What does "New Orleans 16, LA" refer to on a Pat O'Briens hurricane glass?
Blake Pontchartrain
Hey Blake,
I went to an estate sale and bought an old Pat O'Brien's Hurricane glass. I found it interesting because it reads "New Orleans 16, LA" I tried to search the internet to find out what that meant, but to no avail. Please explain.
Clay
Dear Clay,
The answer is quite simple. Pat O's is located at 718 St. Peter St., and the zip code is 70116. The Hurricane cocktail was created during World War II, and in 1943 the postal service implemented the early form of a postal code: a two-digit number to represent a particular zone in a city. So when the hurricane glasses were designed, they included the city and the post code: New Orleans 16.
Twenty years later, in 1963, the postal service changed the zip code system throughout the country. The first three digits now represent the central mail-processing facility. The last two digits still correspond to the original zone for the city , just as they did in 1943.
Perhaps your hurricane glass is one of the originals.
Hey Blake,
What does d.b.a., the name of the bar on Frenchmen Street, mean?
C.T.
Dear C.T.,
The letters for the bar at 618 Frenchmen St. stand for "doing business as." However, the staff there has been known to tell inquiring customers it means "drink beer always" or "don't bother asking." Hey, the people who work there get weary of being asked.
The d.b.a. in New Orleans is owned by the same folks who opened the first establishment by that name in New York City (41 First Ave.). So when you go from the Big Easy to the Big Apple you can feel a little bit at home. The two nightclubs look very much alike and serve the same fine beer and other adult beverages.
And if two d.b.a.s aren't enough, a third one just opened at 113 N. 7th St. in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood.
Hey Blake,
Our question regards the history behind the house at 2809 Esplanade Ave. My brother-in-law purchased this property in 2002, and we feel certain it was built sometime in the late 1800s or early 1900s. Can you tell us about the original owner or the original name of this property?
Francesca and Sean Leysath
Matthews, N.C.
Dear Francesca & Sean,
Your brother-in-law is fortunate to own this fanciful, late-Victorian home. It was built around 1902 by Irish real estate speculator W. James Hannon, who had purchased three lots in 1901 from the widow of Henry Communy. Hannon paid the grand sum of $10,000, and later bragged that the hall in his new house was the largest and longest in any private residence in New Orleans.
With the exception of the steps and railing, it still has the original jigsaw work, spindles, corner blocks and skirtings. The asymmetrical, angular lines formed by the turret, gables and portico are typical of the style of the period, although the design of the house is not as common in New Orleans as it is in many Southern towns. However, there are several similar to it in the Bayou St. John and Uptown areas.
Hannon's son intended to get rich in New Orleans by venturing into the moviemaking industry in its early days. But his plans for a moviemaking company failed, and all of the family fortune was lost. The house was sold to George Mule in 1914, and there have been other owners since.
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