On Jackson Square downriver from St. Louis Cathedral is the Cabildo’s twin, commenced in 1797 to serve as quarters for the cathedral’s platoon of priests. Initially bankrolled by the Spanish beneficent Don Andres Almonester y Roxas, the construction outlived him and his pocketbook, and it was not completed until 1813. By that time, the Stars and Stripes flew over New Orleans.

Originally called the Casa Curial, the Presbytere, got its present name from its location on the former site of a residence, or presbyter, of Capuchin monks whose light brown robes inspired the name of the coffee drink cappuccino. When Almonester’s endowment was spent, the wardens of the cathedral took responsibility for the project’s completion.

It is nearly mirror image of the Cabildo: both share graceful ground-level arches, a motif repeated on their second floors by expansive, high-arched windows, and again by dormer-style windows on their mansard-like third-floor roofs.