2 replies to this topic

[tombarnes]

Pontchartrain Hotel Being Converted to Apartments

I was alarmed to see this article today about the Pontchartrain Hotel being converted into apartments for the elderly. While I am pleased that the building will not be demolished, I had hoped that this old standby on St. Charles Avenue would see new life as a hotel once again. The long-gone Caribbean Room with its "Mile High Ice Cream Pie' and sublime trout amandine will always hold a special place in my heart, to say nothing of the old coffee shop and the Bayou Bar. The suites in the Pontchartrain were really quite special- each with its own distinctive decoration, and the guest list matched or surpassed many grander hotels in the city. The building itself never gave away much of what truly went on inside the place, but St. Charles Avenue has lost a bit of its soul with the passing of an institution. At least the building will live on.   As noted in the second article below, its new life may be similar in some ways to its original incarnation as an apartment-hotel, but it seems that the public aspects of the old place will be off-limits to the general public.  This is still a loss for the life of the avenue.  

Daily Journal of Commerce

The Times-Picayune

[alon504]

tombarnes, on Jul 19 2008, 11:49 AM, said:

Pontchartrain Hotel Being Converted to Apartments

I was alarmed to see this article today about the Pontchartrain Hotel being converted into apartments for the elderly. While I am pleased that the building will not be demolished, I had hoped that this old standby on St. Charles Avenue would see new life as a hotel once again. The long-gone Caribbean Room with its "Mile High Ice Cream Pie' and sublime trout amandine will always hold a special place in my heart, to say nothing of the old coffee shop and the Bayou Bar. The suites in the Pontchartrain were really quite special- each with its own distinctive decoration, and the guest list matched or surpassed many grander hotels in the city. The building itself never gave away much of what truly went on inside the place, but St. Charles Avenue has lost a bit of its soul with the passing of an institution. At least the building will live on.   As noted in the second article below, its new life may be similar in some ways to its original incarnation as an apartment-hotel, but it seems that the public aspects of the old place will be off-limits to the general public.  This is still a loss for the life of the avenue.  

Daily Journal of Commerce

The Times-Picayune

No need to be alarmed.  This is what it was originally in the first place.  I think it will be a good transformation for that neighborhood.

[JPKneworleans]

The Pontchartrain was lost a long time ago.  I don't know of anyone who has stayed there in the last 15 years or so.  The last time I stopped by the place was to have a drink in the bar back in 1989 or 1990.  I also had breakfast there right around the time of that bar visit. She was a grand dame, but very much past her prime.  It is a shame, nonetheless.