Maison Blanche - Canal Street Landmark

Canal Street Landmark

Maison Blanche's original building was on Canal Street. This was demolished around 1908. A distinctive new building, which still stands, was constructed around 1908–1909. At one time there were many medical and dental offices in the top floors; later they became largely empty.

The Canal Street store was closed in 1982 by the City Stores Company and reopened in 1984. In 1997 work began to use the upper floors as part of a new Ritz-Carlton hotel. The original plan was for the lower floors to continue to operate as a Maison Blanche department store. However, after Dillard's acquired the store with the purchase of the remainder of the Maison Blanche chain, they closed the Canal Street store. The whole building, along with the neighboring Kress building, is now part of the New Orleans Ritz Carlton, which had a grand opening on October 6, 2000.

The hotel was occupied during and immediately after Hurricane Katrina. It suffered considerable damage; for example the basement was flooded and the electrical systems, laundry, and staff cafeteria, among other things, were damaged. The Ritz-Carlton reopened on December 4, 2006, after a $106 million refurbishment.