Gem Coffee House 129 Royal Street
This building was built for Joseph McNeil in the early 1800s and operated the “Gem
Coffee House”. On January 4, 1857, a card was sent to 30 Gentlemen in New Orleans…
You are requested to meet a few of your friends at the “Club Room” over
the Gem, Royal Street, on Saturday the 10th, at 7 o’clock. On February 8, 1857, the
name Mystic Krewe of Comus was chosen to name the club. On June 8th, 1857,
at a Krewe of Comus meeting, the question of a Social Club was discussed, and the
Pickwick Club was born. The building is now used as an arcade.