Longue Vue was completed in 1942 for Edgar and Edith Stern, pillars of the New Orleans community. The Sterns often hosted dignitaries from the 1940s and 1950s here, including John F. Kennedy and Eleanor Roosevelt. The house was designed in classical revival style and is still furnished with its original collection of American and English antiques and artwork by the likes of Wassily Kandinsky.
Ellen Biddle Shipman designed the gardens, which are inspired by the grounds of the Alhambra Palace in Spain. Longue Vue’s Spanish Court, with an array of fountains and pools, is one of the best-loved landscapes in New Orleans. Visitors can take a self-guided tour through the house and gardens, or combine a visit to Longue Vue with stops at some of New Orleans’ most notable historic sites on a small-group sightseeing tour. The New Orleans Power Pass includes free admission to the Longue Vue House.