Bendel Housekeeper's Home

Bendel Housekeeper's Home. 318 Clinton Street. , Architectural Style: Victorian Shingle/Eastlake, This house was built by Henri Bendel (1868-1936) for his beloved, long- time housekeeper. Henri was well known for his generosity to employees, family and friends. In addition to this house, he also built a house for his sister, now called La Maison Française and located on UL Lafayette campus at 1511 Johnston Street. Henri was born in Vermilionville, to William Louis Bendel and Mary Plonsky Bendel. Henri's father died in 1874 when Henri was six years old. His mother was an astute businesswoman who owned and operated a retail furniture outlet, a drug store, a dry goods store, and an undertaking parlor. She remarried in 1878 to Benjamin Falk, who would become one of the most successful Lafayette businessmen of his time. They operated a dry goods store, above which was Falk's Opera House. In 1894, Henri Bendel married Blanche Lehman, a daughter of Aaron Lehman and a member of the Henry Lehman family. Henri had exceptional fashion designing skills, and by 1895 he opened a ladies accessories shop in Greenwich Village. The French-speaking Bendel enhanced his store's exclusivity by importing fashions from Paris, and in 1907, he began branding the brown and white striped boxes that are still identified with the Henri Bendel company today.