Designed by Favrot and Livaudais, the nine-story brick building at the corner of Baronne and Union streets in the Central Business District opened its doors in 1927 as the polished headquarters for the city's public utility and streetcar operator. New Orleans Public Service Inc., colloquially known as NOPSI, ran the city's electric, gas systems, and public transit systems through the 1980s. NOPSI later became Entergy New Orleans and moved out of the building at 317 Baronne Street, though manhole covers throughout the city still bear the old acronym. The building was declared a historic landmark in 2011 by the Historic District Landmarks Commission.

Nearly 90 years later, developers aim to return the building to its Jazz Age splendor as the NOPSI New Orleans, a luxury development catering to young, sophisticated travelers. The hotel, scheduled to open in early 2017, will feature 217 guestrooms and suites, an on-site restaurant, a rooftop pool and bar, and 15,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space.

The lobby will showcase one of the original stone-top counters where NOPSI customers used to pay bills as well as restored terrazzo floors. A local company was enlisted to refashion light sconces damaged over the years. The ballroom will preserve a 24-foot-high crane and track once used to move electrical equipment as part of its industrial décor.

NOPSI New Orleans, a member of Historic Hotels of America since 2016, dates back to 1927.