How the City Speaks Through Architecture

New Orleans is not only home to the St Louis Cathedral, Bourbon Street, and the Mardi Gras festivities, but it is also home to a lot of really neat architectural styles. These houses don't just look cool though - they are a piece of New Orleans' history.

There are many different styles of houses in New Orleans including Townhouses, Cottages, and Double-Gallery Houses, among others.

Creole Townhouse

The oldest style house in New Orleans is the Creole Townhouse. They can be found in the French Quarter and the surrounding areas. They began building houses with this design in the late 1700s, after the great fires on 1788 and 1794. The Spanish influence is evident when looking at the beauty of these houses! These houses are not just homes though, they were built to also be useful. The main floor is usually a shop of some kind and the second floor is the home.

Creole Cottage

Not long after the Creole Townhouses, they began building Creole Cottages. They are also found in the French Quarter and the surrounding areas. They are of a Caribbean and French Canadian design. These houses typically have only one story, steep roofs, and a large front porch. What makes a cottage or townhouse "Creole," you might ask? Characteristics such as brick or mud mixture walls, large roofs, and, on some, spacious porches. Some are set back from the street and the yard was used as a garden or for animals. Most were built off the ground because of all the moisture in the ground.

American Townhouse

There are American Townhouses that also came about in the early 18002. These are found in the Central Business District and the Lower Garden District. These are built similar to the Creole Townhouses. Then there are also Raised Center-Hall Cottages which came about in the early 1800s. These can be found in the Garden District, Uptown, and Carrollton, among others. They are made similar to the Creole Cottages.

Raised Center Hall Cottage

Shotgun House

Double Gallery House

Lastly, we have two unique styles called the Double-Gallery House (to the left) and the Shotgun House (shown above). The Double-Gallery House can be found in the Garden District, Uptown, and in Esplanade Ridge. They are two-story houses with covered front porches, columns in front, and a door off the the side. These are similar to a townhouse, but are typically set back off the street a little more. Then there are Shotgun houses, named this because you could stand on the front porch, shoot a shotgun through the front window, and it would go through every room in the house! They are long and narrow, single-story, with a wood exterior, unlike the Creole houses.

Some of these houses have been through a lot. They have been through a fires, hurricanes, and even wars, yet they are still standing. They are seen as a piece of history, not an inconvenience that needs updated. They each tell a story and play a unique part in the history of New Orleans. There are also buildings such as The St Louis Cathedral and The Cabildo that have been built, dedicated, burned, rebuilt, and are now not only a piece of New Orleans' history but are also part of this country's history.

The architecture of New Orleans tells a story like none other. It tells the story of how their ownership was passed around until they had been owned by the French, the Spanish, and the Americans. They have not just knocked down their buildings though and rebuilt according to the norm of their new owners! They keep their heritage and leave their buildings standing, attesting to the fact that they have been through a lot and are still standing!

Sign Found at the Cabildo on Architecture

After the Spanish took over, they created buildings out of brick and stucco instead of wood in order to avoid having the entire city burn down should another great fire occur. They Spanish had different architectural styles, leading to a variety of buildings standing in New Orleans!

New Orleans is not only a melting pot of cultures, languages, and religions, but also of architectural styles.

Page created by Emma Brandt
**Updates in new font**