A Glimpse Into The Past

Daniel Henry Holmes arrived in New Orleans in 1839 with the vision of opening a dry goods store. Just ten years later, in 1849, he launched D.H. Holmes at 819 Canal Street — a groundbreaking retail destination that would serve generations of New Orleanians.Hailed by newspapers at the time as “by far the most beautiful edifice ever erected in New Orleans for mercantile purposes,” the four-story building is widely regarded as one of the first true department stores in the United States. Over time, “Holmeses,” as locals affectionately called it, expanded to offer men’s and women’s clothing, household goods, hosiery, and even a restaurant. By the early 1900s, D.H. Holmes had become the largest department store in the South, employing over 700 people and sprawling across multiple entrances on Canal, Dauphine, Bourbon, and Customhouse (now Iberville) Streets.

What’s Happening Now

After operating for 140 years, D.H. Holmes was purchased by Dillard’s in 1989. The original store was later redeveloped and opened in 1995 as the Chateau Sonesta Hotel. In 2012, it underwent a major renovation and reopened as the Hyatt Centric French Quarter Hotel, featuring updated guest rooms, a reimagined lobby, and refreshed event spaces — all while preserving the building’s architectural charm and legacy on Canal Street.

Did You Know?

The iconic D.H. Holmes clock, still visible on the Canal Street façade, served as a beloved meeting spot for locals and lives on in literature. It famously appears in the opening scene of John Kennedy Toole’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, A Confederacy of Dunces. The novel’s eccentric protagonist, Ignatius J. Reilly, agrees to meet his mother beneath the Holmes clock — a moment that anchors the story in the heart of Canal Street. Toole’s references to the “Wheel of Fortune” symbolize the unpredictable twists of fate, much like the ever-evolving journey of Canal Street itself. And of course, no tribute to A Confederacy of Dunces would be complete without a nod to Lucky Dog — immortalized in the novel and now celebrated in the Windows on Canal installation. And fittingly, Scrim, our very own lucky dog, is here to guide you through it all.

Want to learn more?

Visit the Historic New Orleans Collection’s Vieux Carre Survey