The Academy of the Sacred Heart is a legacy of the Society of the Sacred Heart, an international teaching order founded in France in 1800. The nuns originally established a convent in the Vieux Carre. In the late 19th century, the French Quarter was in decline. Most importantly, the established French, Catholic families from the Quarter and Esplanade Ridge, whose daughters were the mainstay of the student body, were moving across town into what was the American sector. A new location was chosen by the nuns in 1847. The main building on St. Charles Avenue is Colonial Revival in style and was dedicated in 1900. The main building has undergone expansion over the years, but retains its beauty.