NEW! Rock & Galloway Finding Aid

The Southeastern Architectural Archive has finalized the processing of the Rock & Galloway Office Records.

The collection includes correspondence, drawings, photographs, presentation boards, models and specifications. Researchers should note that most residential plans were given to individual clients, and the collection subsequently does not provide full insights into the firm's private commissions.

Read more about the collection via the SEAA's Finding Aids by Name.

Steel Vogue House (1954)

New Orleans. 21 March 1954.

A NEW APPROACH IN HOME BUILDING, the "Steel Vogue House" at 325 Sena in Metairie will be open for inspection Sunday, M.C. Baker Jr., builder, describes the home as having all structural steel wall studding, floor and ceiling joists, roof rafters and decking. Designed to be reproduced on an owner's lot for $35,000 it also claims to be all-time termite proof. Steel windows and steel doors, a glass sliding wall for full view are among its features. The three bedrooms have built-in beds, chests, vanities, etc. The two bathrooms have built-in dressing tables. The dining room has a photographic mural wall. In addition there is an extra family room. The kitchen has a skylight, automatic dishwasher and garbage disposal. A patio and carport are included.

The Times-Picayune

Color image above:  Google Street View. May 2014.

William S. Wiedorn

William “Bill” Shaffrath Wiedorn (1896-1990) was a prominent landscape architect and town planner. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, he graduated from Waterbury High School (CT), and then served in the United States Army during World War I as a Second Lieutenant in the infantry division’s machine gun section. After receiving his Bachelor of Science (1919) and while completing his Master of Landscape Design (1921) degree at Cornell University, Wiedorn was a member of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC). During this period, he also worked as an assistant designer for the Olmsted Brothers in Brookline, Massachusetts. In their employ, he contributed to the development of large estate subdivisions and park design. Most notably, he devised the planting and grading of the Rolling Rock Country Club in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.


Image above:  William S. Wiedorn, landscape architect. New Orleans City Park Administration Building and the Climatron Area. [Detail].  George J. Riehl, chairman, Technical Advisory Committee. 16 June 1965.

Edgewood Park

This fall the National Park Service approved New Orleans' Edgewood Park neighborhood's inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. The subdivision was developed in 1909 on the former Dennis Sheen Tract, originally bounded by the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad, Gentilly Boulevard and Clematis Avenue. This tract was desirable pasture land covered in blackberry bushes and grass, located along a natural ridge. Real estate developer J.L. Onorato secured an option on the property in February 1909. The following month, the New Orleans Railway Company announced it would extend its Villere streetcar line a mile beyond the Franklin Avenue/Galvez Street stop in order to provide service. Soon thereafter, consulting engineer Warren B. Reed platted the subdivision with all lots measuring 30' x 120'.  Early purchasers had a tendency to buy two adjacent lots (map above). By spring of 1910, Onorato sold a large number of Edgewood's remaining lots to Grover & Leyman, an Indianapolis-based real estate investment firm.

The neighborhood includes a large number of bungalows.

Image above: William Reed, consulting engineer. Edgewood Park, New Orleans. /J.L. Onorato, Agent. May 1909. Guy Seghers Office Records, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

Shell Roads & Edgelake Lands

We had posted William E. Boesch's 1926 Map of Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes Showing Lake Shore Developments & Etc. (detail top image) some time ago, and recently came across contemporary photographs of the Edgelake Subdivision in an advertising brochure.

The Southeastern Architectural Archive's Guy Seghers Office Records contain significant documentation of the Edgelake land holdings, as the Seghers family platted many of the associated neighborhoods. The developers chose reef shell for the subdivision's primary roads, including its park entrance (second image) and Curran Boulevard (bottom image). The Gulf Crushing Company, Inc. of New Orleans supplied the oyster shells.  During the 1920s, Louisiana's road builders had difficulty forming and maintaining roadways using local clay-sand. It often failed to bond with gravel. The Old Spanish Trail was particularly susceptible to such road failures, and much of it had to be resurfaced with reef shell.

The shell was less expensive, and could also be used in emergencies to provide a safe path on flooded roadbeds. The shells required no binding agent, were durable, water resistant and provided traction.

Images above:

Map: Wm. E. Boesch, Map of Orleans & St. Bernard Parishes Showing Lake Shore Developments & Etc. Copyrighted November 1926 by Wm. E. Boesch.  Guy Seghers Office Records, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

Photographs from:  Shell Roads in Louisiana. New Orleans: Gulf Crushing Company, 1927. Louisiana Research Collection, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

From NOLA to LA

In 1911, developer Colonel R.E.E. DeMontluzin (1884-1966) traveled from New Orleans to Los Angeles. His goal was to comprehensively study bungalow communities and residential structures. When he returned to the Crescent City, he spoke at a "bungalow luncheon" hosted by the Mercantile Club. 

DeMontluzin traced the origins of the building type to southeast Asia and enumerated the distinctive features of what he considered "true" bungalows. Claiming that it was a frame residence never taller than a story and a half, with built-in furnishings and spacious closets, DeMontluzin believed the true bungalow eliminated superfluous spaces, in contrast to what he called the "box-car" architecture of older New Orleans homes. When audience members resisted the notion that an 8-foot ceiling would provide relief during the city's steamy summers, DeMontluzin asserted that proper fenestration would remedy the problem.(1)

Others in the New Orleans building community were turning their attentions to California. Architects Morgan D.E. Hite (1882-1959) and Martin Shepard (1875-1962) solicited information from the West. In 1912, Shepard received the Monrovia (California) Board of Trade's 1912 illustrated guide (above), and based some of his architectural designs on its bungalow images (below).

For New Orleanians, who --  like R.E.E. DeMontluzin -- sought the direct experience of California, the Southern Pacific Lines' Sunset Limited provided transportation from NOLA to LA beginning in late 1894. The journey was 60 hours long and initially embarked from the railroad's depot at the head of Esplanade.

(1)"Mercantile Club Hears Talk on Bungalows and Cost of Living." The Daily Picayune (13 July 1911): p. 5.

Images above, from top to bottom:

"Col. R.E.E. DeMontluzin." As he appears in New Orleans Men of Affairs: Cartoons and Caricatures. [New Orleans]: 1909. Courtesy Louisiana Research Collection, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

"Planter's Bungalow--India in the Early Days." Common Mistakes in Bungalow Building and How to Avoid Them. Volume 5. New Orleans, LA and Jacksonville, FL: Southern Cypress Manufacturers Association, 1920. Architectural Trade Catalogs, Southeastern Architectural Archive.

Mailer cover, Monrovia Illustrated 1912. Monrovia, California: Monrovia Board of Trade, 1912. Martin Shepard Office Records, Southeastern Architectural Archive.

"A Group of Monrovia Bungalows." Monrovia Illustrated 1912. Monrovia, California: Monrovia Board of Trade, 1912. Martin Shepard Office Records, Southeastern Architectural Archive.

"Sunset Limited to California."" Southern Pacific Lines advertisement. 1926.

Bungalow Subdivisions 1909-1945

We are in the process of developing a new exhibit that focuses on bungalow and cottage architecture in the Gulf South. If you are interested in learning more about the development of bungalow subdivisions in metropolitan New Orleans, check out our guide here.

Not all attempts to develop bungalow subdivisions were successful, especially those that were detrimentally impacted by the Great Depression. One "bust" subdivision -- Riverside Park -- was originally platted by surveyor Elbert G. Sandoz for developers Murphy & Levy in 1923. Contractors Villere & Bertucci completed some of the requisite infrastructure (culverts, cypress removal) in 1924, but by the time Farm Security Administration photographer Russell Lee (1903-1986) visited Harahan in 1938, very little survived. Today, there are remnants of the Park Avenue neutral ground entrance.

New Orleans architect Francois P. Dufrechou, Jr. (1894-1952) designed the subdivision's fountain entrance, shown above.


For more on the history of Riverside Park, consult the Southeastern Architectural Archive's Guy Seghers Office Records.

Top above: Everett S. Dodds, architect. Kelso Model Home. From Build A Dodds Home: Beauty, Comfort and Durability.  Red Oak, Nebraska: The Thomas D. Murphy Company,  1920s. Architectural Trade Catalogs, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

Lower images:  Russell Lee, photographer. Riverside Park, "Bust" Real Estate Development North of New Orleans, Louisiana. September 1938. As viewed via the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division Online Catalog.

NOLA Canals 1903

In 1903, engineeres Coleman, Malochee and Villere surveyed landholdings of the New Orleans Land Company between City Park Avenue and Lake Pontchartrain. They recorded the canals that punctuated the subdivision, as well as the historic tracts that formed the basis of the company's possessions. Much of this area had been utilized by charitable groups, including the Firemen's Charitable Association and the Milne Asylums. Spanish Fort is discernible in the upper right-hand corner of the map.

Image above: Coleman, Malochee and Villere. Map showing some lands belonging to the New-Orleans Land Co. situated in New-Orleans. April 1903. Martin Shepard Office Records, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

From Louisiana to Minnesota

This blog has previously addressed the use of sugar cane bagasse fiberboard, celotex, as a building material. The Southeastern Architectural Archive houses a growing collection of materials associated with the Celotex Company, which had its plant in Marrero on the Ames Farm tract (top image above).

Celotex was one of the first industries to establish a factory at Ames Farm, investing a million dollars in its operations and employing 500 people. The "Ames zone" included the former Estelle and Southside Plantations and was developed by New Orleans real estate entrepreneur Meyer Eiseman during World War I. Its earliest output was devoted to victory gardens.(1)

New Orleans architect Martin Shepard (1875-1962) drafted the first specifications for the use of celotex in construction: as exterior sheathing, as a base for plaster, as insulation, as an interior finish and for acoustical purposes. Chicago engineers such as Robert W. Hunt & Co. and G.F. Gebhardt conducted extensive tests on the new material.(2)

By 1920, celotex was used to finish St. Paul, Minnesota architect H.A. Sullwold's office in the Endicott Building (lower image above) and at Chicago's Navy Pier for "acoustical correction."(2) Sullwold was especially concerned with escalating lumber prices after World War I, and that could have prompted his early adoption of celotex.(3)

Want to know more about Celotex?   Search Tulane Libraries for "Celotex."

(1) "Seeks to Attract Big Industries to Ames Tract." The Times-Picayune 2 April 1922.

(2) Martin Shepard. Celotex Insulating Lumber: Specifications. Chicago: The CeloteX Company, n.d. Architectural Trade Catalogs Collection, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

(3) F.W. Armstrong. "Lumber High? We'll Say So." Western Architect & Engineer LXI:1 (April 1920), p. 93.

Top two images above from Martin Shepard. Celotex Insulating Lumber: Specifications. Chicago: The CeloteX Company, n.d. Architectural Trade Catalogs Collection, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

Lower two images from Meyer Eiseman, Realtor. Ames Deep-Water Industrial Sites: The Industrial Center of New Orleans, recto and verso of undated advertisement. Martin Shepard Office Records, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

New Orleans Maps

William Edward Boesch, Sr. (1903-1973) created this map of Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes in 1926, the year he founded the New Orleans Map Company. Boesch was one of the first cartographers in the city to utilize aerial photographic data in developing his maps.

Boesch's early training was as a draftsman, and he drew his first maps with approximate rather than precise scales. In 1930, he published a technical manual titled Commercial and Engineering Map Drawing and Lettering. By the late 1930s, he had compiled a two-volume atlas of  New Orleans commercial and industrial lots and municipal block ownership maps, now housed at the Historic New Orleans Collection.

Over his long career and prior to his becoming Honorary Mayor of Little Woods, Boesch published the following maps:

1926

Map of Orleans & St. Bernard Parishes Showing Lake Shore Developments & Etc. 

1931

Map of Greater New Orleans, Louisiana [for Chamber of Commerce]

Map of Greater New Orleans, Louisiana

1933

Map of Louisiana: Illustrating the Major Features of Interest to Tourists, Campers, Picnickers, Anglers, Hunters and Nature Lovers Generally Described in the Guide to Louisiana's Great Outdoors

1934

Map of Greater New Orleans, Louisiana

Map of Louisiana, Showing Oil, Gas and Sulfur Fields, Salt Domes & Etc.

1935

Map of Greater New Orleans, Louisiana

1930s (undated)

Southeastern Louisiana: Showing Some of the Excellent Fishing Grounds in the Southeastern Part of the State.

1944

Map of Part of New Orleans Showing Dock and Nearest Catholic Churches

1945

Map of the Business District of New Orleans

1947

The Fisherman's "Ofishall" Map and Guide: New Orleans Area, Southeast Louisiana and Gulf Coast

1950

Map of Vieux Carre and Business District, New Orleans

New Orleans/Second Port of the USA, Air Hub of the Americas

Official Map and Guide of New Orleans USA

1956

New Orleans Retail District

1959

Map of Greater East Jefferson, Including Harahan-Kenner and Metairie, Louisiana

Map of Gulf of Mexico, Showing Port Facilities

Map Showing Municipal Districts and Wards of New Orleans, La.


1950s (undated)

Map of Greater New Orleans, Louisiana, corrected edition


1960

Map of Greater New Orleans, Louisiana

1966

Map of Greater New Orleans, Louisiana

1968

Map of Greater Eastern New Orleans

On Tulane University's campus, historic maps may be located in the Louisiana Research Collection (LaRC) and the Southeastern Architectural Archive (SEAA), both departments in the TU Libraries' Special Collections Division.  The SEAA's collection of Guy Seghers Office Records contains a large number of twentieth-century maps and surveys.

Map above:  Wm. E. Boesch, Map of Orleans & St. Bernard Parishes Showing Lake Shore Developments & Etc. Copyrighted November 1926 by Wm. E. Boesch, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.