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New Orleans Houses: A House-Watcher’s Guide
More than 100 sketches of common house types and styles, maps of the city showing the architectural development in each period, and a glossary of architectural terms.
- GenresNonfictionArchitecture
176 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 18, 2008
I subscribe to Dwell magazine, and I like Modernist architecture as much as the next guy. But the old homes in New Orleans are not like their companions in other cities. New Orleans does everything differently. So people come to eat here and they say "WOW, I have never had soup like THIS.." Or, "I've been to so many clubs in my life and I have NEVER heard music like THAT...." There is a playfulness and mischeivous quality to New Orleans Victorian homes, for example, that is just thriling and exicting, no matter what your architectural tastes. It is like the jazz music which New Orleans invented. Its been almost a century now and yet it keeps finding endless new fresh expressions here -- often by humble bands playing for nothing at tiny, rough venues. So if you've spent some time exploring Victorian homes you may be sick of them. You go to a place like Cape May, NJ and you think, "Yeah. these are all very pretty, but they are pretty conventional." You understand why the style seemed to run its course and wear out, bleeding into Arts and Crafts or Art Deco things after about 50 years.
New Orleans has followed some of these architectural trends too. Yet it has always given its own distinctive mark, with wild variety and exuberant detail that makes these stand out. Like the food or the jazz, New Orleans homes are just different.
Lloyd Vogt is a very able guide, who can wrestle out some common threats among the wild variety. He brings some order to the chaos. Written in 1985 Vogt traces the major movements with clearly written essays and lovely illustrations. A glossary in the back is extremely helpful as well.
In 175 large pages Vogt takes us through Colonial (1718-1803), Postcolonial (1803-1830), Antebellum (1830-62), Victorian (1862-1900), Early Twentieth Century (1900-40) and Modern (1940-) periods. With staggering attention to detail, given the incredible creativity New Orleans brought to each style, he walks us through French Colonial Plantation Homes, Creole Cottage, Creole Townhouse, Porte-Cochere Townhouse, Entresol House, American Cottage, Double-Gallery House, Shotguns (single, double and camelback), corner storehouses, Georgian, etc.
From these basic outlines, he next takes us to the evolving house styles: French Colonial, Creole, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italiante, Second Empire, Eastlaek, Bracket, Queen Anne, Richardsonian Romanesque, Georgian Colonial Revival, Neoclassical Revival, Tudor Revival, Bungalow Style, Spanish Colonial Revival, International Style, etc.!
With each style he give detailed sketches, struggling to come up with a sort of 'ideal' (often impossible with all the flamboyance and originality of New Orleans). Arrows identify individual features.
My personal favorite is Eastlake Vctorians, which were the most common style in New Orleans 1880-1905, especially in Uptown. We bought a 1902 shotgun double in the heart of Uptown in 2006. Like so many others here, it was originally built for a humble working class family and yet is full of playful and lovely details that cost extra time and money. There is a joy and a passion of expression that gives a window into the spirit of New Orleans. Vogt's book is the most helpful work I found for understanding and enjoying our place. I have bought several copies for my office, visitors to the city, friends, etc.
Good companion volumes are the New Orleans Architecture series (volume VIII, University Section, covers my immediate neighborhood).
New Orleans has followed some of these architectural trends too. Yet it has always given its own distinctive mark, with wild variety and exuberant detail that makes these stand out. Like the food or the jazz, New Orleans homes are just different.
Lloyd Vogt is a very able guide, who can wrestle out some common threats among the wild variety. He brings some order to the chaos. Written in 1985 Vogt traces the major movements with clearly written essays and lovely illustrations. A glossary in the back is extremely helpful as well.
In 175 large pages Vogt takes us through Colonial (1718-1803), Postcolonial (1803-1830), Antebellum (1830-62), Victorian (1862-1900), Early Twentieth Century (1900-40) and Modern (1940-) periods. With staggering attention to detail, given the incredible creativity New Orleans brought to each style, he walks us through French Colonial Plantation Homes, Creole Cottage, Creole Townhouse, Porte-Cochere Townhouse, Entresol House, American Cottage, Double-Gallery House, Shotguns (single, double and camelback), corner storehouses, Georgian, etc.
From these basic outlines, he next takes us to the evolving house styles: French Colonial, Creole, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italiante, Second Empire, Eastlaek, Bracket, Queen Anne, Richardsonian Romanesque, Georgian Colonial Revival, Neoclassical Revival, Tudor Revival, Bungalow Style, Spanish Colonial Revival, International Style, etc.!
With each style he give detailed sketches, struggling to come up with a sort of 'ideal' (often impossible with all the flamboyance and originality of New Orleans). Arrows identify individual features.
My personal favorite is Eastlake Vctorians, which were the most common style in New Orleans 1880-1905, especially in Uptown. We bought a 1902 shotgun double in the heart of Uptown in 2006. Like so many others here, it was originally built for a humble working class family and yet is full of playful and lovely details that cost extra time and money. There is a joy and a passion of expression that gives a window into the spirit of New Orleans. Vogt's book is the most helpful work I found for understanding and enjoying our place. I have bought several copies for my office, visitors to the city, friends, etc.
Good companion volumes are the New Orleans Architecture series (volume VIII, University Section, covers my immediate neighborhood).
October 21, 2007
Trying to re-familiarize myself with the basic shaping of New Orleans -- in this case, who built what when. Interesting fact: looks like almost all the areas that flooded severely in '05 were built in the 20th century, on low ground, and without sufficient (or sometimes any) understanding of or respect for the actual land. Before then, everyone had to live on the highest ground; the rest was swamp. The earliest buildings used the bottom floor as storage mostly, if they could, knowing it would flood. Anyway, the book was too technical to really hold my interest for long, although I liked having words like "cantilevered" and "louvered" in my head. And how can you not like a book dedicated to the front porch?
October 2, 2012
Excellent architectural reference book. Well organized; includes vignettes, sketch elevations, and maps of New Orleans showing the development of the different architectural styles/periods. Great technical descriptions highlight the popular elements found in each style. I only wish he had written a few more of these for other historic cities!
July 30, 2021
A favourite book of mine. Visiting NOLA this Fall and always enjoy the architectural aspects /art of the city. InReread this book every so often.
The book includes a bit of history and beautiful drawings of the different homes in the city. The book follows a chronological order.
Highly recommend this book.
The book includes a bit of history and beautiful drawings of the different homes in the city. The book follows a chronological order.
Highly recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews