HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT: the louisiana vernacular
Responding to the Gulf’s climate and geography, houses in the Lower Ninth Ward feature a unique architecture patterned after relatively simple forms, with deep porches, high ceilings and tall windows, and the first floor raised above the ground.
The Holy Cross Historic District is architecturally important across the region for its large collection of buildings erected between 1850 and 1936 – and particularly for its high concentration of shotgun-style houses. Other building types include Creole cottages, camelback houses, side hall plan houses, bungalows and commercial buildings – this in addition to local landmarks, institutional buildings, and slab-on-grade ranch and brick apartment houses scattered throughout. Historic styles include Greek Revival, Italianate, Eastlake, bungalow and twentieth century eclectic.
Shotgun Houses
The shotgun makes up nearly 58 percent of all housing types in the district. This is a narrow one-story dwelling usually without halls; half of these include variations such as the double shotgun. Most of Holy Cross’s shotgun houses are older and more elaborately styled than those found in other parts of the Deep South.
Creole Cottages
The Creole cottage is a one-and-a-half story, gable-ended residence built up to the front property line. Its plan does not use hallways. Most of the district's cottages are plain, and some have Italianate details.
Camelback Houses
The camelback is a single or double shotgun with a two-level portion over the rear rooms. The second level usually includes one or two bedrooms.
Side Hall Plan Houses
Until the late 1800s most prosperous American citizens of New Orleans lived in side hall plan houses; most of those in the district are one story.
Bungalows
Larger than shotgun houses, bungalows are one-story, single living units, which are two rooms wide and two or more rooms deep. Virtually all of the district's bungalows are elevated two, three or four feet above grade.
Commercial Buildings
The many older commercial structures distributed throughout Holy Cross are another vital element of its historic streetscape. Most of these follow the domestic model: outwardly a house but with a corner entrance, a gallery over the sidewalk, and perhaps a few display windows. Virtually all of these buildings are one story and most are set at street corners. The district also features several large historic warehouses.
Building materials here are anything but ordinary. Most of the district's buildings do feature ordinary frame construction. Yet many of the older houses – particularly shotguns – were built with "standing planks", commonly referred to as “barge board” (discarded wood from river barges). This technique involves the use of thick vertical planks placed upon the sill to form the substance of the wall. The planks are then treated with some kind of exterior sheathing, usually clapboards. Original flooring is usually cypress or very dense pine. Many older homes still retain their lathe and plaster walls.