The Lower Garden District Historic District

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The Lower Garden District Historic District is roughly bounded by Jackson Avenue, Prytania Street, Erato Street and Chippewa Street. The district encompasses land which was first laid out as streets and city blocks in 1809 by the surveyor Barthelemy Lafon.

The district is dominated by its extensive collection of 19th century residential and commercial buildings, many of which pre-date the Civil War. The scale of most of the houses in the district is substantial, with the majority of them being two stories in height. The most significant house type to be found in the district is the side hall double galleried residence, of which there are approximately fifty still standing. These houses, with their miniature temple fronts, began appearing in the 1840s. A fine early example is the Wilson House at 1741 Coliseum Street, built in 1847, with both Doric and Ionic columns. A fine row of nearly identical double gallery houses stands at 1400-1416 Magazine Street, dating from the late 1860s. Houses of this type were built on very large lots, such as that of the Wilson House, and on more modest sized lots, depending upon the economic status of the clients.

Along Magazine Street, especially in the 1800 through the 2000 blocks, one encounters a fine collection of masonry commercial buildings, built in rows, one adjacent to another. A number of these structures feature deep galleries that are supported from below by iron columns. The best examples of this building type form the row of Italianate style structures at 2018-2050 Magazine Street.

There is smaller scale housing to be found in the district, with much of it located along Constance and Annunciation Streets. These streets contain a good collection of late 19th century shotgun houses. The 20th century saw the introduction of a new building type to the district, the apartment house. Unfortunately, with the exception of the earliest of these structures, the Ysabel, at 1215 St. Andrew Street, these apartment buildings do not make a positive contribution to the character of the district.

The character of the Lower Garden District is defined by the prevailing large scale of its buildings, both residential and commercial. This is a neighborhood where multi-story structures are in the majority. With the exception of commercial buildings, most structures are set back from the sidewalk behind ornamental fences of wood or cast-iron. There are a significant number of vacant lots in the district waiting for infill construction, which must respect the scale and character of the adjacent historic structures.