Southern Cypress

Louisiana cypress has been mentioned in previous posts. John Lautner has described Frank Lloyd Wright's preference for the wood, and his use of it for the 1936 Abby Beecher Roberts House ["Deertrack"], Marquette, Michigan.

The Southern Cypress Manufacturers' Association (SCMA), founded in New Orleans, issued pocket books with plans and elevations for model bungalows. Sears Kit Homes (1908-1940) were also made with cypress exterior components, such as window trim, clapboard, soffits and fascia.

In 1915, New Orleans architect Martin Shepard (1875-1962) was commissioned by the SCMA to design a model cypress bungalow. He completed the advertising model (shown above) in 1916, for which the association paid him $179.30. The cypress bungalow toured hardware stores across the country, including the Delta Lumber Company in New Orleans (3536 Carrollton Avenue) and the headquarters of Philipp Ott and Son, in Jefferson City, Missouri.

From the 19-teens through the 1930s, the SCMA regularly commissioned architects to design model homes plans. Chicago architect Murray D. Hetherington (1891-1972) designed the cypress cabin that the SCMA featured in the Chicago Century of Progress International Exposition (1933-34).

The SCMA Records (1932-1973) are housed at the University of Florida--Gainesville. The Southeastern Architectural Archive retains a collection of SCMA pocket books, as well as plan books for Radford American Homes.

Image above: John Hypolite Coquille, photographer. Martin Shepard, architect. K.D. Cypress Model Exhibit. 1916. Martin Shepard Office Records, Box 19, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.