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Louisiana State Museum
Category: Arts & Entertainment Museums Museums [Edit]
The PresbytereJackson Square
New Orleans, LA 70116
(504) 568-6968
- Hours:
Tue-Sun 10 am - 4:30 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
22 reviews for Louisiana State Museum
Review Highlights
"The Mardi Gras exhibit is upstairs and a fixture."
(in 11 reviews)
"There's also pre- and post Katrina photography."
(in 11 reviews)
"Overall, a must see for a first time visitor to NOLA."
(in 2 reviews)
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22 reviews in English
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Review from Jamie W.
11/22/2011
I'm not from New Orleans but for some reason Hurricane Katrina hit me really hard. After that, my husband and I made a pact that we would visit NOLA every year to help bolster their economy. Guess what? We've made true on that promise, even visiting twice in one year.
When I saw that they were going to do a Katrina exhibit I was looking forward to it but at the same time, I was a little reluctant as well.
Like most of the exhibits I've seen at this museum, this one is exceptionally well done. It's touching, it's poignant, and yes, it's also very sad. I teared up on more than one occasion...
The facility itself is great - right in the heart of the French Quarter. The people who work here (or are they volunteers?) are amazing. They do need to build a few more bathrooms...
All that being said, I hope they make this exhibit a semi-permanent display. Not so that we can dwell on the past... rather, so that people can see just how strong the citizens of New Orleans are and how far they've come since then. I'm sure there will be people out there who will nay-say what I've written but my admiration for NOLA comes from a genuine place. Great exhibit and a wonderful city. -
Review from Robert C.
Long Beach, CA
11/9/2011 1 Check-in Here
The Katrina exhibit is amazing.
Well thought out and very informative.
Be sure to sit through the video presentaion in the final room, it is extremely well done.
The Mardi Gras exhibit is upstairs and a fixture. Also worthy a look. -
Review from Libby V.
Bellbrook, OH
10/11/2011
This is a must see while in NOLA. They were putting the Katrina exhibit together the last time I was here, so this was on the top of my "to do" list this time around.
There aren't many "things" preserved from the storm...this is a media driven presentation. It's about the people, and their stories. And it's so very well done..thought provoking and educational. Hubby wasn't so keen on going, but was so glad he did when it was over. And he was shocked. Hearing about the devestation, and seeing it are entirely different. I saw it...immediately after the storm I flew over the city with media filming. For the first time, he really understood.
The only light hearted moment downstairs were the costumes made out of blue tarps. Our city was filled with blue tarps earlier this year...now I know what to do with ours!
Upstair is a Mardi Gras Exhibit, and it really lightens the mood. There's also pre- and post Katrina photography.
This was time well spend, and cheap at $6 a person. You don't want to miss it!Listed in: Yelping my way round NOLA
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Review from www.TheCulinaryWorks.com T.
12/27/2011
We set aside one day on our trip for the WWII Museum and the State Museum, we arrived at the State Museum only to find that they were closed. It was Thursday at 1:30 p.m. The posted schedule, which we used to plan our day, stated they were to be open through Friday until 5 p.m. I was really disappointed that they didn't post their schedule or stay open during their posted schedule, had we known, we would have visited the museum the previous day. Oh well, maybe one day we will get back to NOLA and they will be open during their scheduled hours.
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Review from Dave W.
7/13/2011
Having visited New Orleans several times over the last year, it is clear that this city is still feeling the effects of Hurricane Katrina some six years later. People talk about New Orleans "before Katrina" and "since Katrina" like they talk about the pre and post Civil War south. For this reason, because I have family in the area and because I am a big fan of the HBO show Treme, I was immediately interested in the Katrina exhibit at the Presbytere Museum when I found myself in Jackson Square with an hour or so to kill.
Entrance was only $6.00 and I soon found out that this was money well spent as this was not just a cheesy "look at that piano ruined by a hurricane" or "poor, poor New Orleans" type of display. It was a multi-media driven display that highlighted the hours leading up to the storm, the storm itself, the incredibly human suffering and heroism post storm and the physical and cultural rebuilding of the city since.
It was shocking to see the list of hurricanes that have hit this city since the early 1800's, the hour by hour account of the levee breaks during Katrina and the block by block graphics of the flooding. It was also amazing to see the resiliency that led to the cultural rebuilding of the city in the months that followed. It also gave me new appreciation of the Treme series and the accuracy of its depiction of the slow recovery.
Unfortunately, my hour passed quickly and I didn't even have a chance to go upstairs to see the Mardi Gras exhibit. Still, it was well worth the $6.00 entry and recommended to anyone interested in the city and culture of New Orleans. -
Review from Jess N.
6/21/2011 1 photo
Katrina Now, (During) and Then isn't some gimmick to induce pity on the city of New Orleans. It tied in science, socio-political action, empathy and a duty to educate visitors. All this with a dash of art, cool video installations and some hands on displays. The maps and timelines gave the viewer a sense of what was happening leading up to levee breaks and what it really meant for those affected by the disaster. It did this by creating stations that had specific perspectives like health care workers, residents that had been rescued and stranded on their roofs and those who stayed in the Super Dome during the critical days.
One of the last zones in the exhibit focused on how the urban landscape of the city changed the lands capacity to manage floods and excess water. Even for those not as science savvy (points to self), it was very interesting and interactive. It was sort of like the activities in children's museums but for adults, which makes this Katrina exhibit something that everyone can enjoy.
While I only visited this exhibit, I wouldn't hesitate to return for other exhibits. It seems like they did a fantastic job setting up this exhibit and if they use this standards, I imagine that many of it's exhibits will entice the masses.
FYI Bring your student ID for an extra discount. -
Review from Lisa B.
Oak Park, IL
12/29/2010
THE MARDI GRAS EXHIBIT IS CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS.
You will not see this sign until you have paid your $6.00 per person museum entrance fee. Nice. There is a very good exhibit about Hurricane Katrina, but when the Yelp reviews and your Frommer's guidebook have raved about the Mardi Gras exhibit and there is no way on God's Green Earth that you will ever go to Mardi Gras because you hate crowds and drunk people, naturally you will be a little disappointed.Comment from Victoria S. of Louisiana State Museum 3/3/2011
Hi! I am the Manager of Web Marketing & Communications and I… More » -
Review from Dan G.
6/23/2011 1 Check-in Here
You really must go to this museum during your visit to town.
While I'm sure that everyone goes to the square and Cafe Du Monde, I get the sense that most people pass right by this place without knowing what they are missing. The Louisiana State Museum at the Presbytere featured exhibits on Katrina and Mardi Gras. Each had its own floor. It was a small entrance fee, $6 I think, which is the best money we spent in town. We started off on the Katrina exhibit on the ground floor. It is a well designed multi media interactive experience that brought those horrific days into such vivid focus we felt like we were right in the middle of it. You really get a sense of the tragedy of the event and the power of the human spirit to persevere through it all. I can't imagine what it must have been like to sit on the roof of your flooded home awaiting help that never showed. This exhibit does a fantastic job of helping you understand just about every aspect of Katrina's impact. While it did make me really sad and weepy at times, I'm glad to see how this town and it's people pulled through it.
The Mardi Gras exhibit upstairs was a stark contrast to the first exhibit. This was all about the party. You'll see histories of the various parades, displays of the costumes, scepters and crowns. There is a cool photo gallery up here and an open hall that gives you an outstanding view of Jackson Square.
For me, this museum was all about Katrina. It was a moving exhibit that really gave me insight into the town I love.Listed in: NOLA!
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Review from Lucy M.
Los Angeles, CA
12/15/2010 3 photos
I and a friend walked in an hour before closing time. Woman at the ticket counter said we'd need at least 2 hours for all 4 floors, but we we're both natives and felt this would just be a brisk Louisiana History refresher course for us.
All that came out of that mindset was a vague timeline of fuzzy dates and names. There were plenty of "Oh yeah!" moments, but for the most part the museum bestows much more information than I ever could've remembered in 8th grade history. This did mean that the ticket lady was right, and there was no time to waste.
We gave the most attention to the bottom and top floors, which I'd suggest if you're on a time crunch since there's so much more show and tell type stuff to see. I really wish we could've had more time, but hopefully I'll have some friends from out of town who want to go back. This place is a getting a top recommend in that case.Listed in: New Orleans
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Review from Shelley V.
North Hollywood, CA
Currently the museum has an exhibit on Katrina which was very moving and well put together. There are different sections chronicling the events leading up to Katrina, during and the aftermath plus the rebuilding/healing of this vibrant, heartfelt city. It was hard not to tear up reading and seeing different citizens accounts of how this disaster affected them and their loved ones. Please visit and check it out before it ends.
The museum is centrally located in Jackson Square and has friendly staff. -
Review from Lenore L.
Pleasanton, CA
7/20/2011
Right after I gave the girl our money for our tickets I noticed they had a couple dollars off for seniors. I said, oh, my mom's a senior. She blankly looked at me and said, I cant' do anything about it now. I wasn't going to argue over $2 but I thought that was ridiculous. Of course you can always do something.
I heard better stories about Katrina from so many other venues. While there were some cool educational pieces about the levies and hurricane, I was expecting so much more. A tour I took on the way to the airport after our cruise the following Sunday told me so much more interesting pieces of information. Our taxi driver to the cruise terminal the next day had my crying with his stories!
Maybe I was just tired and it was a hot day but after that I couldn't even get interested in Mardi Gras history. I was hoping to learn more about how it all got started but either I was just no longer comprehending or the story was not being told in a way that makes sense to me. Anyway, I wasn't impressed with the museum. -
Review from deno f.
8/10/2009
I'm"m not a linger at the museum kind of gal. I'm a "hey look it's something shiny" gal. This was right up my alley.
One-hundred years of Zulu was the exhibit at the time. This was an amazing thing to see. The history and costumes are super neato. The photos here don't do it justice.
You can spend a lot of time here or you can just hit and run and you will still enjoy and feel like you got your money's worth. It's very reasonably priced = cheap. We took a ton of photos and managed to avoid the heat for about an hour-and-half. -
Review from Bret H.
Brooklyn, NY
10/1/2009
This is a great museum.. we spent a couple of hours here and I was much enriched. However, we ended up here having just taken one of the museum's city tours, which was wholly inadequate.
We found this tour online, and it was advertised as 'focusing on the history, architecture, and culture of New Orleans'. Sounded great, but the problem was, our tour guide had almost no idea what she was talking about. She referred to "two brothers, named Iberville and Bienville, who came down the Mississippi River and founded New Orleans," among other inaccuracies. Other tourists corrected her at a number of points. She seemed ill at ease with public speaking. Her best stories were one-off bits about specific architectural details.
I'll include this self-destruct caveat: we found out later it was her first day on the job. Perhaps things will improve with time. -
Review from sarah c.
Newark, CA
8/4/2011
Good exhibits on Katrina and Mardi Gras
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Review from Marc G.
Brick, NJ
1/26/2010
Great Museum! Located in Jackson Square next to the St. Louis Cathedral, the Louisiana State Museum consists of two buildings - the Presbytere and the Cabildo.
This is one of the first things that I did in NOLA and it was definitely a worthwhile experience. Plan to spend a 2-3 hours taking in the history of this great city and state. Exhibits include an overview of the founding of NOLA, the antebellum period, the Civil War, and Reconstruction. Highlights inlcude a walk through the room where the Louisiana Purchase was signed, a display on Andrew Jackson and the Battle of New Orleans, as well as the death mask of Napoleon Bonaparte. The exhibit did end rather abruptly - I thought there would be a lot more about 20th century history including displays on Huey Long.
The price of admission is extremely reasonable and includes a visit to the Mardi Gras Museum next door. While not nearly as comprehensive as the Presbytere, the exhibit is a fun showcase of Mardi Gras costumes, floats, and history.
Overall, a must see for a first time visitor to NOLA. The Louisiana State Museum will help you get a terrific overview of the city's history, cutlture, and heritage. -
Review from Dawn G.
Austin, TX
7/19/2008
Is it possible to stay at a relatively small museum for 5 or 6 hours? So long that security is shutting the lights down long after the staff has gone home?
We thoroughly enjoyed this museum from its fantastic collection of antebellum artifacts to it's Katrina photography exibit. And at a price that is downright cheap, this is one of the best bangs for your buck in New Orleans.
Take your family and enjoy! -
Review from rebekah b.
Charleston, SC
5/22/2010
I thought we were going to see a history of New Orleans/Louisiana, but instead it was room after room after room of Mardi Gras stuff. Don't get me wrong, it was fascinating, at first. But you can only look at so many rhinestone tiaras and ballgowns before your eyes start to glaze over. Then a guard came thirty minutes before the advertised closing time to tell us the museum was closing... now. So we had to be ushered out while the lights were being turned off and the doors locked. Honestly, I wasn't sure whether to be outraged or relieved.
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Review from Sione P.
8/7/2008
I visited the museum, located in the old Louisiana Mint, about two months ago. In the downstairs area, there was a small exhibit of historical pieces showing when the mint was active in the 1800's. The main exhibit upstairs was the main reason that I'd come, which was the temporary exhibit showcasing the life and times of Napoleon Bonaparte. This was all really interesting as well as educational and I learned a lot about the man. A lot of the stunning pieces were a treat to see and an amazing bargain at a $6 admission.
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Review from A M D.
Aiken, SC
7/19/2009 3 photos
This Museum is such a treasure! Located next to the St. Louis Cathedral, the low price of admission is well worth what you get to see. If you love history and are fascinated by the Crescent City and Mardi Gras then this should be a must visit for you. They have an amazing display of Mardi Gras costumes, throws and jewelry. You will leave with a better sense of the city and its rich history.
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Review from Judy H.
Beverly Hills, CA
12/10/2007
Totally worth the $6 to learn about the history and tradition of Mardi Gras. They also have all these mementos from past Kings and Queens, old floast, ball invitiations, news clippings and a selection of interviews from people involved with putting the Nation's Biggest Party on each year!
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Review from N L.
San Antonio, TX
2/17/2009
what a great way to spend a few hours for a few bucks (6 to be exact!)
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Review from mvc j.
Henderson, NV
3/14/2010
Wonderful museum off Jackson Square in New Orleans. Great exhibits on the history on New Orleans/LA and arts in the area. Definitely worth visiting and one needs at least 1/2 if not more to really appreciate the exhibits (I really enjoyed this history parts of the collection on display.)
