I would guess that New Orleans and San Francisco have the greatest concentration of gingerbread, an architectural form that just screams for inventive color schemes. I couldn't get enough of it.
This old building, with its gaping roof, intrigued me. All around it were beautifully restored homes, yet something about this building's past had precluded such care.
In the heart of the French Quarter, one sees evidence of the original French colonization with lots of 18th century brick buildings that look like this one. The walls have many cast iron stars, the signature of structural reinforcing rods.
I couldn't live in a building like this without getting out and repainting, and yet to visit New Orleans is to appreciate patinas of decay as a romantic design element.
I fell in love with this lantern, which was huge (I think it was on Royal Street) and I wish I could have photographed it without a busy background — but I couldn't.
Also on Royal Street is Bevolo Gas and Electric Lights, maker of the gas lanterns that are still to be seen throughout the French Quarter. (As an aside, I have to say that I saw literally tons of plastic souvenir Mardi Gras beads in many glitzy tourist shops, but this ambiance is what would make me want to return to New Orleans.)
I visited a salvage company that was almost entirely New Orleans grill work. It included cast iron tubs, stoves and mantels.
I think the most impressive building in New Orleans is the United States Custom House. It was begun in 1848 and finished in 1881 (construction dragged in part because of the Civil War). Believe it or not, today this houses the Audubon Insectarium, the largest free-standing museum in the United States devoted to ... insects.
My trip to New Orleans would not have been complete without a visit to one of its famous cemeteries. The Greenwood Cemetery is not the oldest or best known, but it is filled with many picturesque above-ground monuments.
Ozymandias
. . .
And so ends my tour of New Orleans.
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I second each of your choices. I like old buildings to show their age, at least to some extent, and I like the romance of ruins evoked by the second picture, but I also worry that a building in that state cannot survive much longer.
ReplyDeleteClarence Laughlin was the greatest photographer of Louisiana's old and wrecked buildings. Some of his gimmicks may seem a little hokey today, but he captured the beauty and mystery of the South's vanishing past.
--Road to Parnassus
Enjoyed the tour. I'm glad that you were able to see the beauty in the decay. I love it.
ReplyDeleteHello, Parnassus - I was not familiar with Clarence Laughlin until your mention of his name. I've since been googling his biography and images, and appreciating what I see. Thanks for the introduction.
ReplyDeleteHi, Steve - I see that there could be a future posting devoted to the fine balance between patina and real decay. I suppose when the line crosses from patina to structural decay, I'm less enamoured. I think it also has to do with context — is something charmingly antique in New Orleans, or just neglect in Havana?
ReplyDeleteDear Mark, Your New Orleans posts have been an eye opener. Wonderful photographs. Especially liked your photograph of the fluted columns and Egyptian looking capitals of the U. S. Custom House. In fact,the entire building facade reminds me of Andrea Palladio's Architecture.
ReplyDeleteHi, Gina - I was blown away by the U. S. Custom House! The later architectural flirtation with things Egyptian produced some strange buildings, but this structure is a beautiful mixture of Egyptian with the Neo-Classical. And I love that color!
ReplyDeleteSometimes a buildings patina can add layers of charm to it especially when the sun is shining. However, I am with you, if I left the exterior of my house unattended it would just look shabby, but not chic. Lovely photos of New Orleans.
ReplyDeleteHi, Rosemary - I live in a community that will fine homeowners for shabbiness, so I probably couldn't get away with it if I wanted to. As for interiors, I truly enjoy the charm of shabby-chic, and I delight in how some designers can cultivate it and design with it almost exclusively, but I want a little more polish in my life!
ReplyDeleteI love the shabby look although I will admit that sometimes it can be taken too far. :) My favorite part of shabby is peeling paint. I love when an old wood piece of furniture or whatnot has the original peeling paint. My kind of shabby.
ReplyDeleteLOve your photos, Mark. I'm a big fan of gingerbread trim and bright colors. :)
You know I think I could live in it with the decayed grandeur all around me. The exterior makes one wonder of course what it might have looked like in its hey day .
ReplyDeleteHi, Yvette - We're on the same page about antiques. I have some old cast iron banks that have a rich patina like that. Thanks for the compliment on the photos — the secret, of course is to take 310 photos, and then publish the 10 best!
ReplyDeleteHi, David - I will not be living in decayed grandeur, but I hope I can still visit you in yours!
ReplyDeleteGina and I both caught the same thing...those fabulous capitols on the Custom house. They are almost Egyptian appearing to have a lotus fashion. All of your pictures are fantastic! I would love to crawl through the salvage.
ReplyDeleteHi, Theresa - I had to take that photo of the Custom house, for those capitals — they're massive, I'd say five or six feet high.
ReplyDeleteI often think about this comparison between new or freshly maintained, and "romantic" decay. I think it says a lot about a society in which things are intentionally distressed or aged. Personally, I feel that things get run-down fast enough without accelerating the process. The form of distressing I particularly dislike is in clothing. Things are tumbled and abraded for softness, but quickly disintegrate after a few washings. Somehow, it seems an unnecessary form of waste.
ReplyDeleteHi Terry - I think that distressing works well in a grotto or perhaps on garden statuary, otherwise we're on the same page. I can't imagine torn clothing being stylish (though we both know it can be fashionable)!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there's a name/style for those columns (your 8th picture)?
ReplyDeleteDear Columnist - The capitals are in the style of Egyptian capitals found in temples at Thebes and Luxor. Owen Jones' "Grammar of Ornament" depicts 17 similar captials, usually composed of lotus and papyrus plants. With these particular capitals, I think the fluted columns look more stalk-like, don't you?
ReplyDeletehey mark,
ReplyDeleteexcellent blog and i looooooooooove your new orleans posts!!! my favorite city on earth. i pinned a few of your pics :). thanks for the tidbits of info, too. i can't wait to go back!
Thanks for visiting my blog, Janice! The next time you go back, I hope you order a beignet. I've told friends that it's just as well I don't live in New Orleans — I'd be having a beignet every day, and end up looking like one!
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