 et's start part 2 of the Esplanade-Marigny tour where we left off, at the corner of Esplanade and Decatur. Walk up Decatur Street a short way till you get to the intersection of Decatur and Frenchmen Streets. On your left at 1407 Decatur-506 Frenchmen is the second: - Lacroix Building. Another commercial building owned by free man of color Julien Lacroix, the two-and-a-half story plastered-brick commercial complex consists of three common-wall buildings, the one in the center placed at an angle to the street intersection. Lacroix used the section at 506 Frenchmen, at the right end of the row, as his residence. The whole unit was probably built in stages, with the one that he occupied having been built first as a residence around 1838. In the 1850s he purchased the adjoining property and had the additions constructed soon after that. He then had the whole complex finished and unified as a whole, with granite
lintels, casement windows, and a second-level balcony with cast-iron railings and supports. Continue walking up Frenchmen Street until you get to Chartres Street. Turn left here, and walk until you get to a Y intersection. This is the junction of Kerlerec and Chartres Streets (confused yet?). Make another left, which keeps you on Chartres, and walk to number 1418 on the left. The:
- Woolfolk House is a former porte-cochere-equipped plastered brick two-story house which was built in the 1830s for the Woolfolk family. It has been extensively altered over the years, but still retains its once-stylish lines, with gabled sides, tasteful dormer, and second-floor balcony with wrought-iron railing. The porte-cochere or carriageway was located at the left, where the wide entranceway is located now. Across the street from the Woolfolk House is the:
- Journu House, at 1413. It is another example of a plastered-brick townhouse with a porte-cochere, this particular house being a two-and-a-half story structure instead, with horizontal rectangular windows piercing the half story facade.
The house was built around 1847 by Etienne Derepas for Mrs. Marie Rambaud Journu, a native of Marseilles, France. There are full-length French style windows with Classic architraves and a wide entranceway (formerly the porte-cochere) at the first level, and a wrought-iron balcony and windows capped with molded lintels at the second level. The facade is finished with a molded stringcourse and projecting cornice. Return to Kerlerec Street and turn left. Walk for a block and turn left on Royal Street. At 1428 is a three-story plaster-covered townhouse with porte-cochere, the:
- Clay House. The house is well preserved, with wrought-iron balconies at both the second and third levels. The porte-cochere is still visible, but the middle French door on the third floor has been removed. The house was built about 1838 for Julie Duralde Clay, widow of John Clay. Next door at 1424 is the Zeringue House, a two-and-a-half story plastered-brick townhouse built in 1838 for Mrs. Azele Zeringue, the widow of plantation owner Joseph Lombard Jr. His plantation house is still located at
3933 Chartres Street, and is a lovely example of a Creole-style manor house, one of the last remaining of its kind in the state. The house on Royal is designed in the English tradition, with side hall stairway and double parlors opening onto it. The exterior is finished with a rusticated plaster wall and Classic-style recessed entrance at the first level, and three double hung windows and a balcony with wrought-iron railing at the second. Horizontal rectangular windows and a molded brick cornice complete the top half-story. Return once again to Kerlerec, turn left, and walk until you get to yet another Y intersection. At this point Bourbon Street meets Kerlerec from the left and is renamed Pauger, which continues to the right. Follow Pauger until you arrive at 1445, on the right. The:
- Boutin House is an exceptionally fine single story-and-a-half plastered brick-between-posts Creole cottage designed to combine both Creole and Federal elements into one style. The high-pitched roof is pierced by a single dormer, and has gabled sides with fire extensions. The front of the house has some interesting features that are typical
of the American colonial style, like Ionic pilasters at each corner, a slightly recessed entrance with fluted surrounds, and a molded stringcourse running across the front. The interior is also typical of the Federal style, with a center hall and outer-wall chimneys. The house was built in 1825 for commission merchant Antoine Boutin. Boutin became a partner with Hippolyte Gally in a real estate venture, and lost the house in 1845 in a forced liquidation. Two doors from the Boutin House is the:
- Prieto House, 1455-57 Pauger. This nondescript brick-between-posts Creole cottage is one of the oldest remaining structures in this area, along with the Guesnon and Dolliole houses (described next). It possesses a double-pitched hipped roof typical of other late 18th-century/early 19th-century houses in the area, but it has been altered from its original appearance. The house was built by Joseph Prieto, free man of color, soon after he acquired the lot in 1810. In 1836 he willed that his seven slaves be freed after his death, an unusual request since free men of color did not usually own slaves. Cross the street here and walk back toward
the Y intersection. Perhaps the most interesting house in Marigny is the:
- Dolliole-Clapp House, located at 1436 Pauger, where Pauger Street makes its 45-degree turn to the right and is renamed Bourbon. The address numbers remain the same however, adding to the confusion. It's just another quirky detail you encounter when navigating this unusual section of New Orleans. This captivating colonial plastered-brick cottage was once thought to be the oldest in Marigny, but was actually built in 1820 by owner-builder Jean-Louis Dolliole, a free colored entrepreneur. The style and proportions of the cottage looks as if it could be from the 18th century, with its quaint tiled and double-pitched hipped roof. The plan of the house was designed specifically to fit the unusual lot dimensions (a five-pointed pentagon) and the street layout. Because of the unusual shape of the house, the door and window arrangement is atypical of the period in which it was built. Notable artist-architect Louis Clapp owned it in the 1900s.
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