The Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans is bringing back Shotgun House Month in a virtual format throughout June. Shotgun House Month is a series of house tours and programs that highlight the history and the distinctive design of of these quintessentially New Orleans homes. This year, the Preservation Resource Center will forego in-person tours in favor of live guided virtual tours. These include tours of Uptown homes — the home of Emma Fick and Helvio Prevelato Gregorio on June 19 and the home of Julie Neill on June 27. The tours will showcase shotgun homes throughout the city that have undergone smart renovations, highlighting the livability and versatility of the historic house type.
Who doesn’t want to peek inside some of New Orleans’ historic and glamorous homes?
That’s where the Preservation Resource Center comes to the home-curiosity rescue with its annual Holiday Home Tour, now the 45th, on Dec. 12 and 13.
But with the coronavirus pandemic this year, the PRC was in a bind: How to continue the tradition, but make it safe?
By forgoing the walking tour and creating a virtual tour of six homes located throughout New Orleans – Uptown, Mid-City, French Quarter and Bywater — available to view with purchase of a ticket. “It was thrilling to get a sampling of styles and peek into the lives of homeowners,” said PRC Executive Director Danielle Del Sol in an email. In the past, the homes were centered mainly in the Lower Garden District and Garden District, making it easy for tour-goers to navigate.
Half of the featured homes this year are in Uptown neighborhoods. The 2020 Holiday Home Tour includes the homes of Uptown residents James Carville and Mary Matalin, Penny and Todd Francis, and Bryan Batt and Tom Cianfichi.
The other homes are in the French Quarter (Deb Shriver’s Greek Revival townhome), Mid-City (Alexa Pulitzer and Seth Levine’s Eastlake Center Hall) and Bywater (Pres Kabacoff and Sallie Ann Glassman’s camelback style home, newly built to be environmentally sensitive).
“With a video tour, it is still a huge ‘ask’ for homeowners, but a different kind,” said Del Sol. “This year, we asked them to decorate their homes early for the holidays, then star in a video.” Accompanying the homeowners on the tours, filmed and produced by Calm Dog Productions, are Del Sol and Susan Langenhennig, PRC’s director of communications and marketing and Preservation in Print editor.
The unassuming 1970s apartment building on Napoleon Avenue and Chestnut Street could have met the wrecking ball. It’s not the kind of building New Orleanians tend to rally around. Instead, it was given a new life as the Cypres Condos. On Wednesday, the Preservation Resource Center will celebrate its renovation by holding a Beams and Brews at the site. These happy hours give the public an insiders’ view of some of the city’s most interesting renovation projects, while sipping adult beverages.
Seven stunning homes in the Garden District and Lower Garden District will open their doors this weekend for a New Orleans tradition and holiday calendar highlight. Equipped with festive decoration and live performances by local musicians, these private residences will host the PRC’s 44th annual Holiday Home Tour this Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 14 and 15. The tour headquarters at Trinity Episcopal Church, you’ll find a holiday boutique with great gifts, handmade jewelry, artwork, and more, as well as a café with seasonal treats by Gracious Bakery. Holiday Home Tour
Saturday & Sunday, Dec.
Musician PJ Morton had not heard of Buddy Bolden until three years ago, when the Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church, where his parents are pastors, planned to turn Bolden’s former Central City home into a parking lot. The architect for the project, a longtime friend of Morton’s, sent him an article about Bolden, the cornetist considered the founding father of jazz. “[He] was like ‘Hey man your mom, they just tried to knock down Buddy Bolden’s house,’” Morton said. “And I’m like, ‘Who’s Buddy Bolden?’”
Now Morton has joined forces with the Preservation Resource Center and Marcelin Engineering to renovate the house as well as the identical house adjacent to it.
Shotgun houses are a beloved part of New Orleans’ historic architecture, but can they accommodate the needs of a modern family? This weekend, March 23-24, the Preservation Resource Center’s annual Shotgun House Tour will show off seven Uptown shotgun homes chosen for their smart, innovative renovations. The tour highlights the livability and versatility of these shotgun houses: Daneel & Jim Watson, 925 Dufossat St.; Margaret & Walker Saik, 5202 Chestnut St.; Carter & Claiborne Perrilliat, 5242 Coliseum St.; Mr. & Mrs. Charles Marshall Jr., 1126 Valmont St.; Celeste Marshall, 547 Octavia St.; Dr. & Mrs. Michael Graham II, 5409 Laurel St.; Tanga Winstead, 4882 Annunciation St. The self-guided tour takes place Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Start at the tour headquarters: St.
