NEW ORLEANS – The National World War II Museum will debut its new Higgins Hotel and Conference Center at a private event on Friday, Dec. 6 at the new hotel (1000 Magazine Street). The ceremony will feature remarks from C. Paul Hilliard, chairman of the National WWII Museum’s board of trustees; Stephen J. Watson, museum president & CEO; and Brandon Berger, World War II Theatre, Inc. board chair.
Located in the Warehouse District, the new Art Deco hotel includes 230 rooms, four dining outlets — including a rooftop bar — and 18,000 square feet of meeting and event space. As an extension of the Museum, the Higgins Hotel and Conference Center is on the campus of one of the city’s top attractions and tells the story of World War II through the unique lens of design, decor, era-inspired menus and entertainment. Architectural firm Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & Associates gave the hotel its 1940s-themed details, drawing inspiration not only from the time period but also from Art Deco buildings found in New Orleans. Kay Lang + Associates led the interior design of the hotel, while working alongside museum curators to hand-select artifacts from the institution’s extensive collection to incorporate into the property’s aesthetic. Among these artifacts are General George S. Patton’s piano; the Higgins Boat Trophy, which was presented to General Arthur Trudeau for his service in the Amphibian Command; and a 1943 portrait of Andrew Jackson Higgins, for whom the Hotel is named.