Built in 1828, the Creole-style townhouse at 521 Gov. Nicholls St. has been the subject of both envy and pity, and its history includes a string of illustrious occupants, including Hollywood royalty Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt and music innovator Cosimo Matassa.
The 7,703-square-foot masonry mansion was built for Claude LeBaron, who also was responsible for the construction of the Rene Beauregard House about the same time. The Beauregard House, which he built for his in-laws, is adjacent to Chalmette Battlefield, site of the Battle of New Orleans.
The grand estate at 521 Gov. Nicholls fell into a more utilitarian use when it became a grocery warehouse for more than a century. Then, in 1958, Matassa, a celebrated sound engineer, opened his recording studio there, and “the sound of New Orleans R&B came alive as it spread throughout the world,” according to Jazz history site “A Closer Walk.” Fats Domino “recorded hit after hit” at the studio, as did Little Richard and a Who’s Who list of other recording artists, including Professor Longhair, Art Neville, Tommy Ridgley, Mac “Dr. John” Rebennack, Clarence “Frogman” Henry, Lee Dorsey, Robert Parker, Aaron Neville, Allen Toussaint and James Booker.
Unfortunately, there is no evidence that Matassa did anything to remedy the considerable decay that had beset the building. Following his departure in 1965, the once-grand estate continued to decline. According to the Collins C. Diboll Vieux Carré Digital Survey, the demise led to it “ultimately losing its front ground floor arched openings, the French doors on the front, and its front balcony. The detached service wing also had been torn down.”
The building was at last rescued and renovated in 2004. At this time, according to the Vieux Carré Survey, “two new service-type buildings were added at the rear of the property, the front openings were restored, the rear loggia was re-enclosed, and a front gallery was added.”
Its glamor restored, in 2006 the home caught the attention of celebrity power couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who resided there part-time with their children for a decade. The year they bought the home, Jolie worked with an architect to further renovate the home, including installing fireplaces, extensive stonework, and a pool. The home became a tourist attraction, with the streets around it clogged with ardent fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the celebrities within, until they moved out during their 2016 divorce.
The seven-bedroom, five-bathroom estate was sold to Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2017, and was sensitively renovated once again, resulting in gleaming wood floors, soaring ceilings, impeccable crown molding, polished marble fireplaces, glistening chandeliers, and state-of-the-art amenities.
In January 2024, the home sold to a friend of the PRC who has generously agreed to open his property for the Holiday Home Tour Patron Party on Dec. 7. The event, a festive cocktail party, will feature an open bar, cuisine, and live music.
The homeowner said he appreciates New Orleans’ rich history of nurturing artists and serving as an inspirational muse. He was drawn to the French Quarter because, years ago as a student at St. Stanislaus School in Bay St. Louis, he and his classmates would take trips to New Orleans. “The place was fascinating to me then, as it is now,” he said.
This is the second home he has purchased in the French Quarter, as his last had a regrettably diminutive courtyard, a hardship he has rectified with his current home, which boasts a generous rear courtyard and gardens that extend deep into the 5,919-square-foot lot.
“I’m quite prepared to sit in the courtyard, look up, read a book or two and ponder existential retirement possibilities,” the homeowner said. “Additionally, it’s a great opportunity to be able to see a good part of my mother’s art on the walls simultaneously.”
