This beautiful, almost 200 years old building possesses a rich history of powerful female entrepreneurs who loved their community. The Tigermen Den building has always been, since its genesis, a female owned and operated business.

 

Built by a father for his daughter, in the early days of the Bywater's formation in the 1830's. You could still see the river from Royal st. Where small fruit tree fields stretched between the scattered homes. Many immigrants moving to New Orleans found their way to the Bywater as the French Quarter filled. She ran the store and fed the neighborhood.

 

Later, Ms.Turner opened up a soul food restaurant in the 1950’s. She was the first black female business owner in the neighborhood. Even after a community member shot her husband dead, she stayed open for business to feed the neighborhood all the way until 1997 as ‘Ms Turner’s Bar + Restaurant.  She served $2.50 lunch plates to dock workers stationed just a few blocks away on the Mississippi River. 

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Since New Orleans was the last stop for many barges that came down the Mississippi in the 1800's, these sturdy boats would be disassembled at the docks that now border the famous Bywater Neighborhood.  Because of proximity and necessity, the wood planks would be repurposed to build homes all across the Bywater. The "barge" board proved to be the perfect wood for a town that would flood, as it could withstand the waters, and is what now gives the interior of the Tigermen Den it’s unique aesthetic.

 

In 2011, while still undergoing renovations, an all-female band ‘The Tigermen’ moved into the apartment upstairs and used the vacant downstairs rooms for rehearsal. The name of the building found itself between chords and melodies.  The band naturally started referring to their new home as ‘The Tigermen Den’ and the goal of becoming a community arts and events space was ignited by these impassioned sisters.

 

Today, with a foundering member of the band at the helm we  carry on the torch by having the same name and maintaining the goal of serving our musical and artistic community.  Our family is filled with a desire to host life-affirming gatherings that bring neighbors together and continue to preserve a time-honored space that invites it’s guests to listen to the walls and contribute to it’s ongoing story.