Gallier House New Orleans

More research for my Victorian House - My wife and I were able to visit the Gallier House in New Orleans historic French Quarter. The house was designed by famous New Orleans architect James Gallier in the 1850's. The house has been loving restored and furnished with period pieces.

Here is a photo of the double parlor

The house has a long narrow floor plan and a small courtyard at the back of the property. The property backs up to another house and also has one on each side. The skinny portion of the back of the house could be closed off from the front part of the house. The back areas included the kitchen and dining areas on the first floor, and the bathroom and slaves quarters on the second floor. The courtyard has a small garden and had a cistern to collect the waste, as it was designed before the city of New Orleans had a public sewer system. The house is one of first known in the area to have indoor toilets.

The entry hall is pretty unassuming, but still ornate with the woodwork, woodwork and wallpaper

Here is a photo of the front of the house which is directly adjacent to the street. The balcony and iron work on the second floor cantilever over the public sidewalk.

Here is a photo of the front door and very heavy custom designed grill to protect the residence

   

 

Here is a photo of the front parlor with dust covers which were used while the family was away. Notice the very heavy plaster crown molding.

Here is a photo of the dining room table. The table was set for a multi-course meal

Here is a shot of the kitchen sink with a view out to the courtyard. Notice the copper hot water heater to the left.

The stove was wood burning and built into the wall in the kitchen. I was surprised at how small the kitchen actually was.

The house was state of the art at the time and featured this copper water heater in the kitchen

The pantry, just off the kitchen was stocked with period necessities

Upstairs, the large hall serves at a library. The tour guide told us that Gallier didn't like the wasted space. Another very neat feature of this room/hall, was a large operable skylight with could be opened to help let all the hot summer air escape and keep the house cooler in the summer months.

The master bedroom was very ornate, furniture, carpet,  and even the wallpaper. The tour guide mentioned something about how valuable all of the dark carved wood furniture was, but I missed that part. It was produced by a local craftsman.

The exterior of the house is drastically different facing the private rear courtyard. The facade is wood and plaster, versus the large cut stone and wrought iron on the front of the house.

Here is photo of one of the slaves quarters. They were much simpler than the rest of the house, no woodwork or wallpaper.