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You’ll drink to this! A hundred-year-old furniture factory on the edge of the French Quarter

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A New Orleans bar does not get its name from a drink.

And it’s not from a drink or somebody drinking at the bar.


WGNO Good Morning New Orleans features reporter Bill Wood tells the tale of the Dovetail.

The name comes from the way two pieces of wood can be put together to make a piece of furniture.

It looks like the tail of a dove.

A dove’s tail.

“It’s traditionally used in cabinetry, furniture making, like this building, ” says architect Ariana Rinderknecht.

Dovetail is the name of the bar in the lobby of the Schaeffer Hotel.

It’s right behind the Saenger Theatre, on the edge of the French Quarter.

Architect Ariana Rinderknecht and architect Walter Antin are the creators and owners of Dovetail.

They are married in real life.

And they are committed to the cause of transforming something old into something new.

Architect Walter Antin says, “My wife and I are interested in these historic buildings, they contribute so much to the character of the city and the construction details and materials from a hundred years ago.”

The building was once called Joy’s, a furniture factory and showroom.

The furniture that’s in the bar now was made from wood saved from the building, rescued from the wrecking ball.

A place that’s almost a hundred years old looks better than ever as it travels into its second century.

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