Architecturally unique, New Orleans has been called “the greatest outdoor museum in the world.” Glimpses of history can be found in the balconies, arches, and stained-glass windows of its homes, from simple Creole cottages to suburban ranch houses.
Written as a “house-watcher’s guide,” New Orleans Houses enables the layperson to estimate the date of a house’s construction, within ten to fifteen years, and to place it in a historical time frame by studying its architectural details. The author discusses each building style in the context of the major events, personages, and issues of the period during which the buildings were erected.
Over 100 illustrations, including drawings of existing New Orleans homes as well as composite sketches, highlight the characteristics commonly associated with certain types of homes, making New Orleans Houses as much an art book as it is a reference guide.
A glossary clarifies the sometimes-confusing terminology used in discussing architecture. It also defines words peculiar to New Orleans architecture such as “Creole” and “faubourg.”
Lloyd Vogt was one of Pelican’s most popular and successful authors. His New Orleans Houses: A House-Watcher’s Guide, now in its sixth printing, is the standard reference guide to building styles in the Crescent City. He also wrote Historic Buildings of the French Quarter, winner of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Book of the Year 2002, and A Young Person’s Guide to New Orleans Houses, a simplified version of New Orleans Houses: A House-Watcher’s Guide.