HOUSE
RULE: This is a private residence. For purposes of privacy, the
general rule is that the names of current
and previous owners will not be
listed here strictly because they did or do live there. The only
exceptions are, of
course, Anne Rice, those whose names
appear in the actual construction history of the house, and, if widely
available, media
resources that name them in
conjunction with whatever they're reporting on.
If
you do happen
to go on a tour of New Orleans'
Garden District and one of the stops is this house, please use your good
manners by remaining
on your side of the property line
and by not hassling or otherwise disturbing the occupants. Thank you.
Inside First Street...
On this page are various photos of the Mayfair House and all things
Mayfair that came fromwww.annerice.comand from around the Internet. The video you see above is a realtor's
video of the house recommended to me by Richie
in Philadelphia. It has other shots
of the house and grounds not seen in the photos. Thank you, Richie!!
I
am researching the photo credits for the older photos.
Again, if they are copyrighted or if
I have misused them in any way, please let me know. In the meantime,
enjoy!
The Double Parlor
The Double Parlor
The Double Parlor in 1964
Stella's Dance Floor...
Double Parlor Entrance 1964
The Double Parlor in the 1930's
The Double Parlor in the 1930's
In
this room is where Stella was shot to death, where Rowan declares her
decision
to claim the house and the
legacy, where her wedding reception is held, and where she willingly
comes to Lasher for the first
time...
The Swimming Pool
Stella's Pool
Angel on the limestone balustrade...
The Pool
Drowning Pool
The
pool that Stella had installed during the "Roaring Twenties". She
once filled it with
champagne for one of her wild parties. When Rowan returns sixty years
later, the pool is a dank,
murky swamp that defies
restoration. However, Michael Curry's restoration project reveals that
it is quite intact, and
Michael himself has a
vision of ghostly party guests with a panicked Arthur Langtry shouting,
"Come away from there, man!"
just months before he
nearly drowns - for the second time - in this pool.
The Dining Room
The Dining Room
The Dining Room 1964
A Gathering of Family...
In
this room is where Rowan has her "interview" with Carlotta Mayfair, who
taunts
and provokes Rowan into
killing her, where Rowan sees the trees outside moving by Lasher's will,
and where family meetings
are convened in the First
Street house after Rowan's disappearance.
~Deirdre~
Deirdre's Oak
Deirdre's Oak
Tree in the First Street Garden
Deirdre's Oak
The Side Porch
The Side Porch in the 1930's
The Upper Window of the Side Porch
The side porch as it appears today
Deirdre's World
The top of this side porch is where Evelyn Mayfair (Ancient Evelyn by the time
of Lasher) climbs to
Julien's attic room to couple with him, and from where Antha is pushed
to her death by an enraged
Carlotta. From 1976 to
1989, the first floor deck is where Deirdre (Antha's daughter, Stella's
granddaughter, and the
mother of Rowan Mayfair)
languishes in a rocking chair, unable to defend herself or her daughter
against Lasher. Nor
does she seem to want to.
In a vision of Deirdre's thoughts, she seems to be glad for Lasher's
company during her convalescence.
According to Carlotta, she
"writhed like a cat" under Lasher's touch despite being otherwise
comatose from the Thorazine.
The
steps in the photo are the steps Michael Curry cleared from the brush
and
overgrowth during the
restoration of the home, proving that the side porch was originally
designed to be open (see the pictures
of the plans).
Deirdre's
Oak was where Rowan's mother would swing and play with Lasher as a
child, and
it was she who carved the
name "Lasher" into the trunk of the massive oak tree. Note the
garconniere (sic?) in the background
in one of the photos.