Louisiana Tea Rooms

Tea Room, Second Floor, Kolb's Restaurant, New Orleans, Louisiana; postcard front; this tea room "Catering Particularly to the Ladies" is apparently a woman-safe dining space situated above a tavern in which alcohol was served before the passage of the Volstead Act; the potted plants and floral decor mark it as an upscale establishment, probably photographed before World War One.

New Tea Room, Second Floor, Kolb's German Tavern, New Orleans, Louisiana; postcard front; because the words "German" and "Tavern" in American restaurant terminology were signifiers for "beer," this photo of the "New" tea room was probably taken after Wrld War One (when Germany was our enemy) and the passage of the Volstead Act. The "New" decor is stark and simple in comparison to the original layout seen immediately above, gone are the ceiling fans, hanging lamps, drapery, hanging plants, vases filled with yellow asters, oriental rug, elaborate ironwork, and an entire central row of tables; only the empty plant-bowls and a few potted palms have survived the make-over.

Lob's Restaurant, New Orleans, Louisiana, postcard front; circa early 1930s, to judge by the parked cars. The Tea Room was located on the second floor. Other rooms in the building were the Grill (presumably for men only) and the Dining Room (for mixed-gender parties and families).