Wender·Vista
St. Louis Cathedral
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States
facing Jackson Square in the French Quarter of New Orleans

St. Louis Cathedral

— — three white spires above a Sunday parade.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The white triple-spired church that faces Jackson Square is the oldest cathedral in continuous use in the United States. The first chapel on the site went up in 1718, the year the city was founded; the current building was finished in 1794 and remade in 1850 into the three-steepled silhouette that anchors every photograph of the French Quarter. Brass-band funerals pass under the central spire on weekday afternoons. The Mississippi runs three blocks behind the back wall.

from the studio
St. Louis Cathedral
— bring it home

St. Louis Cathedral, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about St. Louis Cathedral

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France, faces Jackson Square in the Vieux Carré at the centre of New Orleans. A wooden parish church on the site was destroyed in the great hurricane of 1722; a second church burned in the city fire of 1788; the present brick-and-stucco building was completed in 1794 with funds left by the Spanish nobleman Don Andrés Almonester y Rojas. The architect James Gallier Sr. and Jacques Nicholas Bussière de Pouilly enlarged it in 1850 and added the three peaked steeples that give the cathedral its current silhouette. Pope Paul VI raised it to a minor basilica in 1964.

— the stone

The 1850 remodelling under de Pouilly stripped most of what survived from 1794 and rebuilt the cathedral in a French Romantic-Revival mode. Three peaked octagonal towers replaced the earlier hexagonal central spire; the side walls were extended outward and the sanctuary lengthened toward Royal Street. Inside, a barrel-vaulted nave runs 134 feet from door to altar under a painted ceiling that depicts Louis IX, the cathedral's namesake, leaving for the Seventh Crusade. The stained-glass windows along the nave were installed by Erhard Stoltzenberg of Munich after the cathedral's 1918 centennial restoration.

— the visit

The cathedral sits at 615 Père Antoine Alley, between the Cabildo and the Presbytère on Jackson Square, three blocks from the Mississippi River levee. The doors are open to visitors most weekdays from about 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., outside of Mass; entry is free and self-guided pamphlets are available inside the vestibule. Sunday Masses run morning and midday, and the cathedral hosts weddings, baptisms, and the city's St. Patrick's Day and Mardi Gras blessings. Quiet hours in the late morning are the easiest time to sit in the nave; check the parish website before travelling.

— where
United States · New Orleans, Louisiana
— elevation
2 m · 7 ft
— position
29.9577° N · 90.0637° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
at the lake
Jackson Square
historic square
at the lake
The Cabildo
history museum
at the lake
The Presbytère
history museum
at the lake
French Market
open-air market
at the lake
Café du Monde
historic cafe
N
St. Louis Cathedral
Jackson Square
The Cabildo
The Presbytère
French Market
Café du Monde
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about St. Louis Cathedral — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

On Jackson Square in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, at 615 Père Antoine Alley between the Cabildo and the Presbytère. The Mississippi River levee is three blocks south of the cathedral doors.

The present brick-and-stucco building was completed in 1794 on the site of two earlier churches dating to 1718 and 1727. It is the oldest cathedral in continuous use in the United States.

The 1850 remodelling under Jacques Nicholas Bussière de Pouilly replaced the original hexagonal central spire with three octagonal peaked towers and lengthened the nave. That silhouette is what most photographs of Jackson Square show today.

Yes. Pope Paul VI raised the cathedral to the rank of minor basilica in 1964. Its full title is the Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France, named for the thirteenth-century French king Louis IX.

Yes. The cathedral is open to visitors most weekdays roughly from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. outside of services, with free entry and self-guided pamphlets. Sunday and feast-day Masses are open to the public.

Don Andrés Almonester y Rojas, who funded the 1794 rebuilding, and several early bishops of New Orleans are interred under the sanctuary floor. The marble markers are visible from the front pews on the gospel side.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The cathedral is the image most New Orleanians and Tulane alumni name first when they describe home. A Small or a Medium with a handwritten note from the studio carries that recognition well.

The warm cream and slate-grey palette suits French-traditional, New Orleans-Creole, and warm-classic interiors. It sits well beside dark walnut, antique brass, and the cypress and rattan common in Gulf Coast rooms.

Yes. The piece reads as architecture rather than landmark, which is the register warm-classic rooms tend to favour. A Medium above a console or a Large over a sideboard both work.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large or a 4-tile Mural usually scales right. Above a console table, a Medium or a horizontal Triptych reads better than a Large.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for any room with steam or splash. Both finishes are scratch-resistant and wipe clean; the Glossy finish is best kept to drier walls.

A microfibre cloth and plain water are enough for normal dust. For kitchen or bathroom installs in Dura Satin or Matte, the same cloth with a little mild soap is safe. Skip abrasive sponges and ammonia-based sprays.

Yes. Every WenderVista tile is painted in-house at the Knoxville studio and is not licensed from any third party. The image is exclusive to Wender Studios and is not sold through any other retailer.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.