Architecture Entries

A

Audubon Park

Fronting the Mississippi River, Audubon Park is one of New Orleans’s most popular attractions for both tourists and locals. Learn more »

B

Buisson, Pierre Benjamin

Pierre Benjamin Buisson was a talented architect, engineer, surveyor, and publisher, was born in Paris, France, and migrated to New Orleans while in his early twenties where he advanced his career with work on major public buildings. Learn more »

C

Carville National Leprosarium

Several buildings at the National Leprosarium at Carville, Louisiana, were built by the Works Progress Administration. Learn more »

Charity Hospital

Charity Hospital is a twenty-story Art Deco skyscraper in New Orleans that was built by the Public Works Administration (PWA) between 1936 and 1940. Learn more »

City Park, New Orleans

One of the largest urban parks in the United States, New Orleans' City Park is home to many cultural and recreational attractions including the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Botanical Garden, golf courses, tennis courts, City Bark dog park, Tad Gormley stadium, and several lagoons. Learn more »

Colbert, Ralph Charles

Architect Charles Colbert’s contributions to the shaping of mid-Twentieth Century architecture in southern Louisiana are profound. Learn more »

Curtis and Davis Architects

The architectural firm Curtis and Davis designed the Superdome, Rivergate, and other notable buildings in New Orleans and throughout the state. Learn more »

Cabildo

The Cabildo, one of three eighteenth-century structures that anchor New Orleans' Jackson Square, stands as a visual monument to Spanish rule in New Orleans, as well as one of the nation’s most significant historical landmarks. Learn more »

D

Dakin, Charles and James

Louisiana architects Charles Dakin and James Dakin designed the Old State Capitol building in Baton Rouge, as well as the St. Charles Hotel in New Orleans, among other projects. Learn more »

Desmond, John Jacob

Twentieth-century Louisiana architect John Jacob Desmond pioneered a style of regional modernism. Learn more »

F

Freret, James

Entry covers the life and work of New Orleans native-born architect, James Freret. Learn more »

G

Gallier Hall

Gallier Hall is considered one of the masterpieces of Greek Revival style in the South. Learn more »

Gallier, James, Sr.

The reputation of James Gallier, Sr. exceeded that of all other architects of the nineteenth century in New Orleans. Learn more »

Goldstein, Moise H.

A native of New Orleans, Moise Goldstein practiced architecture in the city for nearly half a century and helped create the School of Architecture at Tulane University. Learn more »

H

Historic Preservation

New Orleans’ Vieux Carré (or French Quarter) was an early testing ground for preservation measures, and it continues to be one. In the early twentieth century, politicians and real estate interests saw the Vieux Carré’s aging structures as candidates for demolition Learn more »

Howard, Henry

Henry Howard was an important Louisiana architect of the nineteenth century. Learn more »

K

Koch, Richard

Louisiana architect and preservationist Richard Koch worked with the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) in the state during the Great Depression. Learn more »

L

Lafon, Barthélémy

Barthélémy Lafon enjoyed a long and diverse career in Louisiana as an architect, builder, engineer, surveyor, cartographer, town planner, planter, land speculator, publisher, and pirate. Learn more »

Latrobe, Benjamin

American architect Benjamin Latrobe designed plans for the US Capitol and other buildings. He came to New Orleans to develop waterworks and wrote about the city in his journal. Learn more »

M

Madame John’s Legacy

Madame John’s Legacy derives its national landmark status not only from its architectural significance but also from its real and fictional associations with the French Quarter’s French and Spanish colonial society. Learn more »

N

National Archives, France

The National Archives of France in Paris is an important resource for scholars of early Louisiana architecture. Learn more »

New State Capitol

The New State Capitol building was part of Governor Huey Long’s public works campaign to improve the state’s physical infrastructure. Learn more »

O

Old State Capitol

Designed by architect James H. Dakin, Louisiana’s Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge is among the state’s most distinctive architectural landmarks. Learn more »

P

Pontalba Buildings

Baroness Pontalba's buildings on Jackson Square changed the haphazard design into a viable public area. Learn more »

Pouilly, J.N.B. de

J.N.B. de Pouilly was a successful architect in antebellum Louisiana, who designed several important buildings in New Orleans. Learn more »

Presbytere

Along with the Cabildo and St. Louis Cathedral, the Presbytere figures as a major component in New Orleans' Jackson Square. Learn more »

PWA Architecture

The Public Works Administration projects in Louisiana during the Great Depression include numerous courthouses, university buildings, and Charity Hospital in New Orleans. Learn more »

R

Richardson, Henry Hobson

Louisiana-born architect H. H. Richardson is one of the most notables American architects of the late nineteenth century. Learn more »

S

Shotgun House

The shotgun ranges in style from the simple, plain vernacular to a high-style decorated form. A long, narrow house facing the street, the shotgun features a roof ridge that runs perpendicular to the front entrance. Learn more »

St. Louis Cathedral

Since 1850, the St. Louis Cathedral's impressive three-steeple facade has become the city's most recognizable building. Learn more »

Sullivan, Louis Henry

Renowned Chicago architect Louis Henry Sullivan designed only one building in Louisiana, Union Station in New Orleans. Learn more »

Sully, Thomas

Louisiana architect Thomas Sully introduced innovative national architectural trends—aesthetic and structural—to New Orleans. Learn more »

T

Town, A. Hays

A talented and prolific Louisiana architect, A. Hays Town shaped the residential architecture in mid-to late twentieth-century Louisiana. Learn more »

U

Ursuline Convent

The old Ursuline Convent remains as the only French colonial structure in the French Quarter known to have survived the fires of 1788 and 1794 and one of the oldest buildings in the Mississippi Valley. Learn more »

US Custom House

The US Custom House at the foot of Canal Street in New Orleans is one of the most significant mid-nineteenth-century buildings in the nation. Learn more »

V

Vieux Carre Commission

Created in 1937 to preserve historic French Quarter buildings, the Vieux Carré Commission has survived legal, political, and economic challenges to become an internationally-recognized preservation agency. Learn more »

W

Weil, Emile

Known for the vast range of buildings he designed, Emile Weil played an important role in Louisiana's architecture in the first third of the twentieth century Learn more »

Weiss, Dreyfous and Seiferth

The architectural firm of Weiss, Dreyfous and Seiferth is best known for designing public buildings in the 1930s, many of which were commissioned by Governor Huey Long. Learn more »

Wharton, Thomas Kelah

Louisiana artist and architect Thomas Wharton is best known for the writings and sketches he kept in a daybook. Learn more »

Wilson, Samuel Jr.

Samuel Wilson Jr., an architect and preservationist, is often referred to as the “Dean of Historic Preservation” in New Orleans. Learn more »