A Creole Property of Great Value in Faubourg Tremé
A Creole Property of Great Value in Faubourg Tremé
1200 Block of N. Roman St. at Governor Nicholls. Corner Store and Creole Cottage.
1848 Rendering, Plan Book 28, Folio 15, New Orleans Notarial Archives, January 17, 1848, E. Allou d'Hemecourt, architect and surveyor.
1200 Block of N. Roman St. at Governor Nicholls. Corner Store and Creole Cottage. Not far from the rude interruption of I-10, in the Faubourg Tremé of New Orleans, a combination of neglect and bad taste prevails, but yet somehow there is still a semi-historic feel—and certainly an extant fabric. Protected mostly by local preservation policy and, perhaps, a little bit of luck, a corner store and Creole Cottage face N. Roman (1200 block). Featured in the fabulous A Pattern Book of New Orleans Architecture (p. 192) by Roulhac B. Toledano, the parcel was sold around 1848 as per Plan Book 28, Folio 15, New Orleans Notarial Archives—home to over 5,000 19th century gouache and watercolor drawings depicting plat maps and building elevations.
Current Elevation of the Property
The “Plan of a property of great value in Municipality No 1” is elaborately headed, with a central plat map featuring only the subject property and a footer providing a illustration of the corner property at the time of sale. The drawing depicts two buildings at the street—a corner store and Creole Cottage. The corner store is small with a hipped roof and flatboat plank cladding. A fence attaches the dependency to the larger residential dwelling—the Creole Cottage. The cottage is typical in form, but features a banded façade, indicative of the Spanish Colonial period in New Orleans. Two Federal era dormers pierce the side-gabled roof and batten shutters are at every aperture aside from the dormers. At least five trees are depicted. A fence connects the rear of the corner store to a vehicle entrance and various other “outbuildings” along Governor Nicholls Street (formerly Hospital) to the rear of the lot. The plat shows that two other buildings were within the rear yard—probably living quarters and a privy.
Plat Map of the Area in 1848, Featuring the Subject Property
Since 1848, the place has become far less impressive. The corner store has been either rebuilt or both moved and substantially modified, as it is closer to the house with a new porch/awning that wraps its facades at both streets, descending from a new roof type. While similar in size, the building now reflects a typical late 19th or early 20th century corner store, rather than its formerly “Creole” motif. Probably accidental, the original feel of the house has been preserved, retaining the banded façade and the very delicate overhang. The paint job is very different and the battens have seen the wrecking ball. Fences are contemporary and the once immaculately kept property is no more. The rear of the parcel was lost to residential development. Yet the dwelling itself has a very distinctive feel with great potential.
Facade of the Creole Cottage--the Subject Property. Note: the batten shutters have been removed as have the Federal style dormers and perhaps the brick chimney.
It is most probable that the 1848 record depicts the complex of some kind of mechanic (craftsman), which could have been a wheelwright or a shoemaker—or both, among other professions. Records show that in 1850, F.N. Fortier lived at “Hospital n. Roman,” but that, by 1861, the juncture was home to numerous—Francois Boudrou; Joseph Claudot; Louis Detry—a drayman (…along with his son…); Simon Detry—a shoe maker; Joseph Gomez; Richard Hehard; J.P. Moreau—a shoemaker; Charles Trufort; and Caroline Zimmermann. In 1850 the Detrys lived on the premises of a one Pierre Labennelle, a wheelwright, but there is no indication that Labennelle ever owned or worked in N Roman St. Yet it is probable that, by the 1860s, the Detrys owned the property as it was certainly suitable for both the work of a shoe maker’s shop—both retail and manufacture, and even a drayman—or a wheelwright. The point is that this property certainly was suited for someone operating a business. This too can happen again. In fact, with the right care and concern, the whole of the place can again be renewed.
Side Elevation of the Creole Cottage
