This dapper barman, reaching for a bottle of vermouth and deftly flicking an olive into a martini glass, was on the front cover of a beverage list at the now-defunct St Charles hotel in New Orleans.

This iconic hotel, originally located at 201 St Charles Avenue, opened on February 22, 1837. The five-storey hotel with a Greek-inspired façade was decorated with row of 14 massive Corinthian columns and a domed cupola that resembled the US Capital building.

Almost overnight, it became a success in what was then a booming New Orleans and attracted businessmen, politicians and sophisticated high society ladies-who-lunched. Notable visitors included the English novelist Charles Dickens who wrote classic novels of the Victorian era like Great Expectations, David Copperfield, Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol.

In 1851, when the hotel was full with some 800 guests, a fire broke out that ‘lit up the city’ and spread to neighboring blocks, destroying houses and businesses. Guests were evacuated quickly and no-one was injured.

The following year, the hotel was rebuilt but two further fires happened in 1876 and 1894. In between – in 1862 – General Benjamin Butler seized the building as headquarters for his Confederate troops fighting the Civil War.

In 1895, the grand old hotel was rebuilt yet again - this time in Beaux Arts style – and continued to be the center of city life until about 1950 when a slow decline began, causing by changing fashions and competition in the hotel business.

It was purchased by the Sheraton hotel group in 1959, and ownership was transferred in 1965 to local developer Louis J Roussell. The wrecking ball arrived in 1974 and the Times-Picayune noted: ‘The St. Charles Hotel, born of progress 1835, died of obsolescence 1974, and will be survived by its spirit.’ 

The site lay vacant for a decade, and the skyscraper Place St Charles was erected in 1984.

We believe this menu is from the 1950s