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The Spanish Custom House, the oldest residence on Bayou St. John and perhaps the oldest in the city, will be sold at auction next month after the heirs of the deceased owner decided they were unable to care for it. There is no minimum asking price.
History enthusiasts and preservation groups are buzzing about the upcoming sale of the home, which has remained in private hands since its construction circa 1784, even as other antique houses have passed into the stewardship of nonprofits or the state museum. The Spanish Custom House has always fallen into the hands of owners who prized its history and paid careful heed to preserving its details. One owner opened her doors to researchers from the Works Progress Administration who were documenting the city's most important houses. The most recent owner reconstructed slave quarters on the property with exacting detail. Preservation groups are now watching whether the property will end up with another mindful owner.
The Spanish Custom House, located at 1300 Moss Street, evokes the very origins of the city. It fronts Bayou St. John, the waterway traversed by early settlers and American Indians when the silted Mississippi proved too difficult to navigate. The property on which it sits was deeded to settlers in a land grant that preceded the founding of New Orleans. It is believed to be one of the oldest extant buildings in the city, behind the Ursulines Convent and perhaps Madame John's Legacy, the Dumaine Street residence that burned and was reconstructed after the fire of 1788. The Spanish Custom House dates at least to 1784 and possibly earlier. The house is described in the inventory compiled after the death in 1784 of Santiago Llorens, the planter who built it. A brick in the attic is also inscribed with that date, according to a history of the home provided by Neal Auction Company, the firm managing the sale.
Neal Alford, president of the auction company, said the DeMatteo heirs have not set a minimum purchase price for the home. He will stage an absolute auction on Feb. 10, unloading the home to the highest bidder no matter what the price. Potential buyers must present a cashier's check for $50,000 when they register to show their interest is serious, however. The second district assessor's office pegs the fair market value of the home at $330,000, but it is undoubtedly higher. The DeMatteo heirs originally listed the property for sale for $1.95 million before dropping their asking price to $1.675 million. It has languished on the market since before Hurricane Katrina. Many of the home's original details are intact, including the doors in the upstairs parlors and the dentillated cornice and cypress fireplace in one of those upstairs rooms. Modern additions are layered into the building as well, including a major addition built in 1927. The home, shaded by a double gallery, does not have air-conditioning. "Who should bid on this? It should be part of the state-owned chain of Louisiana landmarks," said Dorian Bennett, the president of Dorian Bennett Sotheby's who is working with Neal Auction on the sale.
February marks the third time the house has been auctioned. DeMatteo himself bought the property at auction in the late 1940s, according to his son, Remi DeMatteo. His parents arrived at the auction during a driving rainstorm, when the crowd was light. They entered the successful bid and were signing the paperwork when the weather cleared up and dozens of thwarted buyers began streaming in, disappointed they had missed their opportunity. "My number one hope is that the right person gets the house -- a Brad Pitt type or a historian type," Remi DeMatteo said. "This could truly be one of the jewels of the city."
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