To appreciate the historic significance of Latrobe’s on Royal, one must pay homage to the man behind the building’s design. Benjamin Henry Latrobe arrived in the United States from England in 1795 and soon achieved fame as America’s first professional architect. He is often considered the “Father of American Architecture” presenting designs with neoclassical tastes spawned by his European architectural heritage. Latrobe is also credited with the introduction of the Gothic and Greek revival style to America, both of which would become widespread over the next half-century.

Among his many achievements, his Bank of Pennsylvania was at one time considered to be the most significant architectural landmark in the United States. He engineered the Philadelphia Waterworks System, built the Baltimore cathedral (not only the first Roman Catholic Cathedral in America but also the first vaulted church), and designed the porticos of the White House. In 1803, he was summoned to Washington by Thomas Jefferson to complete the U.S. Capitol Building, but much of his work was destroyed when the British burned Washington public buildings in September 1814. He received the contract to rebuild the burned capitol building in 1815 - which remains his most significant standing architectural contribution to the United States.

Latrobe’s on Royal was Benjamin Henry Latrobe’s final design. Yellow Fever, a widespread disease prevalent in New Orleans in the nineteenth century, took Latrobe on September 3, 1820, before he could witness his last design achievement come to life in 1822, as the Louisiana State Bank.