Oh Baroness, where art thou?

I finally admitted that we have outgrown our office. After months of searching for new digs, I thought of Baroness de Pontalba, perhaps New Orleans’ earliest woman entrepreneur. Born in 1798, she inherited a vast fortune at age 2 ½. Burdened with a failed marriage and salacious father-in-law who shot her four times, the Baroness was undaunted.

A competent businesswoman and real estate developer, the Baroness developed the iconic Pontalba Buildings in the French Quarter, reputedly the oldest continuously rented apartments in the U.S. While I continue my search for a new office, Mme. Pontalba is my inspiration.

– Betsie Gambel, Gambel Communications