 ontinue on to numbers 716 through 727, the: - Hopkins Houses. These three two-story late Classic frame houses were all built in 1873 for promonent Esplanade resident and investor Aristide Hopkins. The three structures were once identical to each other, but all have been altered over the years; two still have the original deep bracketed overhangs with heavy cornices. The third house, which is situated between the other two, has had its front portico and overhang removed, and bears no resemblance to them. All three houses were designed by architect Benjamin Harrod in a style that was popular in the 1870s, with Greek key entrances, panelled box columns supporting a wood balcony with turned balusters, and a deep overhang above. Stroll on past Royal Street to the:
- Sauvinet-Montgomery Houses at 627 and 633 Esplanade. French native and investor Joseph Sauvinet bought the property in 1828,
and later sold it to his brother Jean Baptiste in 1843, who apparently had both of the present houses built before 1847, according to archival records. The house at 633 is a large three-story Greek Revival townhouse with lovely full cast-iron galleries at the second and third levels. The sides of the building are gabled, with integral chimneys, and a matching three-story service wing in the rear. The house at 627 is a smaller two-story structure with a beautiful cast-iron gallery at the second floor level. The house once had a common wall with a now-demolished building on the right-hand side, the remnants of which can still be seen, and is designed in the typical American/Greek Revival style popular at the time. It has a Greek key entrance and three horizontal rectangular openings above the gallery, which was probably added in the 1850s. Both floorplans of the two houses are almost identical, arranged in the Creole fashion, with double parlors and no hallway. At 621 Esplanade is the impressive:
 LaMothe House. This large bed and breakfast with the two matching entranceways
is actually a renovation of two separate common-wall three-story brick houses and service wings on different sized lots. The original lot was purchased in 1829 by Miss Marie Virginie LaMothe, who sold it to her brother Jean in 1833. After expanding it to its present size, he built two common-wall houses, one with a 20-foot frontage nad he other with a 18-foot frontage. In the 1860s the pair of houses was remodelled into one unit for Paul Napoleon Rivera, the current owner, by builder Louis Folliet. The renovation resulted in the continuous Classic-style facade that you see today, with an unusual arrangement of two and three openings. This was mainly due to the fact that during the renovation a porte cochere, or carriageway was remade into a main entrance and hallway. Interior stairways were also changed, and the double kitchen and outbuildings rebuilt. Since 1869 the property has gone through several ownership changes and court rulings, and was finally restored by Harry Heirn and set up as an inn. Today a lovely courtyard enclosed by the double service wings (one for each original house) graces the rear of the complex. Next door to the LaMothe House
at 613-17 are the:- Rene' Beluche Houses, presently the Jean Lafitte Inn. In 1817 Rene' Beluche bought this property from Etienne Casanonichi and had the present townhouses built sometime in the 1830s, before he sold them to Joseph Sauvinet in 1843. The houses are both two-and-a-half story plastered-brick structures sharing a common wall, each with gabled sides and attic windows above a second-level iron gallery. The cast-iron gallery supports and cresting are fairly intricate while the railing is rather plain, suggesting that the gallery was added later along with a third-floor railing. The six bay arrangement at the first level opens onto double parlors which suggests the Creole style. Keep walking toward the river and cross Chartres Street. Number 547 on the opposite corner is the:
- Johnston House, a lovely two-and-a-half story plastered-brick Italianate townhouse designed in 1879 by William Fitzner for Connecticut lawyer Andrew Johnston. This marvelous example of the period has remained intact on both the interior and exterior. The original second-level cast-iron gallery, triple
curvilinear parapets, and heavy bracketed entablature all remain, while the two first-floor window openings retain their unusual embellishments. Molded quoins frame the corners of the house, and the recessed entranceway with granite steps is framed by pilasters and cornice. The interior arrangement is of a sidehall townhouse with double parlors opening onto the hall, and a rear staircase. At 529-33 are the:
- Cheatham Houses, a pair of lovely two-story Greek Revival plastered-brick detached townhouses with fanciful double-level cast-iron galleries. Otherwise simple in design, they were built in 1861 by John Hobson for free woman of color Lucy Ann Cheatham. Each house has three openings at both levels, with molded lintels on the windows and Greek key architraves framing the doorways. Number 529 has an added feature: a small pedimented dormer window above the dentiled cornice. A cast-iron fence crosses both lots at the sidewalk, joining the houses as a pair. The last structure of note on this half of the tour is at 503, the:
- Lacroix Building, a high two-story-and-attic commercial building
built for free man of color and grocer Julien A. Lacroix between 1846-1867. The structure, described as a maison haute en briques when first constructed, was altered in the 1880s to include bracketed pedimented windows, pilasters, and a mansard roof with alternating triangular and curvilinear dormers. This is the end of the first part of the tour. From this point, you can either stop here, and do the second part later, or click for part 2 to continue on to the Faubourg Marigny section.
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