Board of Trade

The New Orleans Board of Trade Building was designed in 1883 by James Feret as a trading floor and offices for the Produce Exchange. The landscaped plaza fronting the building was created in 1968 following the demolition of the St. James Hotel on Magazine Street.

The Board of Trade continued to operate in the building through the twentieth century, modifying it as operational needs changed. A 1951 renovation carved out a portion of the trading floor to provide additional office and meeting space. In 1981, the building was renovated again to house the New Orleans Commodities Exchange, which bought and sold commodity futures on major Southern crops such as rice and cotton. The Board of Trade moved out in 2010 and the building was leased to a catering company as an events venue.

On the interior, the double-height one-story trading floor is topped by a shallow 12-sided dome ringed with clerestory windows. The trading floor has plastered walls with pilasters and cornices that draw the eye upward to the curved ceiling and dome, which was covered with canvas murals in 1937. Wainscoting encircles the space along with chalkboards set in ornate wood frames where commodity prices were posted daily.

Renovation work includes a new elevator, updating finishes, relocating restrooms, relocating a commercial kitchen, and altering a stair layout for code compliance.

The Board of Trade influenced or was directly responsible for several important accomplishments in New Orleans, including the creation of the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans; the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad; the Public Grain Elevator; the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway; and the opening of the Southwest Pass to ocean draft vessels; among others. The renovation of this historic property ensures its celebrated story continues on.