Most Architecturally Interesting Homes

Table Of Content

• Life
• Explore the beautiful architecture and deep history of one of New Orleans’ oldest and most famous neighborhoods
• Early life and family history
• Bradish Johnson House (McGehee) - 2343 Prytania St.
• Exploring New Orleans Homes and Secret Gardens
• New Orleans houses 101: A guide to the city's historic architecture
• Make Your Night Memorable with Great Food and Nightlife

To avoid having to dig to build a basement, our forebears in the early 20th century invented the raised-basement house, a uniquely New Orleans house type consisting of a lower-ceilinged "basement" built at ground level with a higher-ceilinged living space above. The houses have three openings across the front, including a door that opens to a sidehall and stairway to the second floor. In some neighborhoods they are built on the front property line and have stoops, a small set of front steps; in others, they are set back far enough to have a garden and a porch across the front. Most of these one-story houses are built at the front property line, right up to the sidewalk, and have four openings across the front.

Life

Just one house down from the Morris-Israel house sits its fraternal twin, another pink, cast-iron lined, Italianate-style home complete with a carriage house. The Carroll-Crawford house is a bit grander in scale, spanning five bays wide and topped with a cornice featuring oversized dentils and a central tablet. The carriage house echoes some of the main house’s elements, including a smaller cornice and molding around the arched windows and doors. The exposed patches of brick and creeping vines give the already classic even more of an old-world feel.

Explore the beautiful architecture and deep history of one of New Orleans’ oldest and most famous neighborhoods

Owned and operated by the Impastato family since 1914 and Ralph Brennan since May of 2015, Napoleon House suspends you in time. Listen to Beethoven's Eroiqua, which he composed for Napoleon, and the music of other classical masters, while sipping a Pimm's Cup, and basking in an ambiance that could only be New Orleans. In August that year, amid regular outbreaks of yellow fever, cholera and other infectious diseases, the association moved residents of its “bayou asylum” — an orphanage on Bayou St. John — to the old Olivier property. A detail shot of the inside of the main entrance to the old Olivier plantation house, including its fan-shaped transom.

Early life and family history

3 children die following New Orleans East house fire; family members say father is responsible - WDSU New Orleans

3 children die following New Orleans East house fire; family members say father is responsible.

Posted: Wed, 18 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Emeril Lagasse and Paul Prudhomme are just a couple of the notorious chefs to occupy its kitchen, and the restaurant’s continued elevation of Creole cuisine and world-class atmosphere and service continue to make it a prime destination for both locals and travelers alike. After 20 years with the Johnson family, Walter Denegre and his family lived there for 37 years. Denegre was one of the top lawyers in New Orleans as well as a very prominent member of the city’s social scene—so much so that he was even selected as King of Carnival. However, multiple sources (including The Law Library of Louisiana) cite Denegre as one of the men behind the mass lynching of 11 Italian men in New Orleans in 1891.

Suspect who set house on fire, killing 3 kids has been arrested - WDSU New Orleans

Suspect who set house on fire, killing 3 kids has been arrested.

Posted: Thu, 19 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

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They were historically painted in the vivid colors of the Picturesque style (the architectural equivalent to American romanticism) which focused on emotion and spontaneity over reason and control. Credit for originating this pastoral pastiche belongs to Dr. Joseph Secondo Biamenti who first commissioned the design, as well as the ornamental ironworks manufacturer Wood, Miltenberger, & Co. This decadent manor (originally referred to as “the Jewel of America’s Grand Avenues”) stands out even among the gorgeous estates on one of NOLA’s most famous promenades – St. Charles Avenue. As the nickname suggests, this Victorian Gregorian mansion is a feast to the eyes, sporting three tiers of elegant embellishments and painted all white, resembling an enormous wedding cake with intricate piping.

Bradish Johnson House (McGehee) - 2343 Prytania St.

They made many major updates and renovations in their 22 years of ownership which were continued by Klaus-Peter Schrieber and his wife Dianne Anderson. Hermann-Grima + Gallier Historic Houses, managed by The Woman’s Exchange, preserves two 19th-century French Quarter homes and, through their architecture, collections, and history, inspires discourse about our collective past and its relevance to our present and future. Visitors, students, and researchers explore such diverse topics as the lives of the houses’ owners and enslaved people, free people of color, open-hearth cooking, mourning rituals, and the entrepreneurial pursuits of women. And Hedwig Penzel Forsyth who renovated the home extensively but sold off a large portion of the grounds. Both Mr. and Mrs. Forsyth passed away within seven years of owning the home, so the property was inherited by their daughter Rose, who lived there with her husband Frank Strachan. Rose was renowned for her gardening skill and knowledge, and she designed the current formal gardens on the grounds along with landscape architect Umberto Innocenti.

Exploring New Orleans Homes and Secret Gardens

The Morris-Israel House became a single-family home again in the 60s and Meryl and Sam Israel Jr. returned it to its former glory. For nearly a century, the home remained in the Hero family until investment banker Gus Reynoir and his wife Sissy purchased it in 1978. Today, the house belongs to writer-photographer couple Sara Ruffin and Paul Costello who moved from New York in 2010 with their family. Built in 1849, this “cottage” is a bit of an oddity among the palatial estates of the Garden District as one of only six known examples of Gothic Revival architecture in New Orleans.

McShane served as mayor of New Orleans for only one term, but his administration was praised for its commitment to rooting out corruption. It also organized an efficient garbage collection system, initiated the one-way street system still used today, re-equipped and reorganized the public works department, reordered the city's finances, and improved the condition of city streets. Commander’s Palace has been part of the New Orleans culinary scene since 1893, though it took on the form and iconic color that we know and love when the Brennan family—some of the city’s most famous restauranteurs—took over the business in the early 70s.

As with the Luling Mansion, the Pagoda House has its origins steeped in a bit of mystery, though its story is far less tragic and involves one of the city’s adopted writers – Lafcadio Hearn. Long lines of people were seen patiently waiting to buy big cups of iced tea, lemonade and coffee. Walking right into the middle of a massive, protest over the Gaza war and jawboning it with demonstrators. Fuel up before the show—or anytime—with our Southern-inspired menu, featuring the Smokehouse Platter, Brisket Nachos, Voodoo Shrimp, and so much more.

Thanksgiving was a “Yankee” holiday in the minds of Southerners, partially because its story originated in 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, marking it as a regional celebration. Inspired by the imposing Parisian architecture the Baroness favored, the distinctive rowhouses were intended to serve as both elegant residences and fine retail establishments. In 1921 the Pontalba family sold the Lower Pontalba Building to philanthropist William Ratcliff Irby who subsequently, in 1927, bequeathed it to the State Museum. This 1886 design by James Freret for Clement Penrose is one of few examples of Eastlake architecture in the Garden District. This particular style, in America, acted somewhat as a replacement for the flat-cut gingerbread elements common in the Queen Anne style, favoring three-dimensional geometric detailing made easily by machine. Part of this home’s Eastlake charm comes from the openwork circular motif noticeable in the circle details of the arches, the tops of the front doorway and windows, the porch balustrade details, and the fence.

These tours all start in Washington Square Park on the corner of Royal Street and Esplanade Avenue. There are entertainment and a kids area set up in Washington Square Park to enjoy while you wait for the next tour. The tour in spring takes you inside some of the Creole homes, while the tour in fall is longer, but usually, doesn't go into the homes. In 1891, the home was purchased by Andrew J. McShane for his widowed mother Rosa and sister Sarah. Andrew McShane’s legacy is colored by incredible work ethic, business acumen, and political work. F. Hall & Co., at age nine, became a salesman at 14, and at 21, he purchased the firm and began operating under his own name.

But because it is situated on a wider and deeper lot, it is set back a considerable distance from the sidewalk, making room for covered porches (or galleries) across the front at both the first and second floors. And if you run across a shotgun house that's one story tall in front but two stories tall in back, you've found a camelback. For in the background of every second-line, next to neighborhood restaurants and music clubs and framing our Carnival parades are collections of visually arresting houses you just won't find in such abundance or variety anywhere else. Looking at any of Ledner’s designs, it’s clear that this sort of challenge was right up his alley, and he executed it as only he could. He repurposed the windows and installed many upside-down alongside other arched windows on the front of the home and crafted stained-glass ceiling panels placed beneath curved balconies.

This tucked-away street rests on the opposite bank of Bayou St. John from City Park and hosts two iconic Ledner designs. He designed the Ashtray House for Adrian and Patricia Sunkel in 1962, and the couple’s smoking habits inspired the home’s namesake feature – an exterior (and interior) trim of amber ashtrays that act as both accents and provide ambient lighting. Ledner noted that when he met with the Sunkels to brainstorm about the home’s design, they were both using this exact type of tray to dab their cigarettes.

Visitors encounter the stories of the Baroness de Pontalba—the remarkable woman who oversaw construction of the building—and the people who lived here in the 1850s, including enslaved workers and Irish immigrant servants. Highlights include furniture and decorative objects made in New Orleans and a kitchen with a cast-iron range. The Monroe Adams House is something of a novelty among the strictly Greek Revival and Italianate-style homes in the surrounding neighborhood. These buildings are most defined by their simple, symmetrical box shape, are between two and three stories, and are two rooms deep. This house and others in the Garden District with similar architectural influences usually feature box columns, roof cresting, a cast-iron gallery rail, and a simple cornice with paired brackets.