 ontinue along Bourbon Street. A couple of doors from the Dolliole-Clapp House is the: - Guesnon House at 1428 Bourbon. This fine example of a Creole cottage is one of the earliest remaining of its kind in Faubourg Marigny. It was constructed in the plastered brick-between-post style by Laurent Guesnon, a free colored carpenter, around 1807. Four openings (two doors and two windows) across the front of the house feature beautiful fanlight transoms. Two dormers that pierce the roof also exhibit these same fanlights, completing the pleasing symmetry. These features, a French tradition from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, are all but gone from this area, but still abound in the French Quarter. A brick porch and iron railing have been added to the house, and the plaster coating has been removed to expose the half-timbered brick construction. Guesnon's widow sold the house in 1854. Continue walking for a couple of addresses
until you get to number 1416, near the middle of the block. This is the Bienvenu House. The Classic-style home was built by Louis Clairain for Neuville Bienvenu in 1859. Two paired doorways are centered and recessed with pilasters, a fully-decorated ironwork balcony graces the second floor, and a projecting wood cornice is wrapped around the sides at the roofline. The whole effect of the elements is quite pleasing. The interior was composed of two bedrooms, two cabinets or large closets, two parlors, and two additional rooms above the dining wing in the rear. Today it is split into two separate units. Across the street from here at 1427 Bourbon is the:
- Monrou House. This two-story frame double house was built in the late 1860s in the Greek Revival style, long after that style was popular in other parts of the city. The shiplap wood facade is constructed to simulate a plastered-brick look, and the Classic-style pilastered entrances contain interesting oval transoms above the doors. Note the vertical attic ventilators arranged to form a frieze at the top story, and the ornate balcony canopy with anthemion cresting.
above the dining wing in the rear. Today it is split into two separate units. Stroll on up to Esplanade Avenue once again, and make a right turn. Enjoy the tree-shaded boulevard as you walk for a block and turn right again on Dauphine Street. At 1416-18 on the left is the:
- Sel House. The house was one of the multiple properties that the Sel family owned in Marigny. This two-story frame double house was built in 1852 for Julien Sel by Giraud and Lewis, with double galleries supported by box columns complete with capitals. The design included a slate roof, copper gutters, and paneled cypress doors, along with "marblelized" cypress mantles and cast-iron railings. The house has been modified, particlarly the plastered facade, but the railings , louvered shutters, and pilastered entryway with oval transoms are still intact. Next door to the Sel House is another of the Sel properties. The Malone House is unusual for its three openings across a narrow weather-boarded facade, two of which are doorways. This three-bay townhouse has a heavy molded cornice with parapet across the top of the building,
a nicely-crafted cast-iron balcony on the second level, and identical entrance doors with Greek key surrounds. Mrs Leonard Malone purchased the lot from the Julien Sel family, which owned other properties in this area, including the adjoining lot at 1416-18 (covered next). She had the present house built soon after the 1873 purchase. Continue to the intersection of Dauphine and Kerlerec Streets, and cross over to the building on the opposite corner, at 1801 Dauphine. This is the:
- Laveaux Building. Of unusual design and construction, the two-story corner storehouse was built between 1817 and 1833 for Charles Laveaux, a free man of color thought to be the father of voodoo queen Marie Laveau (she dropped the final x from her name). The frame second story and cast-iron gallery was added later by C. Erne in 1869. The whole structure is shaped to follow the bend in Dauphine Street, adding to its unique appearance. Continue up Kerlerec for a short distance, until you arrive at number 905. The:
- Sauvinet Cottage is an interesting early Creole cottage with a steeply-pitched roof and unusual lintels
for the windows and doors. Built between 1831 and 1843 for Joseph Sauvinet, a native of Bayonne, France, for his mistress, it is one of two cottages constructed for him. The other is on Dauphine, with its lot at right angles to this lot. The vertical board shutters, front door, steps, and roof are all new. The house was willed to Sauvinet's mistress, Rose Dazema, in 1843. Walk back to the Laveaux Building and turn left. A couple of doors down (numbers 1809-11) is the second:
- Sauvinet House, previously mentioned as the other structure built for Joseph Sauvinet. Their lots are set at right angles to each other, their kitchens even sharing a common wall. This house was built between 1833 and 1840, and is of similar basic design as the other. The original appearance is better preserved with this house however, with two dormers with arched windows, multiple-light French doors, and a beautiful double doorway with arch and transoms in the side gable. That doorway opens onto a side balcony with a wrought-iron railing. Further down at 1817-19 Dauphine is the:
- Fuselier House, a plastered-brick Creole cottage
with side gables and extensions, dating from between 1817-1827. The house was built for Claire Fuselier, a free colored woman, who purchased the lot from Charles Laveaux in 1817. The cottage is typical in design to most of the single-story residences in this area of Marigny, with minor changes such as an added overhang and repositioning of the front steps. The dormers have also been modified and the central chimney removed.
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