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(Photograph by Karen Kingsley) -
(Photograph by Karen Kingsley)
In the late nineteenth century, a large number of immigrants from Sicily settled in the Vieux Carré. Angelo Brocato opened a confectionery and ice cream parlor in this stuccoed brick building in 1907 and tiled its interior in the style of those in his hometown of Palermo. Re-creating the archways of traditional ice cream parlors, he then divided the space into two salons to separate the sexes; sawdust covered the floor. The walls are entirely covered with white glazed tiles, including, just below the ceiling, a charming low-relief border of pastel-colored garlands. The exterior of the first floor has been altered. Another early-twentieth-century tiled building is Casamento’s Restaurant (1919; 4330 Magazine Street), whose shiny white tiles include decorative bouquets.