Nowhere in the New Orleans French Quarter is there a building with a more illustrious past than 417 Royal Street, the home of Restaurant. Located on the most elegant street of this historic district and adjacent to some of the finest antique shops in the world, Restaurant has been a landmark on Royal Street since it first opened on May 31, 1956.

The property was originally given the number 215 by Adrien de Pauger. In 1721 he designed the original city, now known as the French Quarter, and assigned lot 215 to Baron Hambourg to whom it had been granted by the Superior Council.

The first transaction of the Royal Street property on record occurred on December 3, 1794, when Gaspar Debuys and Huberto Remy purchased the land from Angela Monget. On December 8, just five days later, the great fire of 1794 destroyed more than two hundred buildings in the city, including whatever buildings existed at 417 Royal Street.

During the Spanish rule of Louisiana, Don Vincente Rillieux, the great-grandfather of the French artist Edgar Degas, bought the land from Debuys and Remy. The purchase occurred on January 8, 1795, exactly one month after the fire. Records show that Debuys and Remy sold their lot, including the ruins of their building. The lot still had the original dimensions assigned by Pauger of 60 feet x 120 feet.

The two story structure as we know it today was built by Don Vincente Rillieux in 1795. After Rillieux died, his widow, Dame Maria Fonquet Rillieux, gave the property to her son-in-law, Santiago Freret. On June 2, 1801, Freret relinquished the title to Don Jose Faurie for 8,650 Mexican pesos.

Faurie not only resided in the handsome new mansion but maintained it as his place of business. On January 26, 1805, Faurie sold his residence to Julien Poydras. As its president, Julien Poydras converted his Royal Street structure into the newly organized Banque de la Louisiane, founded on March 11, 1804, by Governor W.C.C. Claiborne.

The bank was the first financial institution to be operated in New Orleans as well as in all of the territory secured by the United States through the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Extensive renovations of the building by the bank included the addition of an intricately designed wrought-iron balcony railing with the bank's LB monogram, a compelling example of ferronnier’s art that still exists within the structure today.

In 1819, after the original Louisiana Bank had outlived its charter, the ground floor of the building was occupied temporarily by the Louisiana State Bank. On October 5,1820, the liquidators of La Banque de la Louisiane sold the property to Martin Gordon, a socially prominent Virginia gentleman and clerk of the United States District Court.

The Gordon family was noted for its lavish hospitality. The family home soon became the center of fashionable Creole social activities. Gordon was active in the politics of the day and a friend of General Andrew Jackson. General Jackson was the guest of honor at many lavish banquets staged at the Gordon home. After Andrew Jackson became President, he appointed Martin Gordon to the office of Collector of the Port of New Orleans in appreciation of Gordon's generosity and hospitality.

Unfortunately, in 1841 the Gordon Family met with financial reverses. The building was seized by the Citizen's Bank and sold at auction by the sheriff. Judge Alonzo Morphy, a former state attorney general and a member of Louisiana's high court, purchased the building.

Judge Morphy's son was Paul Charles Morphy, the celebrated American chess master. Known around the world as a young genius, Paul Morphy was only ten years old when he mastered the intricate game. He defeated Europe's foremost chess champions, as newspapers touted his feat of playing eight contestants at one time while blindfolded. Judge Morphy even designed a huge chess board on the floor of one of the upstairs rooms in the mansion for his son's pleasure.

The chess master, Paul Charles Morphy, died in his Royal Street home in 1884. In 1891, his brothers and sisters sold the mansion they had inherited.

The property then passed to several owners, including William Ratcliffe Irby. Irby, who acquired his fortune in tobacco, dairy products and banking, was a member of the Board of Administrators of Tulane University. He was deeply interested in many philanthropic endeavors and primarily in the preservation of the historic French Quarter. As a result, Irby donated his property at 417 Royal Street to Tulane University in 1920.

Over the years, Tulane University leased the property to a number of tenants. The Patio Royal, a popular spot for debutante parties and other social functions, was the last tenant before its conversion into the world-famous Brennan’s Restaurant

Owen Edward Brennan rented the property from Tulane University in 1954. Under the guidance of Owen's architects, Richard Koch and Samuel Wilson, as well as the Vieux Carre Commission, the building was completely renovated.

On April 3, 1975, a raging fire severely damaged and ceased operations at the Royal Street establishment. Amazingly, Brennan's was restored to its original splendor and resumed business in less than six months. Almost ten years later in 1984, Owen's three sons, Pip, Jimmy and Ted, purchased the building from Tulane University.

Today the building features twelve elegantly decorated dining rooms, with a total capacity of 550 patrons. What was once the slave quarters of the pre-Civil War mansion has been converted into Brennan's stellar, award-winning wine cellar. Exquisite dining surrounds a romantic patio with huge magnolia trees, lush foliage and a picturesque fountain, while its structure remains one of the most historically significant buildings in the French Quarter.