Friday, July 18, 2025

New Orleans Architecture

One of the joys I have gotten during this stay at home time in New Orleans has been walking around New Orleans taking pictures of beautiful homes all around the city. Many people would say that the mansions in the Garden District are the most beautiful homes but I love the colorful shotgun houses that dot the streets of the entire city.

Shotgun homes are characteristically long, narrow houses that are a single room wide and several rooms deep. Popular folklore says that the homes’ design allows a shotgun to fire a bullet through the open front door, straight through each room and out the back door unscathed. 

Structures of this type originated in West Africa, were then introduced to Haiti, and eventually made their way to New Orleans through Haitian and West African refugees, immigrants, and slaves. They were traditionally lower-class housing but now these homes are sought after by everyone and many have breathtaking remodels inside that highlight the past but also bring in modern elements. 

These homes often do not provide much privacy as many do not have hallways and they require you to walk through rooms to get from the front to the back of the house. The kitchens are often in the rear of the home. The homes also have high ceilings to promote better air flow in the hot and humid climate.

In New Orleans, they are often painted vibrant colors and as Marie Kondo would say, “Spark Joy” as you drive through the neighborhoods all over town. In some neighborhoods the color of the homes is controlled through the historic preservation societies and the color scheme must be approved to maintain historical accuracy. Anytime I see this type of home in my travels I think about New Orleans traditions.

Latest

Festival d’été de Québec 2025 Recap: A Genre-Spanning Celebration in the Heart of Quebec City

The Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ), a multi-genre music festival that...

Bonnaroo 2026: Festival Dates Announced with Big Changes and a Return to the Farm

Mark your calendars, Roo fam — Bonnaroo is officially returning...

Reputation Reborn: Celebrating World Snake Day with Taylor Swift’s Most Iconic Era

Happy World Snake Day, the day we honor as...

Exploring Göttweig Abbey: Austria’s Majestic Monastery in the Heart of the Wachau Valley

The beautiful Wachau Valley is a region in Lower...

Newsletter

Don't miss

Festival d’été de Québec 2025 Recap: A Genre-Spanning Celebration in the Heart of Quebec City

The Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ), a multi-genre music festival that...

Bonnaroo 2026: Festival Dates Announced with Big Changes and a Return to the Farm

Mark your calendars, Roo fam — Bonnaroo is officially returning...

Reputation Reborn: Celebrating World Snake Day with Taylor Swift’s Most Iconic Era

Happy World Snake Day, the day we honor as...

Exploring Göttweig Abbey: Austria’s Majestic Monastery in the Heart of the Wachau Valley

The beautiful Wachau Valley is a region in Lower...

Majestic Princess Makes Debut During the 2026-27 Season

During its 2026-27 season, Princess Cruises will debut the...
Amy Harris
Amy Harris is a writer and photographer who has been traveling for 20 years and flown over 2 million miles to visit over 80 countries on 6 continents. She is a freelance photographer for Invision by Associated Press, AP Images and Rex/Shutterstock. Her work can be seen in various publications and websites including: Rolling Stone, AP Images, National Geographic Books, Fodor’s Travel Guides, Forbes.com, Lonely Planet Travel Guides, JetStar magazine, and Delta Sky Magazine.

Festival d’été de Québec 2025 Recap: A Genre-Spanning Celebration in the Heart of Quebec City

The Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ), a multi-genre music festival that runs 11 days in July each summer in Quebec since 1968, is one of the...

Bonnaroo 2026: Festival Dates Announced with Big Changes and a Return to the Farm

Mark your calendars, Roo fam — Bonnaroo is officially returning June 11–14, 2026, and next year’s festival promises to be unlike any we’ve seen before....

Reputation Reborn: Celebrating World Snake Day with Taylor Swift’s Most Iconic Era

Happy World Snake Day, the day we honor as the conception of Taylor Swift’s 2017 Reputation album and her incredible ability to turn a...