The Cabildo (Spanish for 'council') has seen a lot of things and had a lot of uses from its prime location on Jackson Square. One of the most historic buildings in all of New Orleans, the Cabildo forms part of the Louisiana State Museum. Within its walls are three floors of exhibits relating to the history of the state and its people.
Over the years, the Cabildo has served as the seat of government in New Orleans, a courthouse, a council and a prison. Built in 1799 during the Spanish occupation, the building was designed by French architect Gilberto Guillemard, who also designed the Presbytere next door and St. Louis Cathedral. In 1803, the Cabildo was the site of the Louisiana Purchase, when the state was sold to the United States, doubling its land area.
The Cabildo remained a civic building until it became part of the Louisiana State Museum in 1908. Unfortunately, a huge fire damaged the building in 1988, but following six years of reconstruction, the museum opened its doors once more.
Visitors could spend all day here learning about the history of the state from its earliest days through to the Civil War. The floors of exhibits are well laid out and the portraits, engravings and artefacts from the slave period are well-explained and put in context. Don't miss the death mask of Napoleon Bonaparte, one of only four in existence. The Sala Capitular, the government meeting room where many of Louisiana's important judicial events have taken place, is on the second floor (look out the window for great views of the square) and outside in the central courtyard are cannons and stocks from the early days of Louisiana, a visible reminder of the state's turbulent past.
The Cabildo is part of the Louisiana State Museum and is open Tuesday to Sunday. There is free parking and the building is also near the Dumaine and Toulouse streetcar stations.
