Floodway, Fishway, Oilfield, Eden: New Orleans and Architecture Part 1

I love Summertime. The living is easy, fish are jumping and the cotton is high. In fact, if this post has a soundtrack it would kick-off like this:

PROLOGUE

To start at the beginning:

Cut to the summer of 2008.

I was on a road trip across the country that resulted in visiting the majority of states in these United. However, there were still four which had eluded my capture. They are as follows:

- Alaska
- Michigan
- Louisiana
- Rhode Island

Like the overweight pre-teen circa 1999 I secretly am, I have to catch'em all to feel complete.

Jump to 2012, I had an extra flight about to expire from a credit card I signed up about a year ago for and a friend who was in need of some distraction. So for completely selfish purposes, I decided we should to go to New Orleans. This friend of mine is the best breed of Foodie imaginable, as in she has cooked many excellent meals for myself and other such unworthy vagrants, asking nothing in return. This girl knows a good piece of grit cake when she sees it, therefore with her covering the food aspect, and myself on the sites of the city, we were ready to rock.

PART 1: 

The History of New Orleans: Spaniards, Frenchmen, Creole and Classy, Classy Americans. 

New Orleans has a long and complicated history. Before Europeans arrived, the area had been used for thousands of years by the native peoples of the Mississippi River. Most tour guides maintain the the French Quarter in particular is built on their burial ground.

 

First came the French (1718-1769) with a great deal of ambition and civic planning schemes, then came the Spanish (with maybe a little too much of the lingering inquisition tactics) (1769-1803) and lastly there were the Americans (1803-1861, 1865-Present), who by this time were generally considered to be 'weirdos' yet, had tons of money and were also, strangely, 'classy as hell'. What with their Northern sensibilities and WAY too many neck-ties. There is also the brief Confederate rule in New Orleans (1861-1865), but we'll get into that later.


The topography of New Orleans is like that of a shallow bowl. In the outlying areas, such as Oak Alley Plantation (one of the highest in the area) the elevation is only about 10' above sea-level, meaning that a large percentage of the city is naturally well below that point. Some have said that the unnatural aspect of being below the sea gives the city it's strange quality, like an Atlantis, just waiting to happen, however this theory is debatable. What is not debatable is that this particular problem, conceived hundreds of years ago and made worse by industrialization and use, is, was, and always will be a massive headache to the Army Corps of Engineers. 

As for the layout of the city itself. The older aspects of the city are somewhat of a mish-mash of European planning ideas. There is the ever present grid, however unlike the neatly packed and far more rigid grid of cities like Philadelphia, the city blocks seemed to lean toward giving space to those who could afford it. There were large blocks with long linear plots, creating a courtyard that could be taken advantage of by all parties, or if you bought several plots, by yourself exclusively.

As the city grew, so did the grid. Eventually by 1888, there are a number of grids, which are based on the geometry of the river, which makes them somewhat contradictory in axis from one to the next.

  New Orleans has long been considered the "Least American" city of the United States. I both agree and disagree with this statement. To be 'American' is a deceptively complex subject (and one we have covered in earlier posts) however this assessment makes sense when you realize that this label has been self-applied.

New Orleans for a long time did not considered their population to be "American", while it is within the confines of the United States geography, there was a strong line between 'Creole' and 'American'.

So what is 'Creole'?

Like several concepts in Louisiana, particularly in New Orleans, 'Creole' can mean A LOT of different things.

Too complicated to explain here

The simplistic version is 'Creole' as it is referred to in New Orleans is people who are not tied to any particular nation as much as they are tied to the area. You could be Plaquemine, Natchez, French, Spanish, West African, whatever, and still be considered 'Creole' depending on the time you're talking about. Also apparently you need to know how to make a Roux. 

What does all this have to do with Architecture?

Not a whole lot, except that when a place is so different, coming from so many different influences the people will be different, so the structures that house them will be different as well. Unique, strange, seductive and well... you'll just have to come back for the rest.

Stay tuned for Part II of the New Orleans Trip: House and Hearth, Sinners and Saviors, Slaved and Enslaved.