Art for the eye at the Carousel Bar, New Orleans

 

Famous revolving bar on Royal Street in New Orleans, LA.

 

To my surprise my favorite place inside the lovely Hotel Monteleone was the bar.  For those of you who know me well you know then that I do not drink.  But to view the beautifully designed bar at the Hotel Monteleone is a sight to see. I enjoyed my stay discovering the hotels history of hosting literary giants and "set" locations for movies and TV.

Downstairs I enjoyed a quick tour of the famous Carousel Bar. This bar is quite unique as it rotates around and looks like a colorful carousel with a "wild animal" circus theme. The ceiling in the lounge looks as if it's covered in stars. I loved the piano and live piano music in the evenings.

It overlooks famous Royal Street through large fan windows.  Originally installed in 1949, the 25-seat carousel bar turns on 2,000 large steel rollers, pulled by a chain powered by a one-quarter horsepower motor.

 

Hotel Monteleone

Immortalized in the writings of Ernest Hemingway among others, the revolving Carousel Bar is a part of New Orleans history. Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams and Winston Grooms (Forrest Gump) were among its famous patrons. This revolving bar is one of three lounges in the elegant Monteleone Hotel.

The bar was renovated in 1992 when the current carousel top was added. Fiber optics were installed in the ceiling to create unique stars in the night sky and even one special shooting star was created to cross the room at regular intervals.

 Today, the Carousel still attracts celebrities, including some recent sightings – Michael Jordan, Dennis Quaid, Greg Allman and Sally Struthers.

Distinguished Artwork

These photographs are Jazz Era portraits by Alfred Cheney Johnston who photographed celebrities throughout the 1920s and 30s.

He is best known for his work featuring the Ziegfeld Follies and silent film stars of the era. The beaded embroidery was intended to bring life to the black and white costumes and complement the sparkle and whimsy of the Carousel Bar and subtlety reference the beads of Mardi Gras. The beading work was done by Binka Rigava, a bead artist in Latvia

Two famous drinks were invented by Carousel Bartenders:

 

Vieux Carre Cocktail; (1/2 teaspoon Benedictine, dash Peychaud, dash Angostura, 1/3 shot each rye whiskey, cognac and dry vermouth – shake and serve on the rocks with a twist of lemon)

The Goody; (1 ounce each dark rum, light rum, Orgeat, pineapple juice 2 ounces orange juice – mix well and serve in a tall glass over ice.)