Can you tell me when Godchaux's closed, or is it still open? Also, I would like to know the class of clientele that it catered to.

Don in Ohio

Dear Don,

I'm a little confused. What's a man in Ohio want to know about a Louisiana institution? Were you lucky enough to have lived in the Big Easy for a while? Perhaps we'll never know, but I will still be happy to tell you about one of the great stores that used to grace 826-828 Canal St. It was the flagship for suburban stores in New Orleans as well as in Houma and the Gulf Coast. In fact, Godchaux's was at that location for 60 years until it went bankrupt in 1986.

The store was founded by Leon Godchaux, and his is one of the great American "rags to riches" stories. He was born into a poor Jewish family that lived in France. In 1836, with only the clothes on his back and enough money to pay for his passage, Godchaux left home and sailed for America. He was only 12 years old. New Orleans seemed a logical choice for the boy as he only spoke French.

He convinced a wealthy merchant in town to rent him -- on credit -- a backpack filled with needles, thread, ribbons, lace, and other pretties that the ladies who lived on the plantations above New Orleans wanted and needed but found hard to get. The young peddler then traveled on foot, hawking his goods along the Mississippi River. He was so successful that he was able, after a few years, to buy a mule and a cart and to increase his stock.

Then in 1840, when he was only 15, he opened his first dry goods store about 40 miles up river from New Orleans. A few years later he opened another store on what is now Decatur Street, where he sold men's furnishings and clothing. By 1865, Godchaux owned property on Canal Street, near Chartres, where he made men's clothing, sold it to rural stores, and operated a retail outlet. He had even purchased a plantation.

After the Civil War, Godchaux -- who was very well off by then -- began buying many plantations. He had an idea that made him even richer. Then, each plantation processed its own sugar cane, but Godchaux's idea was to consolidate and use central factories that would produce sugar much cheaper. This, of course, revolutionized the sugar industry. Godchaux became the most prominent sugar merchant in the South with about 14 plantations.

When he died in 1899, he was a well-respected member of society and exceedingly wealthy.

The store continued to be run by members of the family, and in 1926, Leon Godchaux's grandson, also called Leon, moved the store to its location on Canal Street. It then evolved into an emporium with an exclusive image, catering to the middle- and upper-income groups -- the "carriage trade." In addition to men's clothes, they began selling women's and children's apparel, jewelry, linen, gifts and home accessories.

There were always guest appearances by famous designers of jewels, furs and the like. A regular was Constantino Christie who delighted in showing women of means how to wear his furs. I always thought that if you could pay $5,000 to $30,000 for a coat, you ought to know how it worked. Once they had on display in the window a pair of black suede shoes decorated with real diamonds and all for a mere $45,000. And even then they kept neckties in stock that sold for $1,000 to $2,000 each!

Of course, when they moved out to the suburbs, they had to broaden their market to include folks with more modest budgets.