The mansion at 2220 St. Charles Ave. in New Orleans looks like it's in the middle of some unspecified holiday. Strings of lights wrap the white Corinthian columns, while gold-colored drapery hangs above the front door.
“It’s a great Halloween house and also a great Christmas house,” owner Bonnie Broel told Homes.com in an interview. “We’re a fantastic Mardi Gras house because all of the parades parade right in front of us.”
The party vibe isn’t accidental. The House of Broel, as the covered entrance walkway declares it, has also been Broel’s business, an eclectic venue for people seeking uniqueness in their events.
“We do birthdays, we do anniversaries,” Broel said. “Whatever reason, people want to come and party!”
Broel, 86, put the Garden District house she has owned for 54 years on the market in August for $2.95 million. Brittany Picolo Ramos of Keller Williams Realty New Orleans is handling the sale.
Made for celebrations
In a way, parties made this three-story, 8,090-square-foot house what it is today. The home began life in 1850 as a two-story house, according to Broel.
“In 1884, the family that owned the house loved to have big parties and family weddings, and they felt they didn’t have enough space,” she said. “So that had it all elevated and they added a first floor.”
To reiterate, the family didn’t add a story to the top; they lifted the entire home and built the first floor under it.
This led to one of Broel’s favorite features in the house. “They put the staircase all the way in the back of the first floor so they could have great big openings between the rooms so that people could flow," she said. "That’s why it works so well for weddings and parties.”
It also created a division in the architectural styles. The original house, now the upper floors, was done in a Greek revival style, while the first floor was given an Italian flair.
A New Orleans native, Broel bought the house in 1972. Sales records for the transaction were not available from the parish.
“It was pretty rundown,” she said. “The two women who owned it were arguing. They hadn’t done anything to the house in years. I had to redo everything.”
Broel opened a dress shop in the front, and it became “one of the largest bridal salons in the country in the ’70s and ’80s,” she said.
Dress sales waned, so she moved the shop upstairs and converted the first floor into the event venue in 1992. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, most of the staff for Broel’s boutique left the city.
“I had enough people come back that worked in the catering department, so I just kept on with the wedding receptions," she said.
Ghosts and celebrities
The house has attracted some notable guests, including Sandra Bullock, who hosted the premiere party for her 2009 Oscar-winning film “The Blind Side” at House of Broel. “That was great fun,” Broel said.
Also, like many buildings in the Big Easy, the home is presumed to be haunted. “We feel like we have three ghosts,” Broel said without further explanation.
The House of Broel displays items that pay homage to its namesake. Awards and accolades that Broel's dress shop earned line some walls and mannequins still sport her fashion creations.
Broel has collected 16 dollhouses and roughly 60 diorama-style exhibits that decorate the home. As she prepares to downsize into a tower in the city, Broel said she's considering donating the displays to a museum. Furniture would be negotiable in the sale, she said.
Broel has taken to living in the one-bedroom carriage house in the back of the property to let the main house stay ready for business. “I enjoy it very much because it overlooks our courtyard with our beautiful pond,” she said. “I wake up every morning to see that. I will miss it.”
While the house has been part of the city’s history for 175 years, the character of the house continues to shine through. “That’s because the person that owns it is a character,” Broel said.