Coordinates
811 Canal St.
Entrance of Hyatt Centric French Quarter.
Literary Anchor
A Confederacy
of Dunces.
Ignatius J. Reilly Statue
811 Canal St • Under the Clock
The Opening Scene
The location and pose mimic the opening of John Kennedy Toole's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Ignatius waits for his mother under the D.H. Holmes clock (now the Hyatt Centric), famously "studying the crowd for signs of bad taste in dress."
Iconography: Depicted in his signature hunting cap, flannel shirt, and baggy pants, clutching a shopping bag.
Bronze Eccentric
Sculpted by Bill Ludwig and unveiled in 1996. The statue was modeled after New Orleans actor John "Spud" McConnell, who frequently portrayed the character on stage.
Pulitzer Prize Legacy
Visitor Protocol
Access Level
Free / 24 Hours. Located in a public alcove on the sidewalk.
Preservation
Statue is moved indoors during Mardi Gras to prevent damage.
Legacy: John Kennedy Toole
"I am at the moment writing a lengthy indictment against our century."
History & Background
Ignatius J. Reilly is the magnificent, infuriating, erudite, and profoundly slothful protagonist of A Confederacy of Dunces, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by John Kennedy Toole. Published posthumously in 1980 — eleven years after Toole's suicide at age 31, and only after his mother Thelma Toole spent years persuading Louisiana State University Press to publish it — the novel became one of the most beloved works of American fiction. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1981.
Ignatius is a 30-year-old man living with his widowed mother in New Orleans, possessed of a medieval worldview, a chronic gastric disorder, and a sublime contempt for the modern world. His misadventures through the streets of New Orleans — working as a hot dog vendor on Canal Street, plotting revolution, and writing his philosophical treatise in Big Chief notebooks — are hilarious, tragic, and deeply rooted in the specific geography and social texture of mid-20th century New Orleans. The novel is inseparable from its setting.
The bronze statue on the corner of Canal Street and Bourbon Street — at the location of the former D.H. Holmes department store where the novel famously opens — was unveiled in 1996. It depicts Ignatius in his hunting cap, tweed jacket, and muffler, surveying the passing world with his characteristic combination of disdain and paranoia. It has become one of the most photographed statues in New Orleans and a pilgrimage site for readers of the novel from around the world.
Nearby Attractions
Canal Street & the French Quarter
Canal Street is the widest street in New Orleans and the traditional dividing line between the American sector and the French Creole Quarter. The French Quarter extends from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue and from the Mississippi River to Rampart Street. Walking its streets — particularly in the morning before the crowds — is an essential New Orleans experience.
The Latter Memorial Library
At 5120 St. Charles Avenue, this magnificent 1907 Italianate mansion was converted into a public library and houses a substantial collection of New Orleans literary history, including materials related to John Kennedy Toole and the history of A Confederacy of Dunces. The library is housed in a National Register property and is open to the public.
Café Du Monde
At 800 Decatur Street in the French Market, Café Du Monde has served café au lait and beignets 24 hours a day since 1862 — with breaks only for hurricanes. The outdoor seating faces Jackson Square and the Mississippi River. A visit here is one of the essential New Orleans experiences and a fitting tribute to the city that produced both Ignatius Reilly and the culture he so magnificently loathed.