tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post2691331756452130377..comments2024-03-26T16:11:44.515-04:00Comments on All Things Ruffnerian, a Design Blog and More: The Pontalba BuildingsMark D. Ruffnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-80089641792642401342011-12-07T21:12:02.076-05:002011-12-07T21:12:02.076-05:00Hi, Terry - The detail is not showing up well in a...Hi, Terry - The detail is not showing up well in any of the photos, but the Pontalba Buildings are made of red brick. Look at the height of those windows — you just know the ceilings have to be about 12 feet high!Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-42584642758577690152011-12-07T20:09:17.148-05:002011-12-07T20:09:17.148-05:00What a fascinating building. I'm not sure what...What a fascinating building. I'm not sure what the exterior is. Is it stucco? It reminds me of the Palais Royale square in Paris. I wonder what the apartments are like? I assume they have high ceilings and such.Square With Flairhttp://squarewithflair.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-13278111249867837322011-11-26T09:26:49.278-05:002011-11-26T09:26:49.278-05:00Hi, Rosemary - Or one could walk downstairs and be...Hi, Rosemary - Or one could walk downstairs and be at the Café du Monde in just a moment — it's only yards away.Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-36307286955084596512011-11-26T04:03:40.776-05:002011-11-26T04:03:40.776-05:00I do imagine that the elaborate balconies reflect ...I do imagine that the elaborate balconies reflect the Baronesses time spent in Paris. What a lovely place to sit out and have morning coffee or an aperitif before dinner.Rosemaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03814070177137076757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-13529731500262198502011-11-25T15:18:53.271-05:002011-11-25T15:18:53.271-05:00Thanks for visiting, Thomas - I can imagine that y...Thanks for visiting, Thomas - I can imagine that you had great views and a great time at the Pontalba, and now great memories.<br /><br />I understand that the American Embassy in Paris, built by the Baroness, was originally a hotel - it must have been grand!Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-17309639926176292202011-11-25T15:10:02.822-05:002011-11-25T15:10:02.822-05:00We had an apartment there with friends for years(g...We had an apartment there with friends for years(gave it up after Katrina)- It was the 3rd floor corner in your mother's photo- Many ghosts- A young couple would appear in our sairwell (I never saw them), a wedding dress found under the floor boards during a neighbor's renovation-and the story of a skeleton found in someone's kitcken ceiling- The old Baroness also built the building that now houses the American Embassy in ParisThomasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-60059451706776538122011-11-25T12:23:05.434-05:002011-11-25T12:23:05.434-05:00Hello, Yvette - When I started photographing the P...Hello, Yvette - When I started photographing the Pontalba Buildings, those marvelous balconies were my original focus — I love the way the monogram is worked into the grill work!Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-56220145793714860692011-11-25T12:21:17.525-05:002011-11-25T12:21:17.525-05:00Hello Reggie - It's interesting that New Orlea...Hello Reggie - It's interesting that New Orleans had a hometown baroness, and her story is a good read, isn't it. I hope others check out the link.Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-28779626913288473772011-11-25T11:16:57.474-05:002011-11-25T11:16:57.474-05:00Wow! What a life. Thanks for the link, Mark. Very ...Wow! What a life. Thanks for the link, Mark. Very interesting. No wonder it was turned into an opera.<br /><br />I'm glad she won out in the end. More or less.<br /><br />Love those balconies.Yvettehttp://yvettecandraw.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-38932198202754482082011-11-25T09:35:58.143-05:002011-11-25T09:35:58.143-05:00I am a huge fan of the Pontalba Buildings, and fin...I am a huge fan of the Pontalba Buildings, and find the story of the woman who built them -- well -- astonishing. Such grit and determination, and such adversity! Thank goodness for the architectural preservation of the area, and of New Orleans in general. RDReggie Darlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04044215790585354363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-59074302827811994382011-11-25T08:24:13.260-05:002011-11-25T08:24:13.260-05:00Hello, Parnassus - I could not agree more.
My nei...Hello, Parnassus - I could not agree more.<br /><br />My neighborhood was in a protracted lawsuit with an out-of-town company that wanted to build what were practically skyscrapers in a one- and two-story residential area. We prevailed, in part because we argued that the buildings would set a city-wide precedent, walling up entire waterfront views.<br /><br />The whole affair, which dragged on for about three years, really awakened me to a lack of city planning and/or the willingness to quickly vacate codes in favor of big money.<br /><br />But don't get me started!Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-75550347057018254262011-11-25T03:07:46.931-05:002011-11-25T03:07:46.931-05:00The Baroness had a vision, she planned it with met...The Baroness had a vision, she planned it with meticulous care, and the result was beautiful and lasting, enhancing her home city, even becoming emblematic of it. <br /><br />I know that the design idiom is different today, and that there are many exciting projects going on, but still so many large-scale efforts are aesthetic and functional failures--perhaps because they concentrate on themselves (or the bottom line) and not on fitting into the city as a whole.<br />--Road to ParnassusParnassushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08958901307538141468noreply@blogger.com