises.

When the Grima family moved into the house, Felix's widowed mother used this room. She was 90 when the family moved in and 96 when she passed away, so a downstairs room would have been more appropriate for her. After his mother passed away, Mr. Grima used this room as his office and study for many years. Later, Dr. Victor Grima used it as a private office. According to the 1880 inventory, this room was also used as a dining room for a period of time.

Hermann-Grima Front Bedroom

Although it seems odd to have a bedroom located at the front of the house, the building contract for the Hermann-Grima House specifies two downstairs bedrooms. When the house was built, the Hermanns were in their late 50s and may have desired a more accessible bedroom. A downstairs bedroom would also have been cooler than an upstairs bedroom, since heat rises.

When the Grima family moved into the house, Felix's widowed mother used this room. She was 90 when the family moved in and 96 when she passed away, so a downstairs room would have been more appropriate for her. After his mother passed away, Mr. Grima used this room as his office and study for many years. Later, Dr. Victor Grima used it as a private office. According to the 1880 inventory, this room was also used as a dining room for a period of time.

 

Hermann-Grima Front Bedroom

Hermann-Grima Front Bedroom

Hermann-Grima Front Bedroom

The house did not have plumbing until the 20th century, so the bedrooms would have also functioned as bathrooms to a certain extent. In each, there would have been a pitcher and basin that the slaves would have filled several times a day with fresh water so that the family members and their visitors could cool off. Ladies would have completed their toilet in the bedrooms as well.

Because the water table is so high, New Orleans' houses do not have cellars or basements, so wine would have been kept in special rooms, like this one.

During this time, the majority of wine was imported from France and Spain. Popular imported wines of the 19th century included Madeira, claret, sherry, brandy, and port. Beer and ale, which were usually imported from Holland and Germany, would have also been available.



In New Orleans, alcohol was usually acquired in barrels directly off arriving ships or from local merchants. After purchase, the wine or beer would be put into bottles. After the alcohol was consumed, the empty bottles were not thrown out; they were washed, dried, and then reused. Cases of bottled wine were also available, but bottled wine was less common than casks.


 

Cooking demonstrations in the open-hearth kitchen are a special treat on Thursdays from October to May.

 

Kitchens in the early 19th century had an open hearth. The Hermanns’ large hearth had a swinging crane that was used to suspend pots, a griddle, a kettle, and other utensils over the fire so that cooks could boil, fry, or cook over the flames. The crane allowed cooks to pull food away from the heat if something was cooking too fast. It also prevented cooks from leaning over the fire or stepping too close to the fire in order to stir and check pots of food.

 

A meticulously restored 1830's Creole courtyard with citrus trees and antique roses.

Throughout the year, the Hermann-Grima House dons historically accurate traditional dress. One of the most fascinating thematic tours occurs during October, when the house is dressed in its Creole mourning clothes, and the home is decorated as if the occupants are in mourning. December brings fabulous holiday décor, complete with a table filled with sumptuous desserts of the season