Plight of the Pythians

Standing at the corner of Loyola and Gravier streets, the building is now inconspicuous having been there for so long. But the structure once had its day when the skyline was less crowded. It would be singled out as a unique example of architecture, not only for its design but for its social history, and, oh yes, for what used to happen on its roof and the impact that would have on New Orleans culture.

Built in 1908, the building was originally known as the home of a men’s fraternal group, the Knights of Pythias. Such groups, very much influenced by the ancient Masons, were common in the early 20th century as havens for men to share benevolence and brotherhood, as well as social services not easily available on the open market.

What distinguished the D.C.-based Pythians was that there were two groups in keeping with the culture of the time, one for white men and the other for Black men. The office of the Supreme Chancellor, S.W. Green was located here. Green, who had been born into an enslaved family, grew up first as a grocer and then in the insurance business to become a prominent businessman and ultimately a millionaire. He was the driving force for constructing and financing the New Orleans building. 

 Said to have been built at a cost of $201,000, the nine-story building had an office, barbershop and bank facilities on the first floor. On the second floor was a theater.

Several years later a roof garden would be added. That space would become a popular location for musicians playing that hot new sound evolving on the streets below. In Chicago the music would be given the name of “jazz,” but the Pythian’s roof garden, and the surrounding neighborhood, were the music’s incubators. Sidney Bechet, A.J. Piron, Papa Celestin and, eventually, Louis Armstrong would perform on the roof of the Pythian. Their sounds echoed through the neighborhood made famous by South Rampart Street, but that was also part of the rowdy, lively area once referred to as “Black Storyville.” The neighborhood was the center for nightlife and entertainment among the city’s Black citizens whose options were otherwise limited.

One sub-group group called itself “the Tramps.” Its headquarters was near the Pythian building in the rear of a restaurant/bar on the 1100 block of Perdido Street. One evening in 1909 some of the Tramps went to the Pythian theater to see a musical comedy performed by a group called “The Smart Set.”  Included in the comedy was a song entitled “There Never Was and Never Will Be a King Like Me.” The skit was about a South African tribe known as the Zulus.

On Mardi Gras 1909, the group formerly known as the Tramps, which had started parading in 1901 premiered as Zulu. Its first king was William Story. According to the Zulu’s organization’s own history, the king wore a lard can as a crown and waved a banana stalk as a scepter.

There is no record of how many of Zulu’s founders were Pythians, but one could reasonably expect that there was a Pythian influence. (A later Zulu, Louis Armstrong, revealed in his autobiography that he had been a Pythian.) In that neighborhood the Pythian building cast an imposing presence.

Zulu’s mission was more than just to parade. Like the Pythians, the group would also assume the all-important social aid function. Its formal name combined pride, benevolence and fun: “The Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Society.”

Zulu, the krewe, would prosper and become a beloved New Orleans institution; the Pythian building would face tougher times, newer competition and more outside opportunities for its tenants. In 2018, with the well-intended efforts of a land trust, the building, to be known simply as “The Pythian,” was reopened with an urban market on the first floor and mixed-use rent-controlled apartments throughout the building. It was a heralded idea, but the building has faced tough times. Like other similar projects, the market has since closed and there is uncertainty about the future of the mixed use.

Still surviving is the masonry and terracotta elements of the construction. It is undeniably a handsome building. During WWII the building was leased as a headquarters by Higgins Industries which built the landing crafts that helped save Europe. That, and having been an incubator of jazz and the place that inspired the Zulu legacy, should count for something. Maybe the future will be more benevolent.