A while back, my wife and I had the pleasure of visiting Oak Alley Plantation, one of the most famous plantations in Louisiana. This home was built in 1839 and was originally named Bon Séjour (pleasant sojourn). But steamboat passengers traveling on the nearby Mississippi River had a different view of the property. Marveling at the quarter-mile avenue of 28 giant, live oaks leading up to the house, they dubbed it “Oak Alley.” It is a short drive from New Orleans and sits along the bank of the Mississippi River. This famous view above is actually from the Mississippi River side. The house was one of the back drops for the movie "Interview With A Vampire" several years ago. Even today, Spanish moss grows and hangs from the live oak trees which were planted early in the 18th Century before the house was built.
This aerial view is from a photo in magazineusa.com. It shows the relationship to the Mississippi. The plaque below shows the status of the residence as a National Historic Landmark. The house is characterized by high ceilings, large windows, a
symmetrical facade and interior plan, and a second-floor gallery for
viewing purposes. The flooring was made of marble, but has since been removed and replaced by wood floors, the roof is slate, and the house and columns of brick painted
white to look like marble.
The large object above the dining room table was actually a large fan that would swing back and forth by having one of the slaves stand in the corner and pull on the chord.
John, at his miniature blog called Merriman Park, is contemplating putting a similar piece in his dining room. You can check that out by clicking here.
The entry hall shown below, extends the entire length of the house.
I will use some of the inspiration here for my Victorian House.
What a glimpse into history. C
ReplyDeleteThanks for the shout-out, Troy! What a beautiful home...I remember it fondly from the movie and still have a hard time when it goes up in flames. (I KNOW it was only make-believe...but still)! I appreciate you going into your archives for this --thanks, Troy!
ReplyDeleteHello Troy,
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely visit. Thanbks for posting the pictures. They are great and very inspiring.
Have a great weekend,
Giac
Hi again, Troy --I just popped back over to see the shoo-fly in your photo again because it is so different than the ones I found in my research. Hmmmmmmm....
ReplyDeleteI'm torn! Thanks again for the mention and hope you and your family have a lovely Easter weekend!
John
I had a chance to the plantation and it was absolutely breathtaking! So beautiful!!!! Sheila
ReplyDeleteHi Troy,
ReplyDeleteI love Oak Ally Plantation,it seems we have a similar interest in Southern Style Architecture, you however are fortunate enough to experience it in person, unlike my self who only dreams about it!
Fi x
Hi Troy: Need to know who took picture of front house. First picture. Really want to use it for the front of my book, and have to have permission.
ReplyDeleteHi Troy am willing to pay a percentage of royalties when book is published for the use of your copywritted picture. I am getting started on my book being published and found your picture. I do not however know how to contact you to get this picture under contract so you would get percentage of my book when published and sold on the internet market. I have disk with downloaded picture how I want my cover to look. Will put picture of it here if you would like. Thank You for your time, Mary Hammons
ReplyDeleteOak ally is in my neck of the woods ( as they say ) ... tis a small world after all .... LOL
ReplyDeleteMario
Very nice.
ReplyDelete