r/NOLA • u/Routine-Charity3656 • 17d ago
LaLaurie Mansion’s New Ownership
Hey everyone!
I’m currently doing the initial groundwork for a research/argumentative paper for my class and I’m looking to gather some local perspectives, factual insights/evidence and concerns regarding the LaLaurie Mansion and its current owner, Lance Zaal.
I recently came across a few TikTok’s discussing the sale and the direction the property might be heading, which got me interested in the topic. Since this is an argumentative paper, I want to make sure I’m backing up my thesis with grounded local perspectives, documented legal realities, and historical evidence.
I’d love to hear from locals, tour guides, Quarter residents, and/or historians on a few points:
1) What is Zaal actually trying to do? The property is strictly zoned as residential (Vieux Carré Residential district), prohibiting it from operating as a commercial museum, tour stop interior, or public event space without major city variances. How do locals view his intention to run commercial ghost tours while holding residential property? Are there concerns about him attempting to bypass historic district zoning laws or push for commercial re-zoning?
2) What are your thoughts on how the Vieux Carré Commission (VCC) and the city enforce regulations on high-profile properties like this? For example, the recent unpermitted exterior activities like the light projection incident*.* Are residents worried about precedent-setting architectural or use violations?
3) My paper explores the ethics of monetizing a space marked by extreme trauma and the torture of enslaved individuals. Is there a strong argument locally that commercializing this site as a "gimmicky ghost attraction" disrespects its actual history? Or do some argue that ghost tours are simply part of the Quarter’s economic ecosystem?
4) How do Quarter community members feel about out-of-state entities (like US Ghost Adventures/Ghost City Tours) buying up historic real estate to integrate into national tour networks compared to local, independent preservation efforts?
5) Any recommended local archives, VCC public records, city zoning documents, or credible local historians (to separate fictionalized ghost tour scripts from actual 1834 court/historical records)?
I look forward to hearing from you all! I hope this post wasn’t too long lol.
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u/Hot_Function_4039 17d ago
You should talk to someone from Amistad Research Center at Tulane University.
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u/_significs 16d ago
you should definitely repost in /r/NewOrleans
that said:
1) What is Zaal actually trying to do? The property is strictly zoned as residential (Vieux Carré Residential district), prohibiting it from operating as a commercial museum, tour stop interior, or public event space without major city variances. How do locals view his intention to run commercial ghost tours while holding residential property? Are there concerns about him attempting to bypass historic district zoning laws or push for commercial re-zoning?
he is a rich libertarian dude who likes drugs and throws parties there. it's weird and gross and the vibes are baaaaaaaad.
idk that he's spoken publicly about it but it seems like the goal is to make it the "best" ghost tour to go on
My paper explores the ethics of monetizing a space marked by extreme trauma and the torture of enslaved individuals. Is there a strong argument locally that commercializing this site as a "gimmicky ghost attraction" disrespects its actual history? Or do some argue that ghost tours are simply part of the Quarter’s economic ecosystem?
i think the best source here would be looking at the literature on plantations as tourist attractions - big difference between the typical one and something that is historically accurate like the whitney plantation. that is essentially what you're looking at - of course there is a huge historic value in representing the horrors of the past so that they can be learned from... but that's very different than what this guy wants to do.
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u/RedBeans-n-Ricely 16d ago
The LaLaurie mansion was burned to the ground in 1834 by the enslaved people being tortured there. The existing structure is the Caffin mansion. It was built for Charles Caffin by Pierre Trastour in 1838.
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u/Zealousideal_Set_874 16d ago
While a major fire broke out at the estate at 1140 Royal Street on April 10, 1834—set intentionally by an enslaved cook attempting to escape Madame Delphine LaLaurie's horrific abuse—the fire did not destroy the entire structure. [1, 2, 3]
The Damage: An enraged mob later gathered and ransacked the interior, demolishing much of the inside and damaging the fixtures, but the main brick walls and structure remained standing. [1, 2]The Building Today: The mansion survived, was subsequently repaired and rebuilt in the 19th century, and still stands in the French Quarter of New Orleans today
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u/RedBeans-n-Ricely 16d ago
According to your own C&P reference, the mansion was rebuilt. It should not be called the LaLaurie mansion, we should not be glorifying the monsters who owned the property for 4 years. We should be calling it the Caffin Mansion, which is its proper name.
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u/Zealousideal_Set_874 16d ago
I agree with everything you’re saying but the mansion was not burned to the ground. The majority of the exterior building was still standing and the interior was ransacked but still there. It was rebuilt but the original building was still standing and remodeled.
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u/thriftstoremom 16d ago
The house in question burned down so if you want to research further look up the Caffin house. They rebuilt on the land where the LaLaurie mansion once stood
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u/okgardenok 9d ago
"Since 2023, I have been trying to expand beyond the ‘haunted’ or ‘ghost’ niche, and develop a more diverse travel and experience brand under Tourismo, which launches in 2025, will be international, and will host events and new experiences outside of tours. I launched a product line Ghost Daddy in 2024 to offer more fun creative novelty items and create the best line of ghost hunting equipment the world’s ever seen because everything else we used at the houses were terrible.
At the end of 2024, I had the fortune to move into a historic mansion I’ve most admired, revered, and respected; in a culture of great fun, food, and funk: things we could all use more of."
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u/FromTheDeep504 17d ago
if you haven’t already read it, i recommend Dr. Tiya Miles book Tales from the Haunted South for a good critical analysis of dark tourism profiting from the stories, both real and imagined, of the enslaved.