Longue Vue House and Gardens

Longue Vue House and Gardens at 7 Bamboo Road in New Orleans, Louisiana, is a historic estate encompassing an eight-room Greek Revival-influenced mansion and eight acres of formal gardens designed in the English and Spanish landscape traditions. Built between 1939 and 1942 for cotton broker Edgar Bloom Stern and philanthropist Edith Rosenwald Stern (daughter of Sears, Roebuck co-owner Julius Rosenwald), the property was designed by New York architects William and Geoffrey Platt, while the gardens were created by famed landscape designer Ellen Biddle Shipman. The Sterns, who lived in the house until the 1970s, were major figures in New Orleans civic and cultural life, and the house reflects their exceptional taste in decorative arts — the interiors contain an outstanding collection of English ceramics, American and European furniture, Aubusson tapestries, and art glass by Louis Comfort Tiffany. The Spanish Court garden, modeled on the Court of Lions at the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, features a long reflecting pool, tiled fountain elements, and formal plantings that create one of the most refined garden rooms in the Gulf South. Other garden areas include the Walled Garden, the Pan Garden with its classical statuary, and the Wild Garden designed as a naturalistic woodland counterpoint to the formal sections. A total of eight distinct garden areas surround the house. Guided tours of the interior last approximately 45 to 60 minutes and cover the history of the Stern family, the architectural and decorative arts contents of the house, and the garden design history. A visit including the house tour and a walk through all garden sections takes 1.5 to 2.5 hours. The estate is located about 15 minutes from the French Quarter by car, in the Metairie section near the New Orleans city boundary.