Sol and Chris Owens dancing at the Tropicana nightclub in Havana (Photo courtesy Chris Owens)
Chris Owens performs in the Economy Hall Tent during the Jazz & Heritage Festival on Sunday, April 30, 2017. (Photo by Michael DeMocker, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
An glass-topped table with an alluring bronze woman base is one of the objects from the estate of the late Bourbon Street entertainer Chris Owens that will be sold this summer.
A white fur stole is one of the objects from the estate of the late Bourbon Street entertainer Chris Owens that will be sold this summer.
Furs, both real and faux, are among the objects from the estate of the late Bourbon Street entertainer Chris Owens that will be sold this summer.
Sol and Chris Owens dancing at the Tropicana nightclub in Havana (Photo courtesy Chris Owens)
A white fur stole is one of the objects from the estate of the late Bourbon Street entertainer Chris Owens that will be sold this summer.
Chris Owens, Bourbon Street’s beloved, time-defying entertainer, died in April at age 89. This summer, fans of the flamboyant Latin-style dancer can acquire mementos of the bygone icon at a local auction and estate sale.
On June 24-25, Neal Auction Co. will offer a selection of Owens' jewelry, including diamond-studded watches and a belt made from 18 $20 gold coins. According to Neal’s decorative arts expert Polly Rolman-Smith, the belt is currently especially precious, considering the high price of gold. It is expected to fetch between $15,000 and $25,000.
In August, Neal will have an online auction of a few examples of Owens’ custom-made Easter bonnets, plus some furniture, photos and paintings from her apartment located behind her Bourbon Street nightclub. This auction, which will have no minimum bids, may be of particular interest to nostalgic keepsake seekers.
Neal has not yet officially listed the Owens mementos, so stay tuned to the auction house website for details.
Chris Owens performs in the Economy Hall Tent during the Jazz & Heritage Festival on Sunday, April 30, 2017. (Photo by Michael DeMocker, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Meanwhile, The Occasional Wife consignment company will sell a selection of Owens’ household possessions, including fox stoles, Versace Champagne flutes, a decorative caviar container, purses and an alluring coffee table in which the glass tabletop is supported by a reclining bronze woman. Best of all, according to The Occasional Wife spokeswoman Veronica Cross, is a space-age, 1950s hair dryer, which will surely become an objet d’art in some fashionable New Orleans household.
Cross said the Chris Owens sale will not take place at one of the company’s usual outlets, but instead will be held at a special location to be announced soon. If all goes as planned, the first phase of the auction will take place later in June, with a second sale, featuring Owens’ bed, at an undetermined time. Consult The Occasional Wife website for coming details.
Born Christine Shaw, Owens grew up on a cattle ranch in west Texas before heading off to New Orleans, where she met Sol Owens, a larger-than-life New Orleans automobile mogul who would become her husband. In 1956, at the height of the Latin dance craze that swept the country, Chris became the headliner of the couple's then-new French Quarter dance joint at the corner of Bourbon and St. Louis streets. For the next 65 years, Owens entertained, becoming an icon of the entertainment strip. In 1987 she became the namesake of the annual Easter parade in the French Quarter.
Furs, both real and faux, are among the objects from the estate of the late Bourbon Street entertainer Chris Owens that will be sold this summer.
Owens long owned the building at 500 Bourbon St. in the very heart of the Vieux Carre. The balconied, three-story structure, which included Owens' nightclub, other street-level businesses, plus several apartments, has been the focus of conjecture since Owens' death. According to the Orleans Parish Assessor’s office website, the building is valued at $2 million.
When asked about the future of the property, Owens’ niece, Sherry Costello, said the nightclub is closed, but the building “is not on the market yet.”
“It’s all under discussion,” Costello said.
An glass-topped table with an alluring bronze woman base is one of the objects from the estate of the late Bourbon Street entertainer Chris Owens that will be sold this summer.
Email Doug MacCash at dmaccash@theadvocate.com. Follow him on Instagram at dougmaccash, on Twitter at Doug MacCash and on Facebook at Douglas James MacCash.
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