7 Things Louisianans Remember About Christmas at Maison Blanche
If you grew up in New Orleans, you may remember Santa flying into the airport each year and parading to Maison Blanche.
The store’s long gone, but with Christmas next month, those memories come right back.
Here’s what Louisianans remember about Christmas at Maison Blanche.
1. Mr. Bingle the Snowman
Emile Alline Sr., the display director at Maison Blanche, developed Mr. Bingle in 1947.
That year, Alline traveled to Chicago to look at holiday window displays.
When he got back, he decided the store needed a signature character.
Mascots at other retail chains, including Marshall Field’s Uncle Mistletoe and Montgomery Ward’s Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, were part of the inspiration, Gambit reported.
The snowman you may remember had holly leaves for wings, an upside-down ice cream cone for a hat and a candy cane wand.
As Santa’s helper, Mr. Bingle helped kick off the holiday season in Maison Blanche stores by promoting toys, books, children’s clothing and household goods.
By 1949, Maison Blanche was making plush Mr. Bingles to sell.
2. Window Displays
The Historic New Orleans Collection says Maison Blanche was famous for its window displays, particularly Christmas scenes that included Mr. Bingle.
During the holiday season, you could stop at a Maison Blanche window and watch a marionette show.
In the shows, Mr. Bingle often got into trouble, so Santa had to get him out of it.
A 1949 Times-Picayune article reported that two uniformed men had to move adults aside so children could see the Mr. Bingle show.
Mr. Bingle also appeared in a Canal Street window each afternoon, with kids and parents blocking the sidewalk to see him.
3. Giant Snowman on the Facade
At the Maison Blanche store on Canal Street, a giant Mr. Bingle was fastened to the front each holiday season.
Beginning in 1949, a 50-foot version of the snowman decorated that front.
Several replacements followed over the years.
The tradition lasted through the 1990s.
You may be one of the many people around town who remember seeing him there, local station FOX 8 reported in 2014.
Mr. Bingle’s Giant Versions
Sources differ on what the giant Mr. Bingle at Maison Blanche was made of.
The collection describes the 50-foot figure as papier-mâché.
A 2014 FOX 8 report calls the figure that later went to City Park a fiberglass float.
The Library of Congress describes a once two-story-tall fiberglass Mr. Bingle that hung in front of the former store.
4. Holiday Puppet Shows
At Maison Blanche, Oscar Isentrout, a puppeteer who had performed puppet shows on Bourbon Street, brought the snowman to life.
With help from Ray Frederick and Harry J. Ory, he created a puppet show that crowds flocked to.
The holiday shows ran at the Canal Street store and at other stores in the company.
Isentrout pulled the marionette’s strings and sang its songs, so the voice you heard was his.
He took Mr. Bingle to visit children all over the city who couldn’t make it to the store.
Mr. Bingle performed at Children’s Hospital.
After Isentrout died in 1985, the shows stopped.
Jeffrey Kent, an apprentice of Isentrout’s, got a Mr. Bingle puppet from the shop.
After Hurricane Katrina severely damaged the puppet, Kent restored it.
5. WDSU-TV Appearances
Maison Blanche’s Mr. Bingle appeared every December on New Orleans station WDSU-TV, to herald the arrival of Christmas.
Mr. Bingle even starred in daily TV shows for children.
Pete the Penguin and Dr. Walrus appeared with him to promote Maison Blanche products.
On air, he sang and danced, but mostly he pitched toys you could buy at Maison Blanche.
He had a theme song, too.
Psst! How much do you know about Maison Blanche? Take our quiz and see if you can ace it.
Quiz
Canal Street Christmas IQ
Answer these questions on New Orleans department-store Christmas history. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
What did City Park’s Mr. Bingle figure receive in 2013?
6. Santa's Airport Arrival
Maison Blanche's Mr. Bingle joined Santa for his yearly arrival at the New Orleans airport on an Eastern Airlines plane, the collection says.
The two then paraded to Maison Blanche stores, ending at the downtown store and its "Toyland" display.
7. Santa on the Third Floor
On the third floor of Maison Blanche, children sat on Santa's lap.
Santa and Mr. Bingle both appeared there, drawing additional crowds.
For decades, Santa shared the stage with Mr. Bingle at Maison Blanche.
Mr. Bingle told children that everything they could possibly want for Christmas could be found at Maison Blanche.
Mr. Bingle After the Store
Dillard's bought the Maison Blanche chain from Mercantile Stores Company in 1998.
The company's press release welcomed Mr. Bingle.
After a stint at Lakeside Mall, Dillard's donated the giant figure to the Friends of City Park.
City Park got the figure in 2005 and was able to display it right after Hurricane Katrina.
As of 2018, it had been part of the park's annual Celebration in the Oaks display ever since.
Some who knew Mr. Bingle as kids still appreciate him as adults.
As of 2017, a fiberglass Mr. Bingle appeared in the Krewe of Jingle's annual Christmas parade.
As of 2018, you could still buy Mr. Bingle dolls and merchandise at Dillard's.
A 2020 New Orleans Magazine story says Emile Alline's daughters have the original prototype doll.
Maison Blanche's Building Today
Maison Blanche's flagship building on Canal Street is now home to a Ritz-Carlton hotel.
Stone Brothers Architects designed the Beaux Arts building, which went up by 1909.
The renovated building reopened as a hotel in 2000.
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