Thomas Sully (architect)


Thomas Sully was a largely self-trained American architect based in New Orleans, Louisiana. He designed many large residences on Upper St. Charles Avenue, such as the Picard House, the Francis Johnson House, and public buildings in New Orleans and in other cities as well.

Biography

Sully was born in Mississippi City, Mississippi, to George Washington Sully and the former Harriet Jane Green. He studied architecture in the office of Larmour and Wheelock in Austin, Texas, and with the firm of H. R. Marshall and J. Morgan Slade in New York City. He opened his New Orleans office in 1881. He married the former Mary Eugenia Rocchi in 1884, and the couple had one daughter, Jeanne Sully West. In 1889-1893 he worked in a partnership with Albert Toledano as Sully & Toledano.
Among his designs were Memorial Hall of the Louisiana Historical Association, linked to the adjacent Howard Library, the Hennen Building, the original Whitney Building, Milliken Memorial Hospital, and the third St. Charles Hotel building, The Columns Hotel at 3811 St. Charles, the Grand Victorian Bed & Breakfast at 2727 St. Charles Ave. all in New Orleans; the Vicksburg Hotel in Vicksburg, Mississippi; the Shreveport Charity Hospital, and the Caffery Sugar Mill near Franklin in St. Mary Parish. He was a member of the Boston Club, the Elks, and the Southern Yacht Club.
He was a grand-nephew and namesake of the painter Thomas Sully. He is viewed as one of the most prominent Louisiana architects of the late nineteenth century.