Even in a city filled with lore and legend, the Pontchartrain Hotel still stands tall.

Rising high in the sky at its Garden District–adjacent address of 2031 St. Charles Avenue, the hotel has hosted—especially during its salad days from the 1940s to 1980s—an impressive, extensive list of luminaries, including Frank Sinatra, the Doors, and multiple U.S. presidents. In 1940, Tennessee Williams took up residence in the hotel to write “A Streetcar Named Desire.”