Creole architecture in the United States is present in buildings in Louisiana and elsewhere in the South, and also in the U.S. associated territories ofPuerto Rico and theU.S. Virgin Islands. A variant isPonce Creole style.
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In the U.S. south, acreole cottage is a type ofvernacular architecture indigenous to theGulf Coast of the United States. The style was a dominant house type along the central Gulf Coast from about 1790 to 1840 in the former settlements ofFrench Louisiana inAlabama,Louisiana, andMississippi. The style is popularly thought to have evolved fromFrench andSpanish colonial house forms, although historians are uncertain about its origins.
Creole architecture in Louisiana is documented by numerous listings in the U.S.National Register of Historic Places.[1]
The "Creole cottage" type of house was common along the Gulf Coast and associated rivers in the 19th century with a few scattered examples found as far west asHouston,Texas, and as far east as northernFlorida, although the majority of structures are found in southern Louisiana eastward toMobile, Alabama.[2] In Kentucky, a few scattered cottages still stand in the state's far westernJackson Purchase region, where they continued to be built into the early twentieth century.[3]
Two features of this style of house are thought to be influences from other places in France's former colonial empire. The full frontporch is believed to originate from theCaribbean islands, while the high gabled roof, the ridge of which is parallel to the street, accommodating the porch as well as the mass of the house, is thought to be ofFrench-Canadian origin.[4] In the earlier or more fundamental examples one or two main rooms may open directly onto the porch. They often feature an interior chimney that pierces the ridge line of the roof, with back-to-back fireplaces serving two rooms. Two common secondary characteristics of this style are a raised basement and the frequent situating of the front of the buildings at the property line.[4]
In the city of New Orleans, the termCreole cottage tends to be more narrowly defined as a1+1⁄2-story house with a gabled roof, the ridge of which is parallel to the street. The house normally has four squarish rooms with no hallways and is built up to the front property line. The primary difference between these cottages and those elsewhere is the lack of a full front porch.[5]
A similar house type that some architectural scholars believe is related to the Creole cottage is the Gulf Coast cottage. However, it is not clear if this type is derived from the Creole cottage or if it is aDeep South adaptation of aTidewater-type cottage. They both display some of the general characteristics of a Creole cottage. In the more formal and later examples, a central hall is almost always present. These more formal examples began to appear in the 1820s and 1830s. They are typically larger withFederal orGreek Revival architectural influences not present in the simpler version. If a central hall is present, then usually it is entered via a central entrance. End-gable chimneys are often present rather than a central one.[4]
Ponce Creole, centered inPonce in southernPuerto Rico, is a distinctive high style reflected in many standing buildings.
An earlier, less formal style, with perhaps less surviving presence, is a "Spanish-Creole" style of which theJuana Rodríguez Morales House inCayey is an example.
Creole architecture is a distinctive building tradition associated with American tropical and subtropical environments. For our purposes, the typical Creole house can be described as follows. Its most important features include 1) generous galleries or verandas, 2) a broad spreading roofline, 3) gallery roofs supported by lightweight wooden colonnettes, 4) placement of the principal rooms well above grade, (sometimes a full story above the ground), 5) the use of a form of construction utilizing a heavy timber frame combined with an infill made of brick (briquette entre poteaux) or a mixture of mud and moss called bousillage, 6) multiple French doors, and 7) French wraparound mantels. Creole architecture is also characterized by certain geometric conventions. These include the characteristic system of establishing the floorplan, which consists of a central core of a few rooms and various optional ancillary spaces which encircle the central core. This gives the Creole house a tradition of expanding outward in all directions.