The original Touro was built in the 1850s in the Bywater with an $80,000 bequest left to the city by philanthropist Judah Touro. During the Civil War, the Union Army occupied the building, and a fire broke out destroying the towering structure. In 1895, Mayor Shakespeare sought to relocate and rebuild the Touro House Uptown on Danneel St. Shakespeare's name was added to the almshouse, and it operated for about 30 years. The Algiers location of the Touro-Shakespeare Home opened in 1934, with a capacity of 200 residents. Managed by the Department of Public Welfare, it remained in operation as a nursing home until Hurricane Katrina in 2005.