Major Fire at the Montgomery-Grace House, 2525 St. Charles Avenue

02/20/2019 • Katrina • Architects, News

Today the city of New Orleans lost a very important piece of historic architecture. The Montgomery- Grace house caught fire early this morning and raged for a good part of the day. After my morning tour, I walked over to the site to find the house still burning, 5 hours or so after the fire department had arrived. The fire was finally put out at 1:45pm. It was a devastating sight. Already, many media outlets are publishing the fascinating history this house through stories of the people who lived here staring with John Morris, who was heavily involved in horse[…]

NOAF’s 3rd Annual Fall Home Tour!

10/15/2018 • Katrina • Special Events

New Orleans Architecture Foundation is holding their third annual Fall Home Tour this weekend! Tickets are $15-$30 to peek inside 7 fabulous homes in the Audubon/Uptown Neighborhood. You can buy tickets online at here. Last week I popped uptown to learn a little more about Caroline and Murray Calhoun’s home at 452 Audubon Street. House Description This house is a fine example of Colonial Revival architecture, a very popular American architecture style dating from 1890’s to 1940’s. This architectural movement’s rise to prominence at the end of the 1800’s coincided with the nation’s first centennial celebrations, and a new[…]

Featured on Preservation Destination Podcast!

10/08/2018 • Katrina • News

A couple of weeks ago I was interviewed by Taylor Voltz for the Preservation Destination Podcast. Taylor created this podcast to bring to light different aspects of New Orleans preservation for listeners of all backgrounds. Her first episode featured Sarah Myers, owner of Verdigris Preservation, a company that specializes in window preservation – a much needed service in this city of old buildings! In my episode, we talked about New Orleans’ fabulous architecture (of course!). We discussed some of our favorite buildings in town, the people who designed them and how important it is to make sure they are saved for[…]

Happy Birthday James Dakin! (1806)

08/24/2018 • Katrina • Architects

Early Life On this day in 1806, James Harrison Dakin Jr., was born in the Township of Northeast, New York. His parents were James Dakin Sr. and Lucy Dakin. After his father passed away in 1819, James was sent to his aunt’s house in Hudson New York, where he learned the trade of carpentry from her husband. New York In 1829 James moved to New York City to pursue architecture. As luck would have it, he managed to secure an apprenticeship with the firm of Town and Davis, two of the most renowned architects in New York in this era.[…]

The Rink Myth Debunked!

08/13/2018 • Katrina • Landmarks, Local History, Myth Busting Monday!

Standing on the corner of Washington and Prytania, beneath a yellow barn-shaped building, you’ll hear it. Wild stories about the history of the building. “Right in this spot in 1884, the city of New Orleans opened an ice skating rink.” “For two years, this building was an ice skating rink, then it became a mortuary.” “Ice was imported from the North, so guests could skate.” The guides’ stories are varied and incredibly detailed. Some go as far as to discuss the technology of creating an ice rink in this era. The first ice rink was opened in London in 1876[…]

From the blog

Major Fire at the Montgomery-Grace House, 2525 St. Charles Avenue

NOAF’s 3rd Annual Fall Home Tour!

Featured on Preservation Destination Podcast!

Happy Birthday James Dakin! (1806)

The Rink Myth Debunked!

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