Gretna City Hall on 64 Parishes.com

The Gretna City Hall building is conventional in its Beaux-Arts forms, but, squeezed onto its narrow site, it is a compact composition with a vertical emphasis.

Parish boundary changes and inadequate facilities have given the Jefferson Parish seat of justice a peripatetic history. In Gretna, the former William Tell Fire Hall (c. 1875), a two-story wooden structure (Newton and Third streets), served as the courthouse from 1884 to 1907. The site for this three-story brick structure, a narrow site in the center of Huey P. Long Avenue at Second Street, was selected in 1905. City Hall’s earlier homes included two in what is now New Orleans: an Egyptian Revival structure (2251 Rousseau Street, much altered and used as a storage facility) and the Greek Revival courthouse designed by Henry Howard in Carrollton (now occupied by a school).

07. Gretna City Hall (Old Jefferson Parish Courthouse)

Gretna City Hall is the grandest structure of its age in all of Jefferson Parish today and reflects a picture of the historic preservation of Gretna and its people.

Erected in 1907, the original structure was built in the Renaissance and Baroque styles. The three story building housed the Jefferson Parish Courthouse until 1958. The building was opened to the public in 1964 as Gretna City Hall after a major renovation.

In 1983, the structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The walls of the first floor are decorated with various old photos, mementos and a large map, all pertaining to local history.

The second floor has been restored to its turn of the century grandeur and serves as the meeting area for the monthly City Council sessions. This unique and historic place is available for walking tours, but larger groups must make prior arrangements.

Destinations
National Register of Historic Places

General Information
Free Admission
Handicapped Accessible

Contact
504-363-1500

Photos