New Orleans is one of the few American cities that has managed to retain much of its historic architecture. The French Quarter has many buildings dating back 150 years or more, while the Garden District has splendid mansions designed in a variety of styles. Beautiful houses line Esplanade Avenue, historically the residential nucleus of the Creole elite, and the city also possesses a good stock of 19th-century public buildings built in Greek Revival style. It is not always easy to categorize buildings by style, for many of them are hybrids, like the Gallier House, which incorporated both Creole and American features.
Creole Cottage
Only a few buildings, such as the Old Ursuline Convent and Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop (see p78), remain from this period, which combines various French styles of the 18th century. Most were destroyed by a series of fires: one, in 1788, destroyed 856 wooden buildings; a second in 1794 destroyed 212 buildings.
Spanish Colonial
After the 1788 and 1794 fires, the Spanish decreed that any building of more than one story must be constructed of brick. The houses that were subsequently built can still be seen in the French Quarter.
They often combine residence and store, and feature arcaded walls, heavy doors and windows, and a flagstone alleyway leading to a loggia and fountain-graced courtyard
Federal Townhouse
Americans from the Atlantic states brought their own architectural preferences with them, and the successful among them erected Federalstyle homes that stand out from the French or Spanish cottages surrounding them in the Quarter.
Raised American Cottage
Most of these raised cottages feature extensive eaves and an alleyway leading to a rear garden or courtyard. The interior usually contains four rooms arranged symmetrically and separated by a center hall. The kitchen and servants' quarters are away from the house at the rear.
Shotgun House
These cottages were so called because a bullet fired from a shotgun through the front door would go straight through the house and out the back as all the doors were aligned. They come in single and double versions, and usually have a set of box steps in front.
The Creole Plantation House
The refugees from Saint Dominguez (Haiti) brought this Caribbean-style dwelling to New Orleans. This one-story residence is usually raised on brick pillars (to catch the breezes and to cope with flooding) and incorporates a wraparound veranda. The space below the house and the flagstone piazza below the veranda are used as service or storage areas.
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