It’s no small feat for a family-owned, artisan-led business to survive its first year. Reaching a decade is remarkable. But to find such a company still operating at the height of its craft eight decades on is extraordinary. That’s the story of Bevolo, a lantern business in the heart of New Orleans.
In the 1930s, Italian immigrant Andrew Bevolo Sr. worked as a member of the crew that built the first mass-produced helicopter. During World War II, he brought his technical skill to New Orleans, helping construct the landing craft that would carry Allied troops to Normandy on D-Day. Just ten days after the war ended, Bevolo Sr. went to work for himself, founding Bevolo Metal Crafts, a small shop that repaired, among other things, the city’s iconic gas lanterns. Those stunning yet timeless pieces gave life to a line of home light fixtures, including sconces, chandeliers, and lamps—all made in the French Quarter style—and eighty years of innovation that continues to outshine the rest.
