The Great Days Of The Garden District, And The Old City Of Lafayette - free ebook by Martha Ann Brett Samuel

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The Great Days Of The Garden District, And The Old City Of Lafayette

Martha Ann Brett Samuel

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THE GREAT DAYS OF THE GARDEN DISTRICT And the Old City of Lafayette

THE GREAT DAYS OF THE GARDEN DISTRICT And the Old City of Lafayette

by Martha Ann Brett Samuel and Ray Samuel Published and Copyrighted 1961 Fifth Printing 1974 By the Parents’ League of the Louise S. McGehee School Library of Congress Catalogue Card No. 61-18748 The city of Lafayette, during its 19 years of life, was proud and independent. Map shows its location and that of its “back” residential area, the Garden District. (Drawn by Gilbert Tasso.) There has long been a need for the factual story of the old City of Lafayette and its fine residential area, the G

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Acknowledgment

Acknowledgment

The Parents’ League of the Louise S. McGehee School acknowledges with appreciation the work of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Samuel in writing this book on the Garden District in New Orleans. We are indeed grateful to them for devoting their time and talent to this school project. Italianate villa of James Robb, millionaire railroad man, was showplace of Garden District in the early 1850’s. It occupied entire block of Washington Avenue, Camp, Chestnut, and Sixth Streets. Rare works of art embellished its orn

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A LAFAYETTE CITY STORY

A LAFAYETTE CITY STORY

It was February 23, in the year 1852; the place, Lafayette City, the independent municipality on the Mississippi River, just above the thriving city of New Orleans. The hazy sun was turning a chilly morning into one of the unseasonably warm late winter afternoons typical of the semi-tropical climate. Throughout the spacious back residential section of Lafayette City, known as the Garden District, the azalea bushes were covered with swollen buds, ready to burst into their annual blaze of glory. A

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THE GREAT DAYS OF THE GARDEN DISTRICT

THE GREAT DAYS OF THE GARDEN DISTRICT

The foregoing is meant to provide a setting for the information to follow. The scene described is not based on an actual occurrence, although it is entirely probable, and factually correct as to dates, places and people except for the Laytons. “Any resemblance is entirely coincidental,” as the usual disclaimer says. The merger of Lafayette City and New Orleans did take place under the circumstances described, although no such public event was recorded in the newspapers. This mise en scène has be

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The Main Building

The Main Building

Formerly one of the most lavish private homes in the Garden District, this mansion now serves as the main building of the Louise S. McGehee School, for almost half a century one of the outstanding private schools for girls in the South. Amid architectural surroundings which bespeak a bygone age of leisure, work and study now prevail as the students pursue their exacting college preparatory curriculum. Designed in the splendid free Renaissance style by James Freret, the mansion was constructed in

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HARRY MERRITT LANE HOUSE 1238 Philip Street

HARRY MERRITT LANE HOUSE 1238 Philip Street

The classic Greek Revival Style and all that typifies antebellum life in the South are to be found in the stately Lane home. The handsome two-story-and-attic brick building with its front and side verandas was built in 1853-54 for John H. Rodenberg, a dealer in feeds. In addition to the stunning front portico, the view from the corner reveals the charm of the Chestnut Street elevation with the gently undulating effect achieved by the juxtaposition of a pair of shallow bays. In the years after it

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FORMER HARRIS-MAGINNIS-CRASSON HOUSE 2127 Prytania Street

FORMER HARRIS-MAGINNIS-CRASSON HOUSE 2127 Prytania Street

As this edition goes to press, preservationists are fighting to stay the demolition of this handsome raised cottage. Its interesting and varied history dates from 1857-58 when it was erected for Alexander Harris, a cotton broker. In 1871 it was sold to John H. Maginnis, whose family lived there for many years. It was the local headquarters for the American Red Cross from 1939 until 1954 when it was purchased by Dr. and Mrs. Clyde Crasson, who restored the building to its original beauty as a hom

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ATWOOD L. RICE, JR. HOUSE 1220 Philip Street

ATWOOD L. RICE, JR. HOUSE 1220 Philip Street

While it was the home of Isaac Delgado, this exquisite dwelling housed the art collection which became the nucleus of our city’s art museum. Although this is one of the largest houses in the Garden District, a delicacy of proportion and the tree-shaded garden within which it stands serve to minimize its great bulk. A good notion of its size can be obtained from counting the many chimneys which rise from the slate roof. Constructed entirely of wood, it exemplifies the style developed locally just

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THOMAS JORDAN HOUSE 1415 Third Street

THOMAS JORDAN HOUSE 1415 Third Street

This great mansion on the corner of Third and Coliseum streets is an outstanding example of the age of opulence. Designed by an unknown architect, the house was completed in 1865 for Walter Robinson, a young Virginian who came to this city to buy Cuban wrappers for cigars and to purchase perique, an especially fine type of tobacco which to this day is grown only in St. James Parish of Louisiana. The house’s second owner, David C. McCan, a native of Cincinnati, is remembered for his philanthropy

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THOMAS B. FAVROT HOUSE 1448 Fourth Street

THOMAS B. FAVROT HOUSE 1448 Fourth Street

During the fabulous 1850’s when splendid mansions were rising all through the Garden District, no structure was larger or finer than this important house. Although usually identified as the “house with the cornstalk fence”, this house has other features to recommend it. The tremendous size, the asymmetrical design and the beautiful iron work galleries on front and sides make it an unusual structure. Designing during a period when romanticism was the ascendant trend in arts and letters, the archi

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BRYAN BELL HOUSE 1331 Third Street

BRYAN BELL HOUSE 1331 Third Street

Iron lace, delicate but dramatic, casting lovely shadows across the façade of the Bell house, has made this a favorite “shot” for photographers, both amateur and professional. These cast iron galleries, often called the finest in the city, make the house eye-catching, but locally it is also famous for its associations with the New Orleans family of the French painter Edgar Degas. In 1850 Michel Musson, a prominent cotton merchant and postmaster of New Orleans from 1849 to 1853, purchased the sit

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ADELAIDE L. BRENNAN HOUSE 2507 Prytania Street

ADELAIDE L. BRENNAN HOUSE 2507 Prytania Street

Nearly a century after it was built, this vast mansion, a newspaper editor’s dream house, almost made the front page when a raging fire gutted the interior and threatened destruction. Fortunately the house withstood good times and bad, hurricanes and fire, and stands today lovingly restored. The quarter square of land at the corner of Prytania and Second Streets was purchased in June, 1852, by Joseph H. Maddox, owner of the New Orleans Daily Crescent , a prominent newspaper of the period. Plans

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FRANK G. STRACHAN HOUSE 1134 First Street

FRANK G. STRACHAN HOUSE 1134 First Street

By reason of its beauty alone this majestic house would deserve notice, but history has touched the house, making it a landmark. It is revered by Southerners because the Confederacy’s beloved President, Jefferson Davis, died within its portals. A granite marker placed beside the front walk by the United Daughters of the Confederacy memorializes this sad event. Very little is known about the actual construction of the house, but it is conceded to have been one of the very first large mansions of

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THOMAS M. TERRY HOUSE 1417 Third Street

THOMAS M. TERRY HOUSE 1417 Third Street

Small and appealing, this remodeled carriage house furnishes a delightful contrast to the huge mansions which surround it. Some thirty years ago Dr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Terry bought the carriage house in the rear of the large house at 2520 Prytania Street. The main house, built in 1853, is attributed to Isaac Thayer, architect and builder, in Samuel Wilson, Jr.’s Guide to Architecture of New Orleans —1699-1959, although local tradition holds that it was the work of James Gallier, the younger. Thi

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GEORGE G. WESTFELDT HOUSE 2340 Prytania Street

GEORGE G. WESTFELDT HOUSE 2340 Prytania Street

The simplicity and unpretentious charm of this ancient raised cottage set well back amid luxuriant vegetation bring to mind the pleasant rural character of the Faubourg Lafayette of the 1830’s. Strongly akin to the type of plantation architecture which developed in Louisiana, the house was built by a pioneer resident of the Garden District, Thomas Toby. In 1817 Toby left Philadelphia and came to New Orleans where he introduced the use of long-tailed drays for hauling cotton bales. Soon he had th

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JOHN A. MMAHAT HOUSE 1239 First Street

JOHN A. MMAHAT HOUSE 1239 First Street

Roses, their beauty captured in iron, embellish the grillwork of this palatial Garden District mansion. The interesting façade with double galleries is distinguished by the use of “columns in antae”, Corinthian and Ionic columns between the square pilasters at the corners. The contract for construction of the building was signed on January 3, 1857. For $13,000, so modest by present day standards, the owner, Albert Hamilton Brevard, erected a mansion of many spacious rooms, ornamented in the best

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THOMAS NORTON BERNARD HOUSE 1328 Harmony Street

THOMAS NORTON BERNARD HOUSE 1328 Harmony Street

Strikingly handsome in its simplicity, the Bernard house is often cited as a pure example of a Louisiana raised cottage. Sturdy brick pillars support the wide gallery which is reached by a long flight of steps. Wooden railings are plain while windows to the floor are symmetrically arranged on either side of the recessed doorway. Long owned by various members of the Bernard family, the cottage exudes family tradition but the builder and construction dates are unknown. Earliest record of the “prop

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GEORGE A. COIRON HOUSE 2926 St. Charles Avenue

GEORGE A. COIRON HOUSE 2926 St. Charles Avenue

A delightful Southern home with many galleries to catch the breezes, the Coiron house dates from 1882, yet it was designed and built in the manner of dwellings of the 1860 period. The architect is unknown but the original owner was one Thomas McDermott, who resided there for many years with his two maiden sisters. Older Garden District residents still recall McDermott sitting on the little porch off the dining room every summer evening, smoking his cigar until dusk. One charming eccentricity of

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JOHN B. HOBSON HOUSE 1224 Jackson Avenue

JOHN B. HOBSON HOUSE 1224 Jackson Avenue

Particularly charming, this raised cottage is one of the few remaining vestiges of the elegance of the homes along Jackson Avenue during the early days of the Garden District. Research by Samuel Wilson, Jr., architectural historian, establishes that the house was built around the time of the War Between the States by a man named Swain, who previously had resided in a house on the corner of Philip and Chestnut streets. In 1869 it was the property of Louis Schneider. In May of 1881 the house was s

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CHESTER A. MEHURIN HOUSE 1427 Second Street

CHESTER A. MEHURIN HOUSE 1427 Second Street

This dignified and handsome Greek Revival house has been the property of Mr. and Mrs. Chester A. Mehurin since 1948. During their long period of ownership, the Mehurin’s have completely restored the house, under the supervision of Koch-Wilson architects, made some additions and also delved into the interesting history of the property. The house was probably built by Mrs. Jane Fawcett, widow of James D’Arcy, on this ground which she purchased in 1845, in the rear of her other property facing Firs

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LELAND S. MONTGOMERY HOUSE 1506 Seventh Street

LELAND S. MONTGOMERY HOUSE 1506 Seventh Street

Although the architect and builder of this stately mansion are unknown, it was probably constructed in the 1850’s. A delightful rendering in water color of the house as it appeared in 1865 is in the notarial archives of Orleans Parish. This charming painting shows the house without the library with bedroom above which was added to the south side of the house in 1890. Details such as the columns—Ionic on the lower gallery, Corinthian above—and the curved flagstone walk from the entrance on Sevent

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BILLUPS P. PERCY HOUSE 1236 First Street

BILLUPS P. PERCY HOUSE 1236 First Street

Majestically situated on a large corner lot abounding in typical Southern shrubs and towering magnolia trees the Percy house is a fine example of the Greek Revival style. All the components of a classic Garden District mansion are here—double galleries, fluted Corinthian columns, iron grillwork, and a deep but simple cornice above the top porch. A characteristic floor plan, as indicated from the arrangement of windows and the door in the façade, was to have all major rooms on the south side (the

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ALBERT J. RUHLMAN HOUSE 2336 St. Charles Avenue

ALBERT J. RUHLMAN HOUSE 2336 St. Charles Avenue

This early Louisiana cottage, believed to date from the 1840’s, looks today much as it did when the little railroad on Nayades Street brought wealthy business men from their offices downtown out to their palatial Garden District homes. The façade of the house is symmetrically lovely, distinguished by the wooden railing in a diamond-shaped design, so seldom found today. Typical of the best features of homes of this period are the wide center hall, high ceilings, double parlors, cypress woodwork w

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JOSEPH V. SCHLOSSER HOUSE 1240 Sixth Street

JOSEPH V. SCHLOSSER HOUSE 1240 Sixth Street

After undergoing varied and not always felicitous usages during its long history, this handsome double galleried frame house is once again what it was originally, a fine private dwelling. Estimated by Koch and Wilson, architects for the restoration, to have been built between 1866 and 1868, the house for many years was the Music School of the original Sophie Newcomb High School and College. The school’s main campus was in the square directly across the street, as described earlier in this book.

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