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Downtown Tour

56. Opelousas Sanitarium, c. 1886

217 N. Main Street This building, located on the corner of Grolee and Main streets, was the business and residence of J.C. “Kossuth” Sandoz. Later, it became the first hospital in Opelousas and was known as the Opelousas Sanitarium. It features 8,400 square feet of high ceilings and hand- carved woodwork. As with the city …

April 9, 1886

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51. Morning Glory, c. 1883

509 N. Court Street Built by the Alex Sandoz family, this lovely home located on the corner of Bloch and Court streets was restored in the 1980s by the late John Van Hudspeth, a local interior designer. The Victorian home has an unusual symmetrical design which was created by Opelousas architect Tilghman George Chachere, Sr. …

April 9, 1883

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53. DeLaRue-Chachere Home, c.1882

125 W. Littell Street Located on the corner of Court and Littell streets, this house became the property of the DeLaRue family by an act of exchange between John Ogden and Frank DeLaRue. For many years it was owned by the Chachere family who married into the DeLaRue family. This is the childhood home of …

April 9, 1882

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24. Pierre Mistric Home, c. 1882

612 S. Court Street For more than 100 years, this home has been occupied by descendants of Pierre Mistric, who bought the home in 1912 for his family. Built of cypress and oak, it was originally a mid-Victorian two-storied structure complete with a steeple and encircling porch. After a fire destroyed portions of the house, …

April 9, 1882

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71. Donald Elder Home, c. 1880

701 E. Grolee Street This lovely Victorian cottage was built by Jim Chachere. It is one of the oldest Victorian cottages in the area.

April 9, 1880

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67. Old Terracina & Lupo Grocery Store, c. 1880

430 E. Grolee Street The Lupo family purchased this building in 1915. The family added the store front a short time later. The building served as their home and store. For over 62 years, it was home to Terracina & Lupo’s, a place that offered freshly made, authentic Italian specialties. Today it is the home …

April 9, 1880

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18. 19th Century Dentist Office, 1880

234 S. Court Street Built by Dr. Charles Bercier, a local dentist, this Victorian style building served as a dental office for many years. Later, several physicians and other businesses used it.

April 9, 1880

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74. Charles Mayer Home, c. 1874

629 E. Bellevue Street This striking restrained Greek Revival and Italianate style home is made of cypress on three foot, six inch raised brick pillars and was built for the Opelousas Music Man, Rudolf Adelbert Sebastien Mayer, a professor of music who was born in Germany. Professor Mayer invented the first breech loading rifle patented …

April 9, 1874

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2. Lawyer’s Row, c.1860

136 – 100 W. Bellevue Street Located across from the courthouse, between Market and Court streets, this group of commercial office buildings range in age from 50 to 150 years. Over the years, this historic section has been occupied by attorneys and was given the name, “Lawyer’s Row.” The east corner of this block that …

April 9, 1860

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14. Homère Mouton Law Office, 1858

133 W. Landry Street Law office built in 1858 for Charles Homere Mouton, a judge who also served as Lt. Governor of Louisiana in 1856. He was married to a St. Landry Parish beauty, Celimene Dupre, the daughter of Lastie Dupre and granddaughter of Governor Jacque Dupre. The Dupre family and the Opelousas community were …

April 9, 1858

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