Saturday, September 7, 2013
Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop-New Orleans
I love California and I am a Cali girl through and through. However, I love to travel because California is relatively new in the history sense. I am always so intrigued by those establishments that have an incredible story or history. So I am not sending you to this bar because of the incredible wine list, martinis sent from God or home brewed beers. I am sending you to this place because it is pretty darn cool to have a cocktail in a building that was built between 1722-1732.
This establishment is also ripe with legends and stories. Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, from what I can tell, was never a blacksmith shop. It does, however, have the designation of the oldest structure used as a bar in the United States. Sure that statistic kind of surprises me when you think of places like New York, Boston, etc, but that is one of their claims to fame so who am I to dispute it.
New Orleans had 2 very large fires in the 19th century and they lost the majority of the city on both of these occasions. However, this structure remained standing due to it's slate roof and that is one of the reasons that it is one of the oldest buildings in this section of town.
Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop was also supposedly involved in the pirate/smuggling business. It was thought that this building was the "business place" for Jean and Pierre Lafitte who were known pirates in the area. Jean Lafitte was also well known as being a hero in the Battle of New Orleans.
On the Haunted History Tour this local was also included. It is supposedly haunted with the spirits of several pirates who were incinerated in the fireplace. The tour guide actually described it as being put into the fireplace to have,"their faces melted off," but I thought incinerated sounded a bit more classy.
Anyway this is just a cool place to stop by and grab a beer and enjoy a slice of history. It is at the end of Bourbon street, but it is very easy to find. Here is the web page: http://www.lafittesblacksmithshop.com/Homepage.html
I am looking forward to a crazy New Orleans weekend as I prepare to find an incredible bar to watch the Saints opener and get this they are playing their rival-Atlanta Falcons. Cheers
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)
Visit My Website!
Subscribe To
Posts
Comments
0 comments:
Post a Comment