New Orleans is a city with a lot of history, from many different places, resulting in one unique culture. They like to refer to themselves as living on ‘the island of New Orleans’.
Their residential architecture and style reflect that diverse environment as well. There are a number of different residential architectural styles prevalent in the Crescent City. Perhaps the most common one is the duplex ‘shotgun’ house.
So named because if you had all the doors open in the house you could fire a shotgun straight through the house and out the back door without hitting anything. Note while they all started out the same, the owners have given their own unique style to each.
The bungalow is another style commonly found in New Orleans.
Most streets have a mix of architectural styles side by side.
While the term townhouse is used for this style, it is not what is commonly found in northern cities where they are a row of attached houses, rather they are the two story ‘boxy’ look that is detached from the neighbors.
There are even modern variations of the townhouse scattered throughout the city.
Some of the new construction seems out of place.
In this new construction the traditional courtyard was replaced with a pool.
With the damage from Hurricane Katrina, many sections of the city had numerous properties that the structures were no longer habitable, so the new construction is welcome.
There are a few cottage styles found as well – again with the owners unique take on style.
As noted previously courtyards are a very common use of the small space behind the home.
While not common, there are some examples of larger duplexes often found in American cities.
Another unusual structure for the city are more traditional rowhouses.
This unique home appears to have once been a firehouse.
Easily the most unique houses in New Orleans are found in the Holy Cross section of the lower 9th ward. They are known as the Steamboat Houses.
In the early 1900s a steamboat captain designed and constructed the first of the two homes, adding the second in 1913.
Built to resemble a steamboat, they even use steel stacks instead of chimneys.
New Orleans is a fantastic city for architecture fans, just make your way to any neighborhood and you will find examples of multiple styles.
RDZ Photography 