Longue Vue House and Gardens (New Orleans, La.)

Longue Vue House and Gardens in New Orleans, built between 1939 and 1942, was originally the home of Edith Rosenwald and Edgar Bloom Stern. Mrs. Stern was the daughter of Julius Rosenwald, a founder of Sears, Roebuck & Co.; Mr. Stern was the son of Maurice Stern, a New Orleans cotton broker. The Sterns followed their family tradition of leadership in business, civic and philanthropic affairs and were honored for their many contributions. They the only married couple to be separately awarded the Times-Picayune Loving Cup for individual endeavors--Edgar Stern in 1930 for his efforts to establish Dillard University and its affiliated teaching hospital, Flint-Goodridge, and Edith Stern in 1964 for helping to establish Newcomb College Nursery School and Metairie Park Country Day School. The Sterns supported the creation of the Isaac Delgado Museum of Art, later known as the New Orleans Museum of Art. In 1977, the States-Item newspaper named them the Philanthropists of the Twentieth Century, stating, "Every city should have its own Sterns." In 1968, Longue Vue Gardens were opened to the public. In 1980, Longue Vue House and Gardens, in its entirety, was opened as a historic house museum and gardens. In the twenty-first century and post-Katrina, Longue Vue House and Gardens is an internationally recognized historic site that serves as an educational and cultural resource for scholars and citizens. An eight-acre city estate, Longue Vue is considered one of the last great houses of the American Architectural Renaissance. It is accredited by the American Association of Museums, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and, in 2005, was designated a National Historic Landmark.