Overview

Cradled in the crescent of the Mississippi River and circumscribed by wetlands, New Orleans has faced numerous challenges since its founding as a French colonial outpost in 1718. For three centuries, the city has proved resilient in the face of natural disasters and human activities, and its resulting urban fabric is the product of social, political, commercial, economic, and cultural circumstances that have defined how local residents have interacted with their surroundings. This detailed survey of the built environment—an authoritative, comprehensive, post-Hurricane Katrina overview of buildings, neighborhoods, and landscapes—tells the city’s compelling and fascinating story though concise discussions of nearly 300 architecturally significant structures, open spaces, and lesser-known places, enhanced by 175 photographs and 23 maps. Conveniently organized into thirteen neighborhood tours, two road trips into nearby parishes, and three excursions up and down the Mississippi River along the historic Great River Road, the volume clearly shows how various architectural styles, land uses, economic conditions, social customs, and cultural factors merge to create the community’s unique flavor. Enlivened by nine topical essays highlighting everything from renowned authors, cuisine, and jazz to public markets, green spaces, and historic preservation, this handy insider’s guidebook to the broad sweep of New Orleans’s unique built and natural environments will appeal to all who are interested in the design history of one of America’s most interesting places.

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9780813941356

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Reviews

This is the most up to date guide you will find to the city, including new construction such as Musician's Village and green spaces like the Laffite Greenway that have been created post-Katrina. It starts, as the city did, with the French Quarter but is a worthy companion for anyone, even a local, who wants to explore other areas. --The Syncopated Times Buildings of New Orleans falls into the SAH/BUS City Guide series, and is therefore a compact book that is easy to carry around. --SeriouslyArchitecture.com [F]ills a critically important need for a definitive, up-to-the-minute text about New Orleans' built and natural environment. --New Orleans Advocate [An] informative, illustrated gidebook.... Entries identify the building's name, primary date of construction, architect/designer, and address/location; this is followed by a concise account of the building's appearance and architectural features, origins, and current use. Significant additions or alterations (including those following Hurricane Katrina in 2005) are also noted. While brief, the entries often include fascinating details about life in New Orleans throughout its 400-year history. --Booklist Building of New Orleans is a unique, in-depth guidebook that encourages New Orleanians to be a tourist in their own hometown, and beyond.... Full of facts, information and trivia, this is the kind of book you'll want to stash in your day tripping bag or glove box for easy reference. --New Orleans Magazine A paperback with a travel guide's relaxed but informative tone, it's organized into neighborhood tours, making it perfect for tossing into a backpack and jumping on a streetcar for a day of architecture exploration. --The Times-Picayune

This detailed guidebook to New Orleans architecture--an authoritative, comprehensive, post-Hurricane Katrina overview of buildings, neighborhoods, and landscapes--tells a compelling and fascinating story of the city through concise descriptions of nearly 300 significant structures, open spaces, and lesser-known places, enhanced by 175 photographs and 23 maps. --South x Southeast photomagazine Building of New Orleans is a unique, in-depth guidebook that encourages New Orleanians to be a tourist in their own hometown, and beyond.... Full of facts, information and trivia, this is the kind of book you'll want to stash in your day tripping bag or glove box for easy reference. --New Orleans Magazine A paperback with a travel guide's relaxed but informative tone, it's organized into neighborhood tours, making it perfect for tossing into a backpack and jumping on a streetcar for a day of architecture exploration. --The Times-Picayune

[An] informative, illustrated gidebook.... Entries identify the building's name, primary date of construction, architect/designer, and address/location; this is followed by a concise account of the building's appearance and architectural features, origins, and current use. Significant additions or alterations (including those following Hurricane Katrina in 2005) are also noted. While brief, the entries often include fascinating details about life in New Orleans throughout its 400-year history. --Booklist This detailed guidebook to New Orleans architecture--an authoritative, comprehensive, post-Hurricane Katrina overview of buildings, neighborhoods, and landscapes--tells a compelling and fascinating story of the city through concise descriptions of nearly 300 significant structures, open spaces, and lesser-known places, enhanced by 175 photographs and 23 maps. --South x Southeast photomagazine Building of New Orleans is a unique, in-depth guidebook that encourages New Orleanians to be a tourist in their own hometown, and beyond.... Full of facts, information and trivia, this is the kind of book you'll want to stash in your day tripping bag or glove box for easy reference. --New Orleans Magazine A paperback with a travel guide's relaxed but informative tone, it's organized into neighborhood tours, making it perfect for tossing into a backpack and jumping on a streetcar for a day of architecture exploration. --The Times-Picayune

[F]ills a critically important need for a definitive, up-to-the-minute text about New Orleans' built and natural environment. --New Orleans Advocate [An] informative, illustrated gidebook.... Entries identify the building's name, primary date of construction, architect/designer, and address/location; this is followed by a concise account of the building's appearance and architectural features, origins, and current use. Significant additions or alterations (including those following Hurricane Katrina in 2005) are also noted. While brief, the entries often include fascinating details about life in New Orleans throughout its 400-year history. --Booklist Building of New Orleans is a unique, in-depth guidebook that encourages New Orleanians to be a tourist in their own hometown, and beyond.... Full of facts, information and trivia, this is the kind of book you'll want to stash in your day tripping bag or glove box for easy reference. --New Orleans Magazine A paperback with a travel guide's relaxed but informative tone, it's organized into neighborhood tours, making it perfect for tossing into a backpack and jumping on a streetcar for a day of architecture exploration. --The Times-Picayune

Author Information

Karen Kingsley, Professor Emerita, Tulane University, and Editor in Chief of the Buildings of the United States series, is the author of Buildings of Louisiana and coauthor (with Guy W. Carwile) of The Modernist Architecture of Samuel G. and William B. Wiener: Shreveport, Louisiana, 1920-1960. Lake Douglas, Associate Dean for Research and Development in Louisiana State University's College of Art and Design and Professor of Landscape Architecture in the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture, is the author of a number of books, including Public Spaces, Private Gardens: A History of Designed Landscapes in New Orleans.

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