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| Terrel and I after visiting a tiny Italian fine clothing store for men and women. I couldn't resist buying the coat, which accented my outfit perfectly. |
Douglas, looking very dapper for his luncheon at The Boston Club
The clubhouse has been located at 824 Canal Street since 1884, formerly 148 Canal St, on the edge of the Central Business District. It was designed and built in 1844 by James Gallier as a city residence for Dr. William N. Mercer, a Maryland native, University of Pennsylvania, a trained surgeon and veteran of the War of 1812, posted in New Orleans, then Natchez, Mississippi, where he married Ann Eliza Farar whose dowry include Laurel Hill and Ellis Cliffs plantations by way of her mother, the heiress of Richard Ellis, who with his brother John Ellis, for their loyalty to the crown during the American Revolution, received the original 20,000 acre Royal English land grant.
Famous guests include Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Roseberry, who attended a luncheon in 1873; General Ulysses S. Grant, who lunched at The Boston Club in 1880; Oscar Wilde, who visited the club in Summer of 1882 while on tour and was made an honorary member, and gave a lecture at the Grand Opera House on Canal Street on "Decorative Art;" John J. Pershing, who visited on February 17, 1920; and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, who visited on February 21, 1950.
It was customary, until 1992, for Rex (King of Carnival) and his queen to lunch at the club after the Rex parade during Mardis Gras. In addition, the Boston Club entertained the queen of the carnival and her court during the parade.
After lunch we walked around the French Quarter oogling the gaily and daringly costumed gaggle crowding the streets and the occasional parade marching through with their drums and trombones filling the air with music.
At one point, we came across a street performer who, for a small price, would write a special poem, just for you. He sat in the street and typed out poems on an old manual typewriter using just one finger on each hand. He wrote me a beautiful poem, pictured below. Although he signed his poem, I forgot to get his name and the signature is illegible.
