V
V O L .
T D S R
1 9 9 3
N O .
1 7
-
3 2
C U LT U R A L I D E N T I F I C AT I O N S I N A R C H I T E CT U R E :
TH E CAS E O F TH E N EW O R LEA N S TOWN H O U S E
J
A
Y
E
D
D
W
A
R
D
S
Little scholarly attention has been devoted to the question of the i dentification of architecrural traditions with specific ethnic or social groups or historic cultures. Such designations
often do nor accurately reflect cultural reality, so other processes (nust be at work.
Socio-
cultural identifications are of particular interest in ethnically cotnplex comnluniries ,,,here
cuLtural diffusion and acculturation have played a 1l1ajor role in the lnakeup of the architectural
landscape. In this article I trace the history of the "Spanish" patio townhouse of New Orleans
in relation to its socially defined cultural ilnage.
What do we really mean when we describe a building as
Spanish or Italian or Georgian ) Do we mean that the people
who built it derive from a particular homeland, or that the
building has stylistic attributes which derive from that cul­
ture) Or are more subtle and complex social processes at work)
In ethnically complex communities the use of cui tutal labels is
one of the most popular methods for classification of buildings
and architectural styles. In Louisiana, for example, buildings
are referred to as "Caju n style," referring to the rural architec­
ture of the descendants of the i mmigrants from Nova Scotia;
or "Creole style," referring
to
forms derived from French and
Spanish colonial culture; or "Anglo style," referring
to
forms
derived from the eastern United States and the upland South.
Each of these identifications carries important associations, either
positive or negative depending on one's perspective and social
allegiances or on the context in which they are employed.
J A Y D . E DWARDS
is an AHociate Professor of Antbropology ,It
Louisiana State Uni'versity, Baton Rouge.
In everyday popular speech, ethnic identification is used to
separate the architectonic landscape into in-groups and out-
18
•
T D S R
5.1
groups. In rural areas che "shotgun" house is associated with
I t is popularly believed by boch laymen and archiceees chac
the Afro-American culture, while the "dog-crot" house carries
the Spanish exerted considerable influence during thac period ,
connotations of the upland South "Bible belt. " Many identi­
nor simply chrough the introduction of barrel roofing tiles,
fications carry historical connotations.
The cerm "Greek
paving ciles, and wrought-iron balustrade work, bm also more
Revival" evokes those few decades - 1830-1850 - when
profoundly in che i ntroduction of new architeccural cypes and
Anglo-American affluence and influence reached their pin­
landscape forms.'
nacle in antebellum plantation Louisiana. It also i nvokes a
unique set of social values adopted by those who selected chat
Despite chis assumed influence, actual Spanish archiceeeural
style. Every style in some way represents both a rejection of
influence in che Gulf Coasc Somh and Mississippi Valley has
previously popular archicectonic and social values and a
not been dealt with ac a sacisfactory level of specificity by
positive prospeeeive stacement which announces ethnic and
architectural historians 2 One reason may be an overreliance
class affiliacions, or ac lease aspirations. Ethnic identifications
on antiquated and overly narrow paradigms " Based on what
may also symbolize cultural revivals. After a hiatus of more
has been published, che dominant interpretation of the colo­
than half a century a whole new generacion of Caju n-scyle
nial archicecture ofNew Orleans has remained heavily weighced
suburban houses and "Cajun banks" is rising in the prairie
towards the visual and the scyliscic; but a theory of archicec­
towns of southern Louisiana, che resulc of che newly enhanced
cure derived from academic art history, or any such specialized
fie ld, may blind the student to other useful perspectives, par­
pride associaced w i ch Cajun idemity.
cicularly chose based on formal and construeeional evidence.
While these principles are generally well understood, the
manner in which ethnic associacions and labels are acquired
I n the study of vernacular architeccural history ic is particu­
by archiceeeural forms is ofcen less well appreciated.
The
larly important that the broadest possible range of evidence be
process through which certain types come to be idemified
assembled and evaluated. Architectural cradi cions cransmic­
with specific cultural groups may be complex and covert. It
ted through folk-based methods of communication do not
may, for example, have more to do wich the charaeeer of che
behave historically in the same way as high-style architectural
marketplace during che introduction of a particular type than
traditions. Oral transmission places severe limitations on the
with architectural provenience. Moreover, once cultural as­
design freedoms available to the vernacular designer/builder.
sociations have been acquired, new social processes may take
Though the rules of a vernacular tradicion may at first appear
over, further complicating the pieeure. A romantic image,
complex - one is immediately reminded of Glass ie's genera­
reflecting the supposed glories of the culture of the past, may
tive-transformational grammars and of che shape grammars of
become a preeminem force, actively shaping later generations
George Stiny andJames Gips4 - vernacular tradicions behave
of renovated or derived buildings and defeating any attempt
as if they are more severely conscrained chan che cradicions of
by purists to return them toward cold historical authemicity.
academic architecture. The essential point is that tradicions
Such a movement may stimulate disagreemems between
of American vernacular archicecture, and low-level polite
proponents of the academic and the popular perspectives. Nor
tradi tions which function like them, are formulated princi­
are professionals immune from fence-jumping. Even archi­
pally from the perspective of shared geomerric regularities
ceees and architeeeural historians may buy i nto a popular
rather from that of styliscic actribuces .' Such traditions are
image, helping to perpetuate ami-historical values.
implicitly recognized and understood by their designers, and
are identified by their users primarily in cerms of consistent
The architecture of the American South is not without ics
romantic legends.
Some are well known, such as the aura
which surrounds Greek Revival, antebellum plantation life .
Others are less w e l l appreciated.
geometric forms and spaces and che conventional relacionships
which obrain between che m . Other aspeees of a vernacular
trad i tion remain variable and even expendable.
Because of i t s complex
culture history, Louisiana provides an excellem cescing ground
A geometrically based interpretation of tradicional architec­
for the investigation of the ethnic and cultural associations of
cure provides i nsights not available from other perspeeeives.
long-standing architectural forms. For example, the Spanish
One benefit is a more reliable basis for the evaluation of
governed che area that is now Louisiana becween 1765 (effec­
culcural relationships under conditions of long-discance ar­
tive control 1769) and 1803, when most of it was returned to
chiceeeural d i ffusion (colonial settlement). Only a m inority of
France and immediately sold to the United States. Thirty-four
colonial-period American vernacular buildings were d i rect
years is sufficiem time for architectural i nfluence to have been
copies of prototypes in the Old World. This is doubly true for
i mroduced , particularly in l ighc of the considerable amoum
Creole architecture, which was quice unlike contemporary
of rebuilding which was required under che Spanish regime.
E uropean domestic archicecture both funeeionally and geo-
EDWARDS:
NEW ORLEANSTOWNHOUSE
· 19
metrically. While a basic geometric and stylistic essence may
have survived the Atlantic passage, American vernacular
traditions underwent a process of simplification, experimen­
tation, and later elaboration along new l i nes, which involved
principles different from those of their Old World progeni­
rors. The redefined structures continued ro appear European,
however, because they were dressed up in E uropean pattern­
book decor. Nevertheless, ro refer ro an American tradition
with a foreign name (e.g. , Queen Anne Revival) has the effect
of denying what is uniquely American about i t � and tbat
may be very close to its central defining attribute. Dell Upton,
for example, in referring to the "Georgian" vernacular houses
of Virginia, states that "While . . . [pattern-book] i nfluences
are undeniable . . . the use of international models in Virginia
was closely controlled by local intention. ""
It is for these reasons that we use samples of dated floor plans
of historic buildings as the principal line of evidence for
identification of historic types and, thereby, for evaluating
the degree of cultural similarity between widely separated
architectural traditions. The internal geometry of the house
is sufficientl y detailed , complex and covert that the probabi l­
ity of groups of buildings with simi lar plans and similar
philosophies of layout being constructed by accident alone i n
widely separated locations i s low. People who grow u p sharing
strong social ties also share highly specific preferences about
the geometries of their vernacular houses. The relevant geo­
metric principles may be discovered and employed as evidence
of CLlltural sharing, and thereby of cultural origins. Should
FIGURE I. View of the porce-cochere 0/(I tyll/cer! Frellch Q!lclJler pellir; bOI/Je.
buildings of identical geometries be discovered in remote
(PhOtOg/"{/!lh by 1< ichard Koch. Ca. 1936. collrlelY of SOllthealtem A rchitec/lm:ti
locations, for example, a presumption of cultural diffusion
A rchive. TII/ellle UJliverJily. )
should be investigated and hopefully supported by other
evidence.
On the other hand, from a formal comparative
perspective, gtoups of buildings which share stylistic features,
residences may be small and intimate, or large and designed
but which do not share underlying geometric principles, do
for luxurious living in the heart of the city .
not deserve to be classified together.
accommodate private famil ies only, or they may be employed
They may
as sem i-public space � for example, as garden dining areas for
With these precautions in m i nd , we now turn our attention
hungry passers-by (FIG. 2).
ro an examination of the New Orleans patio townhouse. This
historic tradi tion is one of several which have flavored m uch
To understand the place of the patio house in the history of
of the popularly accepted image of Spanish infl uence in the
New Orleans we must briefly return to the colonial period.
architectural history of the Gulf Coast.
Before 176 5 , and i ndeed before 1794, there was no such thing
as a patio or courtyard house in Louisiana. French colonial
urban architecture developed as free-standing structures which
THE PORTE-COCHERE HOUSE AND ITS PATIO
generally faced outward from the front portion of the properties
of the French Quarter (FIG. 3). Most houses stood back from
Perhaps the most romantic aspect of the architecture of the
the front edge of the property ten to fifteen French feet. The
Vie/IX Carre in New Orleans is the patio. The buildings of the
interior spaces of each block were filled with ornamental
old E u ropean center line the sidewalks, providing only
parterre gardens and with orchards and arbors. Also placed
occasional glimpses of the lovely spaces set at the rear of these
behind the principal houses were individual service buildings:
well-defended houses (FIG. I ) . The rear courtyards of these
kitchens, privies, 1/lclgclsins (storehouses), stables, and slave
20
•
FIGURE
T D S R 5.1
2. (RIGHT) ;\
glimpJe Of Ihe palio of 92 0
l?.oyct! St . . ]\,Tew Odemlx. f\.,Tole ll 'illdel' Sldi,. to the
the photograph is beillg takell) /rom the " J/ave qllar­
right lchich sej}ClrclteJ the corps de logis (frolll which
ter" ii,hid, flallkJ the Jide of the palio.
(Photo by
allthor. 1992. )
FIGURE 3 . (BELOW) lIladellll}o;'Il'J Legmy.
626-6]2 DIIII/aim St. . the oldeJ/-kIlOii'll / ree-Jtalld­
illg rai.red hOIlJe ill t-lew OrieallJ. COJlJlrllrted 1788.
Allhollgh thiJ hOl/se l{'ClJ (oJlJ/nlcted illl1Jledicltely
resemble Jhe precoJlj/clg rdtioll hOl/ses
fo//oluillg the fint gre(lt fire. it iJ believed 10 dOJe!y
(Photo by (1IIIhor. 1992. )
0/ New Or/erllls.
quarters. Plans of the c i ty taken from surveys by the engineers
Adrien de Pauger (2nd Engineer of the colony, 1720-26), ie
Blond de la Tour (Chief Engineer u nder B ienville, 1720-23) ,
and their successors document the evolution of the urban
pattern between about 1728 and the 1760S 7 Note the extreme
emphasis placed on formal gardens in what is now the French
Quarter in the early decades of the French regime (FIG. 4).
A near photographic-quality i n k sketch of the riverfron t of
the city i n 1765 by the British military engineer Philip Pittman
recalls the appearance of the city at the time of the transfer of
New Orleans to Spanish sovereignty (FIG. 5). It shows many
free-standing French Creole-style structures and nothing of
the appearance of the patio house which was to follow.
Unfortunately, the c i ty was not permitted to continue with its
French - G//iffe1l1ot, Bartolollle Letfon, Hilaire BO//tte, CharleJ
i nherent plan of urbanization through the period of Spanish
Tntcleal', Clallde G//r/ie,joJeph G//iffot and ot/len, thollgh some
S
0/ them, like Gltilfelllot, had fong been in the servi,� 0/ Sp(tin
sovereignty. On Good Friday, March 21 , 1788, and again on
December 8 , 1794, two h uge fires consumed the majority of
what is now the French Quarter (FIG. 6). High winds defeated
A mctjor Spanish wntrib//tion WetJ the JjJlendid 'Wrollght iroll
the crude fire-fig hting methods then available. Most of the
'Work 0/ Nletneflino Herncmdez, et Callcny l.rlcmder, 'Whose
structures between Bienville and Dumaine Streets (center of
. . . Cilld ofthe l'eb//ift Orlie-Pontethl" home, 1l0W Le Peri r Thearre
the city) were destroyed. Of course, they were soon replaced
by new structures, but many of the postconflagration houses
exceflent cra/tJlll(IllJhip is to be Jeen ill the halcollies a/ the C"bildo
elu Vieux Carre 9
(FIG.
7)
bore l ittle resemblance to their predecessors. Tulane-trained
architectural h istorian Sam Wilson writes :
Supposing that the fires had not destroyed most of the Viettx
After the fire 0/ I794 lalUs were passed to prohibit the me a/ shingle
Carre, what would New Orleans have looked l i ke in the year
roofs or wood const-metion /tIlless protected hy Cit least (l one-inch
model is provided by the larger contemporary cities in the
18001
We can never know for certain, but a pretty good
thicknm O/ plcHter. Roo/s o/ tileJ were reqJliree!cmd lllcmy roo/J were
French colony of Saint Domingue. Fortunately, some excel­
bltilt (dllloJtftat. aJ terraceJ (me! the "rchitectllre 0/ the "ehllilt city
bega12 to take 012 a JOIl/ewhat 1II0re Spcmi.rh "jJjJeC!1'c1111'e. The
lent scenes and plans of these most French Creole of all cities
prior to the Haitian Revolution (1791-1803) survive (FIG. 8).
architects (md h//ilden for the new bllildingr, however, were (zll
Cap Fran�ois Cie Cap," later Cap Haitien) had much the
EDWARDS: NEW ORLEANS TOWNHOUSE • 2 1
J
a/;lfndClJlCe of parterre
FIGURE 4. (LEFT) Oetai/ of I732 plall of New
leam by GOJlidJOll showing the
c)' o
'Cr::) J..J
J
_D.LJ
}o
J'
J
-
=
.J
0
�
.J
..J ...J J
c:..
-- .�
\: .
j
J •.
.
"
j
.. .
J
--.l
"J
'.
---1
..J
......J
J
J
.;
...I ....
JF!J
. -
' -J
� . ::'j ;::->
�-'''' g
.J
'0 ...J
J
,...J J
l .'�
1
� JJ 'j...J
d=='=='�
J
-1
gemlem
-'
j j: �"l'1J
JJ--.l ..:.--.J
o-'-�I""''3i
----l
L
.J
"
L J.
!2..
tJ
w.
Chartres
c.::::J
,. I " I
] ....Jc:::J
. /,
JJ
jJ-
bebilld e!lld beside the hOllSes. Maj} sholl'S the
51.
400. 500 Clild 600 blocks of Decatllr St. (bottoll/).
�, tJ
,
1 [J1:.bJ
f +-
�
(II/iddle). e/IJd I?oyal St. (toP).
Stelle /1111Sel/lll An!Ji//es.)
tes), oJtbe Historic Nell' Or/emlJ Collectioll:
5. (BELOW) IlIk Jketch.
ill LOllis/elllcl
FIGURE
Slale /\!/lJellll/.. )
I765. " attribllted to Liellt. Philij}
ofLOlfisialltl
View of Nell'
PittlilClIl.
(Collrte.l),
FIGURE 6. (BELOW, RIGHT) Ple/IJ of the extellt of
the great Nell'
(Drawillg
.1'011.
Or/eclllJjireJ ill
1788 aile! I794-
bmed 011 HiJtoriwl dOu/llients JlljJJJlied by
Nell' Or/ee/IJJ Collectioll: Clild from l'(ii/­
The Vieux
Ihe Hislorit"
"
"A
(COllI'­
origillal
Or/eam Takell frolll l\cross the MississijJJJi River.
. /f):r
J
Or­
Carre.)
-I
i}
",>
'i
,
appearance of old New Orleans, with many of the same
architectural types and much the same pattern of urban
developmen t. Port-au-Prince was laid out and urbanized in
s i m ilar fashion .
The peripheries of the cities' blocks were
gradually filled in with houses, shops, and other structures,
while the interiors of the blocks remained more open, used for
gardens and other amenities.
In New Orleans the pattern of development of the ciry block
was set on a new course by the fires.
By the time of the
Louisiana Purchase a new pattern of house-lot utilization had
been established. Houses, one ro three srories rai l, now li ned
the streets of many blocks sol idly, righr at rhe edge of the
bcmqlletteJ, or sidewalks.
Instead of common open centers
within each block, much of rhe area behind the rownhouse was
filled in with a complex melange of structures, consisting of
commercial, industrial and service build ings, rogether with
sti! I found roday in the French Quarterand Faubourg Marigny
rental properties - advantageous in the rapidly expanding
(FIG. 9).
and overpopulated city. Many of rhe early posr-fire, Spanish­
cottages is theclbClt vent roof extension which prorected passers­
period houses were single-srory Creole cottages of the type
by from the sun and rain .
A d isringuishing feature of these small bClI7Cjllette
22
•
T D 5 R
5.1
Almost i m m ediately following the nre of 1794 a new archi­
tectural type was introduced - the two-story rownhouse.
This type was well sui ted ro the commercial nature of the new
city. Stores or shops could be placed on the ground floor to
attract pedestrians, while the living apartments were located
above on the cooler p1"e1lJier itage (FIG. 10; REFER
TO
FIG. 7).
Townhouses were generally located on bifurcated lots. Many
of the older French lots, originally sixty French feet wide at the
street, had been subdivided i nto thirty- or forty-foot-wide
segments. Access to the rear was often via a narrow passage set
between the buildings.
Alternatively, it could be gained
through a porte-coc!Ji;re which penetrated the bLlilding itself
(FIG. II).
This solution provided a more economical use of
premium space, as it permitted the apartments on the second
story to expand to ful l property width . Townhouses with flat
or gabled roofs could be placed side by side, forming a
continuous facade at the street. The early courtyard house was
generally two stories tall on the street facade (commercial
forms reached three and even four stories by the 1830s). Aporte­
cochere wide enough to admit a carriage led past a front block of
rooms into an expanded rear patio (FIG. 12). The passage was
often capped with a semicircular arch . The other openings at
the street level were either arched or flat topped . The second­
story living apartments spanned the entire width, covering
the carriageway.
Originally the roofs were flat, but soon
Spanish-style barrel tiles were imported from Pensacola to
cover improved, low-pitched roofs . 'o
The rear courtyard was partially surrounded by stables, a
kitchen and wash building , a privy, and a one- or two-story
FIGURE 7. (TOP) A
SpclIlixh-jJeriod tOll 'nho/lJc o n
I?oya/ Street with CI u'roll/!/Jt-iroJl hallIfJtrc!(/e ntclr!),
iden/icC/l lo
Ibelt 1'lcr}'cellillo
Hen/(/Ildez Imi!t lor the
Cabilelo. Ca. I796 IPbolo by (illtbor. J992. )
FIGURE 8. (ABOVE) Portio" of (Ill EllgrcIVillJ!, . " Vile
elli Cal' Pr(/IIj"oiJ. . . by I\lomill ele SI. MelY (1875).
Cel. 1790. (COlirio), 0/ SjJecial CollecliollJ. Ihe LOlliJi·
ana Stelle Ullivenily. )
FIGURE 9. (RIGHT)
Lctjitte'J
Bom'voll SI .. Ce!. I795.
II
BlclckJlllilb Sho/J.
941
lyjJiwl lale Prellcb Creole·
.rlyle mt/Clge i1/II.ftrcllill,� the
((Jill illl/ily
oj Creole ctrchi­
leetlfrc;! 'ZkIIitCJ/O//o{{'illg the (�re({t fires. Tbi.r cottage
origiilcrlly belel widely (mcrhclIlgiJlg caveJ. Clnd ifs wClllI­
lcerc
mlll/lielely JIIIl'Coed (Ph%
hy (!lahor. 1990. )
EDWARDS:
NEW ORLEANS TOWNHOUSE . 23
FIGURE 10. (TOP LEFT) ,'lid-llilleteenth-(eJltllry pailltillg ofcl typical tlcO-Jlm}
fOU'l/hollJe with
CI
Jide jJaJJage. prohctbly collx/nrc/eel ill the early AmericClIl jJeriod.
(Nell' Orlealls No/aried A rchives: !Jhoto by (Illtbor. 1975. )
FIGURE I I . (BOTTOM LEFT) FOllchr! HOIIJe. CI typical ]\Tell' OrleClJlJ IOlllJliJoIIJe.
Ca. 181O. BOII/·holl St.
(Collrtesy ofIhe LOllisiall" Dept. ofEcilleatioll: /rOIll " pholo
sIIN/iec! by Salll WlilJall. )
galTonniere (young men's house) o r slave quarter which ex­
tended straight back behind the house on the side opposite the
porte-wrhere (FIG. 13). In New Orleans this building was gener­
ally roofed with a s i ngle-pitch shed which sloped in towards
the patio. Full-length galleries provided access ro the first and
second stories. The courtyard was protected from the view of
neighbors by a tall brick wall. Clearly, this house is an adap­
tation to increasing density of population in the Quarter in the
decades following 1794. But it is something else as well: it was
a highly conventionalized model which became the symbol of a
successful commercial and administrative class.
Why did the courtyard house develop as it dicP A great deal
of imprecise and misleading information surrounds the ques­
tion of Spanish origins and Spanish influence." Many archi­
tectural historians accept a hypothesis which recognizes
strong Spanish influence. Although the Spanish in New
Orleans were never very numerous in the last half of the
eighteenth century, their s urveyors (Don Carlos Trudeau) and
other government officials were responsible for zoning, hous­
i ng surveys, property taxes, and compliance. Many of the
early porte-coc!Jere houses, such as the Bosque house (617-621
Chartres St. ; 179 5-present) and the Quinones house (623
Bourbon St.; 1795-present), were specifically associated with
pro m i nent Louisiana Spaniards. For example, Vincente Jose
Nunez, who constructed the Bosque house, was the State
Treasurer of Louisiana (1788-89); Don Bartolome Bosque, a
native of Palma, Majorica, was a merchant and ship owner
(I79 5-Ca. 1810); and Don Estaban de Quinones, a native of
Cuba, was Secretary ro the Archbishop and Notary Public."
Of the Bosque house, Wilson has writte n :
Tbe original parts 0/ tbe bOllSe wbieb rell/ain eire 0/ stlcb jine
qllttfity {md 111Z11J1fct! Spanisb (hareleter {IS to Iitelke it one 0/ the
1II0st signijic{llZt excllI/ples 0/ that period when tbe city
IUclJ
rebllifdillg a/tel' tbe discistromjires of I188 {md I194. I}
Tbe rem'pelrt oftbe home hm a very distinct Sp{misb feeling {md
reflects its oWller's [Bosque's} J\IleljoricCi12 origin. Two-.rtolJ' out­
huildings eur/oJe the courtyard on one sie/e {tile/ the recl!·. These
aho bave a rather SjJallish feeling in the molded r(lfter ene/s
which JIlpport tbe 1'00f overhang. 14
24
•
T D S R
5.1
i
I[J]]J[. 'I
'W
Ground Floor Plans
REMIECU
I
PAT
.J
MAG
PC
KEY TO fRENCH A B B REVIATIONS
SYMBOL:
..
PC
ESC
PA T
MAG
CUI
GilL
GA l?
S E !?
SA L
IIJAN
f R E N C H TERM:
ENGLISH M EA N I N G :
(Portiere)
(II/din door)
CClrritlgeu'tl),
StCliru'C1),
Pcrtio
SboJI
Kilchell
Getflel),
YOllllg IHcJlJ A/Jefr/II/ell/J
Service
Livillg !?OOIll
OiJ/iJl<� /?OOIlI
Bedroom
Toilel
Siable
CClrriCl81! HO/lsc
Grolilld (first) j/oor
Lh)illg (second) floor
EtlirCIIICc
Porte-Cachere
Esc"lier
Patio
Nfagasi n/bou rique
Cuisine
Galerie
G ar�-on n iere
Service
Salle
Salle a J\lfanger
CHA
TO I
[CU
Chambre
!?[lll
Remise::
Toilette
Ecurie
E rage
Rez-de-ChaLissee
Prem ier
Bosque House
619 Chartres St
714 S1. Peter St
Casa Flinard
Vieux Carre
624 Bouroon 51.
Other architectural historians concur i n Wilson 's vision of
the new architectural form : William Cullison III, former di­
rector of the Southeastern Architectural Archive at Tulane,
refers to the Bosque house as "a still extant New Orleans
Spanish-type townhouse of about 1795.""
And in a popular
architectural history of the city we read:
AJ the oid French hlli/dillf!,J in New Or/eClIlJ deteriorc/ted, lIew
mllCJ//Y ClrcheciClltdroo/s 'll'eremvered in Spcmish ti/e. lit thetowlt.
oJteJ were bllifl ilt the SpemiJh 111C!1mer. Doon e/lld willdolUS 'Were
imger L-Jhcl/,ed homes were bllift, with the short side jclcing the
Jtreet emci cl COll1'tYClrd ill the angie. ,6
FIGURE
12. (ABOVE) SketciJ of Cl ly jJi((: d Nel( ! Or/cCIIIJ
IOll 'lIbo!!Je. 7I4 St. Peler SI. .
by I1L7I)'
porce-cochere
Lee Eggem. after () 1937field JIIrvey pencil
Tulane University Professor of Architecture E ugene Cizek
also attributes many Spanish characteristics
to
the architec­
skelch by O. P. M obr. 12114137 for Ibe Historic Alllerica/! Bllildillg Slirvey. di­
recled by /{ichard Kocb. Refer 10 Plclll ill /ig. I]. (CollrteJY 0/ LOlliJiCII/a Sidle
ture of the Vietlx CClrnf and particularly the porte-cochere house:
AII1JClIlJi A rchiveJ. )
Juan, Puerto Rico, or Old Havana, Cuba. "'? Was the new
"It could easily be an i mage found along a street i n Old San
Plam 0/ the groll/!d alld (elevated) fint j/OOI:\" 0/
style of patio house Spanish Creole in originl Certainly there
jOllr typi({/! porte-cochere IOllJllhOIlJCJ from the Idle SpclJlisb dllel eddy
was no dearth of models in Spanish Caribbean architecture to
A JJJericclIl jJerioc/s.
select from.'s
FIGURE 13 (RIGHT).
EDWARDS: NEW ORLEANS TOWNHOUSE . 25
THE SPAN I S H CARIBBEAN
When Spaniards began permanent settlement in the New
bealltifll! aueestral home whose restored exterior is now ill
World, they q uickly turned their attention to the problems of
eighteellth telltmy style. !levertheless lIlel7lijests origillal i1lterior
colonization - farming, mi n i n g , ranching, and the construc­
detclils of the sixteellth eeJItllly. jJttrtiwlelriy ill the forllls of its
tion of cities. F i n d i ng the early settlement areas on the north
illterior doors.
20
coast of Hispafiola i n hospitable, they established their new
American capital, Santo Domingo, on the south coast near the
The early-sixteenth-century patio house consisted of a set of
mouth of the Ozama R iver i n 1 502.'9 They constructed
rooms partly or completely enclosing an open courtyard. The
ch urches, forts, houses , and curtai n walls around the c i ty.
buildings were either one or two stories tall .
The Indians supplied the labor while they survived, but
wealthier settlers were built of stone. The plan was based
Those of the
beginning i n 1518 they were quickly supplanted by African
around a saia, or reception and living room , shaped like an
slaves. In this new land the colonists reconstructed the styles
elongated rectangle. In the smallest houses this was reduced
of vernacular architecture common to their homelands. The
to a square." Beside and behind the .raia were various 1"IXalileras
early Spanish engineers at first designed houses in a severe
an oratorio (chapel), and other war/OJ (rooms). Entrance to the
Gothic style, embellished with Isabell i ne (1474-15°4) and
or dorlll itorioJ (bedrooms), oficinas or gab/nefes (offices), perhaps
patio was via a zagltcfn (vestibu le) or, in the s mallest houses,
later P lateresq ue (sixteenth-century) derai Is.
by way of the setia i tself.
The early urban houses were of several basic styles. One of
these was the southern Spanish patio house (FIG. 14) . Many of
Between the sala and the patio of all but the smallest houses
these houses survive today in old Santo Dom i ngo, some from
was another space, open to the patio. This was the corredor or
the early sixteenth century. Their evolution may be traced
getierla (gallery or loggia), which provided a shaded zone for
from the plans of buildings constructed along Las Damas
daily living. It was generally considered the most pleasant
Street, which runs parallel to the banks of the Ozama, and
intersecting streets as well (FIG. 15). The restoration architect
part of the house, particularly in the warmer months. Meals
Eugenio Perez Montas writes:
extended in an "L" or "U" pattern around a patio. Two, three,
would often be taken there. As the house expanded, it was
or all four sides of the patio would be encircled by rorredores.
EI A delalltado [Governor} DOll Rodrigo de BetstidelS [1400-
Beside the patio were placed the bedrooms and service rooms,
1527} arrived ill Scmto Domillgo ill 1502. emel begall the
w i th the rocinel (kitchen) and deJPema (pantry) usually located
COIl­
strlletioll of hi.r IIlcmorial home ill those first yeelrs. It was lelid
towards the rear.
Ollt tllmillg C!1"Otl1ld a centra! jJeltio - etlll10st el doister.
service patio behind the first."
This
Larger houses also boasted a trctJpatio or
corredor of (I hOllse Oil LC/J O{l/}/t/S Street. SaJJto
FIGURE 14.
View 0/ the IJCltif) as seell [mill. the
Domillgo. (Pholo hy CI!llhor. 1991. )
26
•
T O S R
5.1
A comparison o f the patio houses o f t h e Zonc! Colonial in Santo
'J
10 �o ::;)k-l
I!.\".'.'\;�
Domingo (FIG. 16) with those of Vie11X Carre of New Orleans
a!�·':�"I);;!!'l:.d�
(FIG. 17) offers a striking impression of similarity not shared by
other American cities east of San Antonio and Santa Fe. 'J Yet,
although they appear to be much alike, this appearance is an
i llusion if it is taken to imply a direct historical relationship.
Their evolutionary histories and, on close inspecrion, even
their forms differ both structurally and functionally.
One
discovers no "L" -shaped porte-cochere townhouses of the New
Orleans type in the zonaJ colonalex of Havana, Santo Domingo,
or old San] uan. While horses might have been ridden through
the zagllcfn of the larger Spanish houses, these entrances were
generally too narrow to accommodate a carriage. Shed-roofed
gctlT0777ZiereJ or slave quarters of the type extending back from
the C01PJ de logiJ, common in New Orleans, are uncommon in
the Spanish Caribbean - or, for that matter, i n Spanish cities.
The stairways to the second floors of the Spanish houses are not
consistently located at the rear of the zagllcfn, as they would be
if this house was the model for the New Orleans form . The plan
of the Spanish house is variable, resulting from i ts evolutionary
patterns of expansIOn.
KEY TO SPANI S H A B B R EVIATIONS
The French Quarter houses were
constructed much alike, based upon a single, authoritative
model.
The plan of the smaller patio houses of Santo Domingo is
entirely consistent with the vernacular patio houses of Cidiz
and Sevilla in Andalucfa.24 The patios, and particularly their
surrounding (orredoreJ, are devoted to social living as well as
work space. No analog of the corredor exists i n the New Or­
leans patio, though when one stands in the carriageway of a
New Orleans townhouse and views the patio area through its
arched opening, the effect is m uc h the same. If a service space
or corral was present in the larger Spanish houses, it was
located in the trctJpatio, as i n Spain.2s
SYM B O L :
..
ZAG
SA L
PA T
cal?
GAL
COll i
HA B
GlI B
ACC
BAL
COC
SO?
TNA
SPANISH TERM:
ENGLISH MEAN I N G :
E ntrada (patton)
EntrClllcc (meli" door)
Foyer. lIeJ!ibllle
Li-villgll?cccjJtioll roOIll
Patio (IIJ-ecl CfJ CI room)
OjJeIl-Jicled roo1ll (/ercing Ptftio)
GallelY (facillg PC!!io)
Dilling 1"0011/
l3edroolJl
Office. Serviw mOIll
/(m!ct! S/Jc/ceJ
(Exterior) bakollY
Kilc/,e/I
ToiletJ
I?car Patio. Corral
Grollndfloor
firJt floor
Zaguan
Sala/Salon
Pacio
Cotredor
Galer,a
ComedoI'
Habi GlclOI1
Gabinete
Accesorias
B alcol1
Cocina
Servico
Traspario
Planta Baja
Planta Alta
FIGURE
15.
(ABOVE) PlclllJ �rJix tyjJiced SjJcllliJh W1e.r/ Illdidll jJdlio hOllJn /roll/.
the w/onidl jJerioc/. Semto DOlllillgo elJld HdVdnd.
FIGURE 16. (LEFT) The jJcllio 0/ d reconJlrllcled hOliJe 011 Le/J DdJlldJ Street. with
t)'jJiCdl TIIJam w!IIIJIIl-JlljJj)f)rted drche.r JlljJjJortillg the roo/ 0/el correclor. Vicu'
tOll'areiJ the J/J·ee!. (Pho!o hy eillthor. [992. )
The proportions of the rooms of the houses (sala and Jet/Ie), and
the social functions of many of them, are very different in the
two regions. The New Orleans house is basically a two­
module unit - the (01PJ de logis and the gar[01zniere - sepa­
rated by a stairwell with a winder stair. The Spanish house is
entirely variable, expanding room by room depending on the
wealth and needs of the owner. The New Orleans house was
EDWARDS: NEW ORLEANS TOWNHOUSE • 27
FIGURE 17 . Tbe /Jc!tio
900 Mock
Ibe streel. (Pbolo
limi ted to the upper-middle and upper classes of the colonial
�r tl l),/Jiw/ IOll'lIiJr)!fXe ill /be
of I?oytll 51. . Nell' OrltrlllJ.
Vim' lo!l 'tlrd,
by tlllibor. [991.)
in the h umbler examples. One important feature is shared by
city, while the Spanish patio plan evolved to accommodate all
the houses of both areas. Narrow iron or wooden balconies,
social levels. The patios of the larger Spanish Creole houses
cantilevered over the street, are common in both Spanish and
were much larger than any fou nd in New Orleans. Neither i n
French architecture, and are probably north-Iberian or general
form class nor in plan type d o w e fi n d suffic ient resemblance
alpine-European in ultimate orig i n . They are common to the
to support a hypothesis of cultural diffusion.26
vernacular archi tecture of Salamanca and further north on the
Iberian peninsula.
In stylistic detail the houses of the two areas are almost as
different as they are geometrically. New Orleans townhouses
At the 1 9 9 1 New Orleans Archi tecture Symposium, Stephen
were characterized by the use of semicircular grills or fan­
Hand, Director of the Vietlx Carre Commission, presented a
lights over the top of their front doors. I n commercial town­
valuable hisrorical outline of the use of New Orleans court­
houses, these windows provided light for an entre.wl, or low
yards.29 He pointed out that prior to the Civil War, French
mezzanine-type Boor, which was used for storage.
Quarter patios were primarily utilitarian rather than decora­
It is
unusual to find houses with entreJo/J, or, for that matter,
tive. They were paved with blue river Bagsrones or square
semicircular door and window tops facing the streets in the
Spanish pavers, and contained o!/CiJ and cypress stave cisterns
sixteenth-century Spanish towns in the Antilles. Flat li ntels
for washing and drinking. Fountains were rare, as pressur­
or occasionally segmental Isabelline arches are the usual
ized water was not available before 1860.
pattern.27
Arches of various types, including semicircular
patio lushly planted, though some plant materials might
ones , are fou nd within the house, particularly surrounding
have been present. New Orleans patios were really service
Neither was the
the patio (REFER TO FIGS . 14, 16).,3 The principal portal of the
courts, employed as work space for the owner's family and
Spanish house was protected by a heavy paneled door (jJorton)
servants.
which swung inward , rather than by the outward-turning,
privies, washrooms, kitchens and stables, wi th all of the
double-leaf, three-batten external shutters of the type found
sensory discomforts which would be associated with these in
in the French Caribbean and in New Orleans. W i ndows on
the heat of summer.
They provided direct access to slave quarters,
the ground floors of the Spanish houses were generally pro­
tected by external rejet grills of wood or iron of the type
B e tween the beginning of the Civil War and the end of the
common in the vicinity of Cadiz. In high-style Isabelline and
World War I , Ii ttle development effort was expended on the
Plateresque colonial architecture, arches supported on stone
jJorte-cochere house or, for that matter, on the French Quarter
Tuscan columns occur commonly in the patio areas, support­
itself.
i ng the roof of the carrec/or. Wooden columns were employed
disease (yellow fever) rendered the Quarter l i ttle more than an
Trends towards suburbanization and problems of
28
•
T O S R
5.1
urban s l u m , filled with decaying rental properties. B m i n t h e
otherwise built-up. The C01l1" was entered through a porte-cochere,
third a n d fourth decades of t h i s century t h e long period o f
sometimes through the main building , at other times through
decay was arrested.
Courtyards began t o b e planted w i th
a rear wall if street access was available there (it was not i n
succulents and other decorative tropical plantings. Gutters
New Orleans). A s i n New Orleans, t h e narrow service build­
were added to the eaves of houses, and a new artistic-intel­
i ngs which l ined the sides of the patio were often capped with
lectual population began to discover the old European center.
a single-shed roof, sloped towards the patio. These structures
Electricity had been introduced to New Orleans i n 1900, about
are generally referred to as "slaVE quarters" in New Orleans.
the same time as the i nternal combustion engine. The new
Like their New World cousins, some of these strucwres also
technologies in plumbing, cooking, lighting, refrigeration
had open galleries facing the courtyard.
and transportation, and the conveniences these made possible,
reveal greater details and views of the interiors of these
Other documents
combined to revolutionize the townhouse and to transform
buildingsY I n general, they were far more elaborately deco­
the old u tili tarian gar{omzieres and patios into more elegant
rated than the houses of New Orleans (FIG. 19).
living spaces.
While the Spanish patio house of Andalucla derives directly
Hand credits the architect Richard Koch w i th reviving the
from Roman prototypes and from the Moorish vernacular ar­
courtyard . Koch, trained at Tulane University, travelled i n
chitecmre of the Mediterranean l ittoral, the most probable
Spain and Mexico i n t h e early twentieth century and was
genesis of the Parisian courtyard house l ies in the closed­
i nspired by the fountains and other pleasing decorative fea­
court farmsteads common in the rural regions around Paris.
tures of the Andalucian patio. He i ntroduced octagonal foun­
The courtyard house is fully indigenous to France and com­
tains, planti ngs, and other decorative elements to New Or­
pletely appropriate to French colonial settlement in the New
leans patios for his French Quarter clients beginning in the
World without reference to Spanish culture. Various stages of
1920S. These took toot on preadapted and fertile ground.
formalization and incorporation of this plan into the Parisian
With i ncreasing gentrification of the Quarter, and partiCL1-
urban landscape may still be traced in the Plan de Paris. Less
larly with the onset of tourism in the 19605, considerable sums
elaborate examples of patio houses are still common in the
have been expended to transform the courtyards of the French
small towns of northern France, many of which also have
Quarter i nto a kind of Spanish-revival cityscape 30
carriageways (FIG. 20) . There, as in New Orleans, townhouses
are also associated with various forms of aha! vent-style cov­
B u t ifit is not Spanish or Spanish West Indian, where does the
erings which project over the sidewalk. A recent swdy traces
porte-wchere house derive from ) While no formal study of the
the development of the jJorte-cochere townhouse in Paris be­
origins or diffusion of this house type has been conducted,
tween 1637 and 1789. In the eighteenth century many of these
anyone fam i liar with the domestic architecture of eigh­
buildings boasted wrought-iron balconies with decorative
teenth-century Paris will be able to poin t out many similar
examples. The private, formal patio garden sllftounded by
high walls was then popular in the city.
Many French
noblemen at the court of Versailles constructed porte-wchere
i ronwork remarkably similar to that fabricated by Marcellino
Hernandez (REFER TO FIG. 7).34 In the case of New Orleans,
then, Spanish culture provided an inspiration, French culture
a model.
garden houses for themselves .!'
The popularity of the Parisian courtyard house is clearly
CONCLUSION
revealed in the large-scale 1739 Plan de Paris, housed in the
Southeastern Architectural Archive of the Tulane University
Historical circumstance plays a very large role in the assign­
Library. This marvelous document depicts every permanent
ment of ethnic or cultural iden t i fications in vernacular archi­
strucwre in the city and reveals much of the history of the
tecture. Each case must be i nvestigated before general con­
urban courtyard townhouse of the Ile de France (FIG. 18). "
clusions are warranted. No North American city was more
Like their cousins in New Orleans, the eighteenth-century
like those of the old Spanish Caribbean than New Orleans.
courtyard houses of Paris consisted of a multistory main
Not only did the ci ties of both areas share a great deal of human
or
more nartow
contact, but the cli mates of both areas supported a basic
service structures which lined the sides and rear of the patio.
similarity of life-style in which open air domestic living was
build ing (corps de logis) set apart from one
CONn
d'homze/lr, after their use
promoted. Houses in both areas abound in transitional spaces
in chateclltx. The front and rear buildings of the townhouse
which straddle northern-defined boundaries of house i nterior
were often separated by a stairwell. Winder stairs were popu­
vs . exterior. Correc/ores, galleries and patios (as living, rather
lar. A high wall protected any side(s) of the rear patio not
than work areas) are liminal architectonic spaces, alien to
Parisian patios were still called
EDWARDS: NEW ORLEANS TOWNHOUSE • 29
visicors enculrurated in temperate-zone models of domestic
architecture. But, in comparing the plans of patio houses of
Sanro Domingo, Havana and San Juan of the fifteenth through
the eighteenrh cenruries with the patio houses of late-eigh­
teenth-century New Orleans, one cannot help but be im­
pressed with the fundamental differences in the geometric
solutions co similar climatic conditions. While the houses of
the Spanish colonial Caribbean share a basic philosophy of
layout with those of Andalucfa, the patio houses of New
Orleans share essenrially all of their basic geometric features
with the porte-wch!re
( houses of the afAuenr eighteenth-century
ParisianjcmbollrgJ (neighborhoods). Following such a survey,
one wonders j us t how the preponderant weight of both
popular and scholarly opi nion in New Orleans could have
arrived at the conclusion that the cownhouses of the VieJIx Ccm-e
are predominantly Spanish.
FIGURE 18. (TOP) Porre-cochere ((mrtyclrcl /Jr)/lJCJ in the
Tell/file diJIrirl of PariJ. Ca. 1734.
(AJ illllJlrclttd ill Il l . £.
The answer appears co lie in the process of the social interpre­
TIIIgnl, Plan cle Paris; (()lIrle.l), f)f Jbe SfJIIlhll'eJlerll Archi­
tation of these buildings and in a set of hiscorical coinci­
tec/llral A rchive. Til/aile Ullivenil),. )
dences . Constructed immediately following the great fire of
FIGURE 1 9 . (ABOVE) Looking illto the salle
0/(1 J\Teu'
Orlect1lJ /ou'JlhrJllJe. i//;/Jlrc/liJl<� lyjJicct/ LOlliJ;CIIlCI Creole
1794, mosrly for powerful Spanish clients, French architects
(probably without much detailed knowledge of Spanish Car­
Prellcb demr. (Pbolo by I?icbctrd Kocb. CCI. 1936· (l)lIrl'J), of
ibbean Creole architecture) developed a new model based on
the Sr)/ftheclJlerJl A tchitectllra! A nlJil/e. TII/c/llc U nit-Ienily. )
thei r own previous experience with domestic architecture
30
•
T D 5 R
5.1
s u i table for t h e gentry. T h e model which they collectively
selected was the popular courtyard house of the affluent
faubollrgJ of Paris. Walied gardens,porte- cochereJ , winder stairs,
double-leaf, m u l tipane doors and windows, wrough t-iron
balconies, and shed-roof galTo771ZiereJ were among i ts features.
The Parisian model was down-sized and fitted i nto the more
restricted lots of the French quarter. I t was also constructed
of less durable materials. In order ro make French forms more
palatable ro Spanish clien ts, and also to comply with the new
fire codes placed in effect following the great fires, the archi­
tects of New Orleans dressed their townhouses in low-pitched
roofs covered with Spanish t iles, cantilevered balconies deco­
rated with "Spanish" wrought-iron balustrade work, and semi­
HAB. CONT.
circular arches over the portals, or at the very least over the
carriageway. Such features were all generally known to mer­
chants and government officials £'lmiliar with southern Spain and
with service experience i n Santo Domingo and Havana. One
wonders whether their Spanish clients knew they were being
offered Parisian forms? Many French Creole features were also
retained, including the i nterior decor (FIG. 23). Once established
as a high style, the New Orleans patio townhouse immediately
entered the vernacular as a popular local form i n a rapidly ex­
panding commercial city. More steeply pitched roofs were added in
later years due to problems with leaking.
Begin n i ng I20 years later, under the i nfluence of a popular
and strongly Hispanofilistic restoration architect, these same
townhouses and their vernacular successors underwent an
extensive round of renovations which further fi tted them i n to
.0
the Spanish mold by introducing new Andalucian-derived
700 Gill
1.,...
'
_
_
_
_
_
_
--l
,
trappings such as patio fountains. This is the image which was
sold to a new round of wealthy clients who had begun to
i nvest i n the old and long-neglected q uarter.
This same
KEY '1'0 FRENCH A B B R EVIATIONS
restoration archi tect, who also d i rected the H istoric Ameri­
can Building Surveys of these buildings during the 1930s, later
headed the most successful architectural firm in the city
specializing in restoration.
Historic architects associated
PC
SYM B O L :
fRENCH TERM :
ESC
Passage couvert
Es ca l i er
ENGLISH MEAN I N G :
Covered jJelJJage
Slaint'ay
S,,/
Sal l e
Livill,� l?o()1II
Cha
Chaillbre
BedroollJ
Gra
Grange
Crcrill J/OIi:lge barll
become submerged and lost to m os t Americans with foreign
E/a
travel experience, while the Spanish model still bore the
HaD. COII/.
Ancienne erable
Habitation con r i g u e
Ni v ea u
COl/tigIlO/IJ dwellillg
w i t h Tulane's school of archi tecture, and with his firm ,
helped to perpetuate the image which this visionary had
rejuvenated. Perhaps because the Parisian urban model had
fam iliar romantic illlage of the Alhambra, of the Alcazar of
Sevilla, of the patio houses of Santa Cruz (the old Jewish
COliI'
j'/iI'CCIII
COllI' com m u n e
COIl/IJ/f)1I collr/yard
Old (f}U' !JO/lJC
Leue/
quarter of Seville), and their nu merous domestic i m i tations
FIGURE 20. Ske/t/J ojt! JII/({// j}(IJJtlgCU'tl), /?()ffJC ill /he l lilltlge (JI lt PlliJet.
frolll Mexico, it was natural that a Spanish image should be
halfi{'CI)' uetf{'celJ thc (itiCJ ojChartreJ allel Or/celll.f.
favored by the archi tectural com m u n i ty and by their clients
thillg (ltiJe (()IIJJIf()}JjJlace releltiollJhijJJ uetween ar(hitc(/(wic (Olllj}()IlClltJ ill qlli/e
i n this most Creole of all American cities.
IUIIJJ/;/c hOllJCJ (�r rllral FrcllIcc.
O rl ea n ai s. Pell"i.r.
(SkehiJ by jlJal)' Let Eggard. e�jier dre/{{'illgJ ill
de f3illy-ChriJlidll "lid H. Neflf/ill. L'arc h i tenure rurale
France,
ro/lghly
TiJiJ ()Jfilciillg illllJ/ralcJ J()lIIC­
fran,aise:
F.
l l e-de­
Berger-Levrelllit. eclilelll'/ol' the ilJlI.fee I/atiol/al de.\' clI"l.f
el IraditiollJ jiojJ!l/arire.r. [986 jiji. 178-81. }
EDWARDS: NEW ORLEANS TOWNHOUSE • 3 1
REFERENCE NOTES
The author gratefu l l y \vishes to acknowledge the
financial assistance of the Formosa Plastics
Architecture i n Eighteenth�Centliry Virginia,"
reprinted i n Upton and ] . M . Vlach, eels.,
Corp., USA, the Program for C u l t u ra l Coopera­
COll/JIlOll Pldt"CJ: !(eclclingJ ill A lllericClII Ve/"l}(fc/II"r
tion Benveen Spain's M i n istry o f C u i ture and
Ar(hi/ectll/"(: (Athens: U n iversity of Georgia Press,
U n ited States' Universities, and Louisiana Scare
1986), p p · 3 1 5-35·
U n iversity. \1(ii thout their help, this project
7.
would nor have been possible. The author also
Ignace Franc;ois B ro u c i n ("Engineer of the King"
wishes to express his thanks to Mary Lee Eggart,
under B i e n v i l le during the retrocession, 1731-
Archivist of the New Orleans Notarial Archives,
and Bernatd Deverges (1 720-Ca. 1765). See S.
for prov i d i ng i l l ustrations; (0 Sally K. Reeves,
P ierre Baron (Chief Engi neer 1728-31);
1751); Gonichon (Broutin's d raftsman, 1728-32);
for prov i d i ng hi storic i l l ustrations; and to Abbye
\Xl i [son , Tbe A rciJitcctllre �r Colollial LOlli.riCIIlC!
A . Gorin, Curacof of the Southeastern Archi tect­
(Lafayette: U niversity of Southwestern Louisiana
lIral Archive at Tulane U n i versity, for bringing
Ptess, (987), PP-41-68.
the Plan de PariJ to h i s attention <lnd for
obtaining permission for h i m to photograph i t .
8.
S. \1(ii lson, Tbe Vie!!x Carre. Nell' Orle(/IIJ: itJ
PI,,". itJ Groll,tb. ItJ A rcbitect!m (New Orleans:
City of New Orleans, 1968), p.l06.
1.
An i n ternational conference was held i n 1 9 9 1
9.
W i lson, A rcbilectllre o.(C% llia/ LOlliJiclihl,
t o review this topic:, sponsored by the
p·m·
Preservation Resource Center of Ne\v Orleans,
10.
Ibid, p.88.
the Tulane U n i versity School of Architecture
11.
For example, i n t h e popular names of sllch
and the Ne\v Orleans .H ispanic: Heri tage
hOllses as "The Spanish Custom H.ollse" (1300
Foundation: La/ill Urball TraC/itio)JJ: PlazaJ.
Moss St., New Orleans, Ca.1789) and "The Olel
Cmlr/yare/r cmd TOll 'llboIlJeJ. the l'·lew Or/eallJ
Spanish Fort" (Pascagoula, 1tlississippi, Ca.1725),
A rcbitectllre SYIII/IOJilllll: Oct. Jo-Nov. 5, 1 9 9 1 ,
but also i n vague attributions to Spanish
T u l a n e U n iversity, N e w Orleans. M a n y of t h e
i n fluence on the part of many architectural
papers supported the notion of Span i s h
historians (see below).
affi liations i n N e w Orleans architecture. Several
papers on the same topic were delivered at t h e
47th International Congress of Americanists,
July 7-1 1 , 1 9 9 1 , also in New Orleans.
2.
See, for example, ] . M . Fitch, "Creole
12.
The same hOllse was owned briefly by Don
Joseph Xavier de Pontabla (between 1789-1795).
[>.34 2.
13.
Wi lson , Il rchitectllre ofColollict! LOlliJitlllCl,
14·
Ibid, p. 334. E l sewhere, W i l son also
Atchitecture 1718-1860: The Rise and Fall of a
correct l y notes French i n fl uence in New Orleans
Grear Trad i tion," in H. Carrer, ed . , Tbe PaJ! C/J
townhollses, as i n the Fouche hOlIse.
T.
Pre/mle: New OrieallJ. lp8-1968 (New Orleans:
15.
Pelican P u b l is h i ng Co. , 1969), PP.71-87;
DO(!llIIenlcll), HiJtol)' (New Orleans : Southeast­
Ham [ in , Greek I?evi'val A rdJi!ectllrc ill A lllerica
W. C u l l i so n , A rcbitertllJ'e ill LOlfiJicllw: A
ern Archi tectura[ Archive, T u [ a ne U n i versity,
(New York: Dover P u b l ications, 1944),
1 9 8 3 ) , P 5·
pp. 21-3-33; and H. Nlorrison, fariy i\ /)/cricclIl
16.
A rcbi!cdllre (New York: Dover Publ ications,
American Legacy Press, 1980), p.I2.
M. Cable, Lost New Odee!l!J (New York:
1952), PP·253-71.
17.
3.
Latin American Heritage of Louisiana
D. Upton, "Outside the Academy: A
E . Cizek, A . l . A . , "Creole Connection: The
Century of Vernacu[ar Architecture Studies,
Architecture," Preservation in Print (October
1890-1990," i n E . B . MacDouga l l , ed . , Tbe
1 9 9 1 ), pp.6-7·
A rcbitectllrct/ HiJtoriclIl ill A lllcricd (Washington,
18.
D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1990),
Benjamin Henry Latrobe specifical l y identi fied
PP·199-213 ·
the type as French in 1 9 1 9 :
4-
B y way of contrast, the American architect,
H. Glassie, Polk HO!!Jilig ill /\Ucldle Virgillia
UseJ
( K noxv i l le : U n iversity of Tennessee Press, 1975),
P P.19-6 5 ; ] . G i ps, Sbape Grelllllll?!! 'J alld tbeir
T h e old E n g [ i s h side passage house
w i th the stairs at the end is also gai n i ng
( B asel and Stuttgart: B i rkhiiuser Verlag, 1975);
ground and is taking the place of the
G . Stiny, Pictoria! alld PO/'!lled iI.ljJectJ o/SbajJe alld
French Porre-Cochere, or corridor,
Sbc/jJe Grc/IJI/)/drJ (Basel and Stuttgart, B i rkhauser
which carrying you q u i te through the
Verlag, 1975); and " I n t roduction to Shape and
hOllse, leads to the stai rcase at the
Shape Grammars," [)JviroIlJJlent ane! PlclllJliltg B,
back, where it takes up no room from
VO!.7 NO·3 (1980), pp·343-51.
the apartments and is protected by a
5.
broad and conven ient gallery (SOIltbern
J. Edwatds, "The EvolLItion of a Vernaculat
Trad i tion," i n T. Catter and B . L. Herman, eds . ,
Pel:rjJecliveJ i n VeJ'nC/clliC!J' A rcbitectllre. IV
Travelx, 1 9 5 1 , p. 106).
(Colombia: University of Missouri Press, (991),
1 9 . E . perez Monds, CClSaJ ColoniC/Ie.!" de SaJJta
p p · 7 5-86.
Domingo (Santo Domingo: Museo de las Casas
6.
Reales, 1980).
D. UptOn, "Vernacular Domestic
32
•
T O 5 R
5.1
20. E . perez Monnis, "Un Museo y Quatro
MOI1umenros," in RestclIIrClcion de A IO)JlIllteJltos 1''10.
2 (Mexico, D.F.: Instituto Nacional de Bellas
Arres, Secreratia de Education Publicaciones,
1979), PP-49-5 8 (author's translation).
21. I n commercial-type, two-story hOllses an
alme/tell at tienda (shop), a bodega (storeroom),
oficiuCls (offices), and he/bite/ciones or {/(tesorias
(apartments) opened OntO the stteet on the
ground floor, with the sala above at behind.
Similar houses were constructed in Old Havana.
See F. Prat Puig, EI PI�-Barroro en Cllber: VII
E.rCllele/ Criolla de A rqllitectllre/ Mori.rca (La Habana:
B urgay Y Cia, 1974); and J E . Weiss, La
A rqllitectllrct Colonial Cubana, Sig/os XVI, XVII (La
Habana: Ed irorial Letras Cubanas, '972, 1979).
22. This form of Spanish domestic atchitecture
has a long and honorable history in the circum­
Mediterranean. I t derives ultimately, perhaps,
from rhe Roman atrium and peristyle villa, and
was strongly reinforced by Moorish architecture
in southern Spain . Thtough the m i l lennia i t had
become carefully adj usted to l i fe along the
Medi terranean littoral. Not only was it suitable
to the cli mate, it was also fitted to a system of
social values i n which proper women were
largely sequestered and ptotected ftom access to
public life. Atistocratically otiented Spanish
pioneers coming from Andal ucla adopted it
quickly, and it became a standard of the new
colonial cities.
23. There is also much which is parallel in the
history of the development of the twO ci ties ancl
their patio houses. The histoty of the ZOIl(/
Colonic" in Santo Domi ngo is in many respeccs
parallel to that of the Viellx Carn!. Even as early
as 1871, when it was visited by the North
American journalist, Samuel Hazard, the old
wal led centet had become a neglected and
decaying slum (SCInto Domingo PCl.lt Clnd Present,
with e/ Glel/1ce at Hayti (3rd. ed. New York:
Harper & Brothers, 1872), pp. 60 ,2 20-}2). This
is pretty much how i t remained until the 1960s.
However, with the support of President J uaquin
Balaguer, and under the direccion of such gifted
architects as Eugenio Perez Mantas, the old
Spanish colonial quarter of Santo Domingo is
being reborn.
24. G. Vazquez Consuegra, GltiCl de Arqlli/edltrc/
de Sevilla (Sevi lla: Consejetia de Obras Publicas
y Transportes, Direcci6n General de
ArquitectLlta y Vi vi end a, 1992); A.J Aledo,
"The Spanish Colonization of Yucatan rllrough
its Domestic Architecture," (�LA. thesis,
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Dept.
Geography & Anthropology, 1991, copy on file
in the Fred B . Kniffen Cultural ResoLltces Lab),
P.II3; L Feduchi, itinerc/rios de A rqllitettllrc/
PoplI/ar Espell/ala (Barcelona: Editorial B l ume,
'974); and C. Flores, A rqltitectllrct Popltlar
Espe/iio!ct (Madrid: Aguilar, 1973).
25. Aledo, "Spanish Colonization," p.Il8.
26. "Form class" tefers to groups of houses
which appear generally alike and are often
thought of as a single type. The American I
house is an excellent example. "Plan types" and
"plan fami l ies" are groups of houses which share
the same principles of layout, including room
proportion and room placement. Plan Families
are all of those houses which have evolved
through various stages of expansion out of a
common base modular type. Examples include
the Louisiana Ftench Creole Cottage, based
around a sCllle-et-challlbre core of rooms (see J
Edwards, LOllisitllltl's l?elllclrkcd;le French
Verne/ciliaI' A rchitectll}'e, £700-[900 (Baton Rouge:
Geoscience Publications, louisiana State
University, 1988).
Plan types and families are more useful
tools in tracing cultural relationships because,
being covert, their principles must be learned
.
through long f '1miliarity with the architecture
of a community. Form Classes are overt and
relatively easily i m i tated by the casual observer.
Under the appropriate circu mstances hOllse
types deriving from different plan families may
come to resemble one another superficially, thus
belying their more remote origins.
27. E. perez Monds, "Las Casas G6ticas de Ie
Calle Las Damas," E! Caribe (20 de Septiembte,
1980).
28. Perez Mont,is, CCHe/S Colonicdes, PP.128-29.
29. S. Hand, "The Development of Ftench
Quaner Courtyards and French Quaner Style"
(paper delivered at the New Orleans Architec­
ture Symposi u m , New Orleans, Nov. 2, 1991).
30. R ichard Koch became Sam Wi lson's boss
during the days of the I·IABS surveys in New
Orleans between 1934 and '941. W ilson joined
the firm of Armstrong and Koch, which
eventually became Koch and Wilson, the name
it bears tOday. Koch died in 1971.
31. From a recent handout distributed by the
owner of the Qui nones house:
The Creole garden had its roots in 18th
Century France. Following the or­
dered pattern that characterized all
aspects of the "Age of Reason," the
formal French garden, perfected by
the genius landscape-atchitect, Andre
Le Notre, and epitomized in the fa­
mous gardens of Versailles Palace, ex­
erted an influence throughout E urope
that seeped down to all levels of so­
ciety for several generations. Design
and scale were essential� gardens were
planned to include parterres, alleys,
terraces, hedges, fountains, pavilions,
arbors and galleries. Noblemen at the
Court of Versailles built fine small
houses, Rush with the street, with
great porre-cocheres leading back to
the courtyards where the garden was
surrounded by high walls, totally in
keeping with the Frenchman's abso­
lute penchant for ptivacy. It was only
natural that the Creoles, who were
always looking to France as home,
should follow this tradition (Anony­
mous, n.d.).
}2. M.E. Turgot, P/elll de Pell'is (Paris: Louis
Btetez, 1739). From survey data collected
beginning in 1734.
33. F. Contet, Le,. Viellx HoteLr de Paris, 15th
Edition, Tomes 1,1 l,IV (Paris: Chez Changes
Moreau, 1938). See, for example, the plans of
the Hotel d 'Avaray, on the rue de Gtenelle
#85, as a good example of an eighteenth­
century Paris townhouse.
34. See D. Gallet-Guerne and M Bimbenet­
Privat, Bci/COIIJ e/ Por/J CociJeres cI Pell'is
(Atchives Nationales, 1992); and M. Dennis,
COllrt & Gem/en: Frolll the French Hotel to the
City 0/ ill adem A rchitectllre (Cambridge, MA:
M . LT. Press, 1986).