Test your knowledge of New Orleans architecture and neighborhoods

on December 26, 2009 at 4:40 AM

In the past year, we have visited streets throughout the New Orleans area. Test your knowledge of neighborhoods and architecture with this year-end quiz:

26_street_a.JPGView full sizeA) I stand on the banks of a body of water that was very important in the early history of New Orleans. I could easily have been one of the first buildings seen by travelers as they entered the city.

What is the name of the body of water that I overlook?

What is the style I am built in?

What neighborhood do I call home?

26_street_b.JPGView full sizeB) I am an especially narrow version of a house type popular in New Orleans’ earliest days.

What is the name of my house type?

What is unusual about my roof?

Name three neighborhoods where you are likely to see other houses like me.

26_street_c.JPGView full sizeC) I am one of five houses built in a prominent neighborhood in the mid-19th century. When I was built, economic conditions were so bad that building me was considered a folly.

Who designed and paid for me to be built?

In what neighborhood can I be found?

26_street_d.JPGView full sizeD) I am located on an oak-shaded thoroughfare with a collection of other early 20th century houses. The red tile roof, arched openings and tower on my facade are emblematic of an architectural style that was popular when I was built and plentiful in my neighborhood.

What is the name of my style?

What is the name of my neighborhood?

26_street_e.JPGView full sizeE) My style is influenced by a popular look imported from another country. I am located in a neighborhood where an urban farm and market have sprouted since Hurricane Katrina and that some people associate with a famous recording artist who was raised here.

What is the name of my neighborhood?

Who is the artist?

What is the name of the house style that I most closely resemble?

26_street_f.JPGView full sizeF) Exposed rafter tails, a wide and low dormer on the roof, angle brackets in the eaves and multi-paned top sash are just a few identifying features of my house style.

What style am I?

Name two neighborhoods where you would be most likely to find other houses that look like me.

26_street_g.JPGView full sizeG) I am one of New Orleans’ most plentiful house types — one room wide, no halls on the inside. You can find versions of me in almost every area neighborhood.

What house type am I?

What am I called if a hallway is added?

What am I called if I have two doors and two windows on the facade?

26_street_h.JPGView full sizeH) I was someone’s home for much of my life but fell on hard luck in recent years. Last winter, though, I got my 15 minutes of fame when a major international art exhibition came to town and a nearby artist used me for an installation.

What is the name of the international art exhibition that came to town?

What neighborhood am I located in?

26_street_i.JPGView full sizeI) I was built in the early 20th century in a house style and type that was popular at the time. Much of my neighborhood flooded, but other parts didn’t because they were on higher ground.

What is the high ground that saved some of my neighbors from flooding?

What style am I?

26_street_j.JPGView full sizeJ) I am located in a neighborhood named for the man who developed it in the 1980s. My area flooded severely in Hurricane Katrina, but proud homeowners have revived the area.

What is the name of my subdivision?

What part of the city am I located in?

26_street_k.JPGView full sizeK) I am located on a short street near an exciting venue for both races and outdoor music concerts. My red tile roof, curvilinear parapet and stucco walls are characteristics of a style that was popular in the early 20th century.

What is the name of the venue near me?

What is the name of the style in which I am built?

26_street_l.JPGView full sizeL) I am pretty sure I am the only house in the city to have had a famous group of elves living in my back yard. A former owner even wrote a few books about the elves for his grandchildren.

What is the name of the group of elves who live in my back yard?



R. Stephanie Bruno can be reached at housewatcher@hotmail.com. For more house pictures, go to www.flickr.com/photos/housewatchertp.




A) Bayou St. John; French Colonial/plantation; Faubourg St. John or Esplanade Ridge
B) Creole cottage; It is double-pitched; French Quarter, Marigny, Esplanade Ridge
C) William Freret; Garden District
D) Mediterranean Revival; Fontainebleau
E) Hollygrove; Lil Wayne; English cottage
F) Craftsman or Arts and Crafts; Gentilly Terrace and Northwest Carrollton
G) Single shotgun; sidehall shotgun; double shotgun
H) Prospect 1; St. Roch or New Marigny
I) Gentilly Ridge; Colonial Revival
J) McKendall Estates; eastern New Orleans
K) Fair Grounds; Mission Revival
L) The Elves of Bellaire Drive