Along the River Road: Past and Present on Louisiana’s Historic Byway

Architectural Styles

Architectural Styles The emergence of one distinctive architectural form and the adaptive use of others have combined to produce an interesting mix of building styles along the River Road. Formal architecture adhered fairly closely to the tenets of classical design; vernacular (folk) buildings reflected more concrete demands of function, materials, and resources. But both evolved with at least one careful eye on local conditions: prevalent heat and humidity, heavy annual rainfall, an occasional spell of harsh cold, the incessantly flat terrain, and the ubiquitous presence of the Mississippi River. The earliest explorers found the Indians’ hutlike structures primitive but expedient. These buildings varied somewhat in style and materials from one area to another, but a typical construction featured wooden poles thatched with smaller branches and filled in with mud and Spanish moss (a mixture the French called “bousillage”), roofed with cypress bark or palmetto fronds. The early French settlers quickly adopted many of the building principles that had proved effective in the West Indies. One especially important element was building on piers. Houses raised off the ground on piers were better able to withstand flooding, offered increased air circulation, and reduced exposure to mosquitoes. The settlers also realized that situating houses to face the river not only provided a view but also took advantage of the cooling breezes off the water. Front galleries, standard for both simple and grand dwellings as they were in the West Indies, served as pleasant shaded extensions of the interior rooms and, in the hottest months, as outdoor bedrooms. The use of indigenous materials localized the appearance of River Road architecture, although decorative amenities—paint, glass, and elaborate 91 92  Along the River Road hardware (luxuries in the beginning)—were imported. Abundant native woods, especially swamp cypress, were readily available for construction. Cypress was valued for its resistance to dampness and insects and could be hewn into posts, timbers, siding, shingles, and flooring. To facilitate using the giant cypresses, a ring was often cut around the base of a tree a year before it was to be logged. This measure stopped sap circulation and dried out the trunk, curing the wood in place and making it much lighter to handle and haul. For a large house, the cypress beams, joists, and planking might be rough-hewn in the swamp and numbered for assembly on the building site—a distant ancestor to modern prefab construction methods. Millwork, however, was done at the building site. Clay was another important building material. Since stone was nonexistent in the south Louisiana lowlands, colonial settlers substituted brick made from the clays of the Mississippi River or Lake Pontchartrain. Softbaked brick was used as fill between posts in walls (briqueté entre poteaux); finished walls were covered with plaster or weatherboard to prevent deterioration from dampness. Harder bricks, baked hotter and longer, were used on exposed surfaces—walls, floors, and terraces. Shells from the river and lake were ground and burned like charcoal to make lime for whitewash. Construction techniques allowed the house to “breathe.” Because of the enduring appeal and functionality of historic architectural styles, many contemporary houses are built to resemble eighteenthand nineteenth-century buildings, at least on the exterior. Often, it is difficult for a nonprofessional to judge whether a structure is original, vintage, or a contemporary version. This is, perhaps, the best testimonial to the timelessness of good architecture, as well as a fitting tribute to the many structures that have been destroyed by forces as disparate as the river, levee movement, fires, and hurricanes. According to architectural historians, Creole or Louisiana colonial architecture was the only one of America’s colonial building styles that actually emerged in this country. Experts define the Creole style as a combination of elements from several traditions mixed with local adaptations. The basic Creole residence seems to have evolved from a West Indian adaptation of an Italian style in which the front loggia (a pillared porch open on one or more sides) was replaced with a gallery (a porch open on three sides). A rear loggia was flanked with small rooms, called “cabinets” (pronounced “cah-bee-nay”) by the French. The French altered the floor Architectural Styles  93 plan to suit their cultural aesthetic and this was the basic form that arrived with the French planters to the River Road. In Louisiana, the Creole house received an internal chimney (rather than one located on an outer wall) with a French...