Last Friday, Curbed NOLA celebrated (as buildings do) when we found out that the city's very own Benachi House was Curbed's house of the day. Since then, we've kind of quieted down our celebration and dug into what you stand to get if you purchase this lovingly restored 7th ward B&B.
Now an upscale bed and breakfast and event venue, the Benachi House of New Orleans was originally the home of Nicolas Marino Benachi, a wealthy cotton merchant and the Greek government's Consul in New Orleans, who helped build the first Greek Orthodox Church in the Western Hemisphere. Built from 1858 to 1859, the house has a classically-lined double-gallery front facade with pocket doors on each floor, and an idiosyncratic rear projecting wing. The current owner and his then-wife spent seven years rehabbing the home after acquiring it in the '80s. Aside from restorative efforts, the project saw the addition of two new bathrooms, a new kitchen, central AC and heating systems, and new wiring and plumbing. The couple also transformed the unfinished third floor into a second rental apartment. The chandeliers in the public rooms are original, as well as the black marble and granite mantles.
Subsequent additions to the exterior were removed during the renovation, while some original outbuildings and stables had been lost by that point. On the grounds outside, delineated by a cast-iron fence, there's a fountain, a few gazebos, and a two-story carriage house, which was damaged by a falling tree in Hurricane Katrina. (Neither it nor the main house sustained any flooding.) None of the furniture comes with the $3,995,000 asking price, though all of it is available for purchase.
First off, there's two crappy Yelp reviews to at least establish Benachi House as a wedding venue. Apparently one boisterous ceremony was shut down by police twice and another was not even meant to be — their reservation was given away. We can only assume that things have since improved, as the last Yelp review was dated 2011.
Benachi House functions as an event space and a bed and breakfast. Its history tells the story of cotton broker and Greek Consulate Nicolas Marino Benachi, a benevolent Greek immigrant whose successes spawned this gorgeous mansion and the first Greek Orthodox Church in the Western Hemisphere. This circa 1859 nine bedroom, eight bathroom compound includes a carriage house and yet another lot that is ready to be developed.
The Benachi House property clocks in at three stories totaling 9,081 square feet including porches and galleries. Its interior includes seven bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a powder room — you know, to freshen up and just in case the bathrooms aren't doing it for you. The Carriage House has two bedrooms, one and a half baths and is two full stories. $3.995M gets you a lot of property (lovingly restored, of course) on over half an acre of land.
· Benachi House
· Patiently Restored New Orleans B&B Seeks a New Proprietor [Curbed]
· On The Market [Curbed NOLA]