2007 Thornton ct Alexandria, La

Alexandria Garden District Foundation

METHODOLOGY

 

The impetus for this project was a request from the Alexandria Garden District Foundation (the local neighborhood association) and the Historic Association of Central Louisiana. Fieldwork was conducted by the Division of Historic Preservation's National Register coordinator. The count and breakdown by styles is based upon a building examination. Dependencies (typically garages) were not included in the count unless they were unusually large. The two dependencies that were included in the count are two stories.

 

The nomiated district is a portion of a much larger neighborhood know locally as the Garden District. Boundaries were chosen to recognize the concentration of historic residences that contribute to the neighborhor's architectural significance - i.e., the concentration of architecturally significant residences that retain sufficient integrity.

 

SETTING AND GENERAL BACKGROUND

 

The Alexandria Garden District has been know as such for as long as anyone in the neighborhood can remember. The name is believed to date from at least the 1930s or '40s.

 

The neighborhood began to develop c. 1905 as the city of Alexandria expanded from the "old town" (downtown) in a southwesterly fashion, across the rail line. (Today the rail corridor has been replaced by I-49.) By 1909, the first time the area west of the railroad was mapped by the Sanborn Company, much of today's district was labeled West Alexandria Addition. By 1921, the neighborhood was labeled Clarence Pard up to 22nd St. and Poplar Grove Addition beyond. Alexandria's economy until c. 1925 was based largely upon lumber, and in a general sense, the district reflects this period of prosperity.

 

The houses in today's district are located almost entirely on four long streets: Marye, Jackson, Albert, and White. (Very few buildings face the cross streets.) At the northeast end is Bolton Avenue, a largely modern commercial artery a few blocks from the interstate. At the other edge of the district, about a mile away, it Bayou Hynson, a tiny meandering stream. On some streets (White and Albert) the district begins almost at Bolton, while on Marye and Jackson it begins about a block in. Likewise, some streets were included all the way to the bayou, while others were not, depending upon the architectural character. Mature, lush vegetation and historic brick paving on many streets contribute greatly to the district's ambiance.

 

The neighborhood's main traffic artery is easily Jackson, a major thoroughfare in the city. However, it is only two lanes wide through the Garden District. And while Jackson retains a strong historic character and boasts some of the distrcit's grandest homes, it is probably the most intruded upon of the streets.

 

The Garden District has a 1-2 story scale. While most houses are of wood frame construction, a notable minority are clad in brick veneer or stucco. The houses range from modest middle class bungalows and cottages to mansions from the 1920s and '30s. And as was typical of the period, they are all freely mixed. For example, next door to the district's grandest mansion is a small bungalow.

 

BREAKDOWN BY STYLE

 

Queen Anne Revival (3%)

 

Almost all of the Garden District's historic houses are from c. 19010 through the 1930s, with the earliest style represented in large numbers being the Colonial Revival. However, there are eight one to one-and-a-half story Queen Anne cottages from the neighborhood's earliest development (the first few years of the twentieth century). Scattered here and there, they all feature queen Anne massing and other elements such as shinglework combined with Colonial Revival galleries. (Regrettable, the distrcit's only two story Queen Anne has to be counted as non-contributing because of severe alterations.)

 

Colonial Revival (22%)

 

The district's Colonial Revival houses represents the style in its various permutations, from c. 1910 houses that have some Queen Anne influence in their massing, to the Mount Vernon look, to a red brick neo-Georgian house, to "Southern Colonial" homes of the 1920s and '30s.

 

Roughly one in Five houses in the Garden District is in the Colonial Revival style, and they make an even stronger statement than this number would suggest because the majority are either large landmark examples or strongly styled smaller houses. (In fact, until the numbers were done from the fieldwork, the National Register coordinator would have guesed a much larger percentage of Colonial Revivial.) About half of the toal are two stories. Twelve have colossal columns (Roman Doric and Corinthian). Several have pedimented porticoes (both one and two story).

 

Craftsman/Bungalow (39%)

 

The majority of houses in the Craftsman/Bungalow style category are classic one story examples. A few are foursquares (otherwise plain two story houses with Craftmans style porches); two are camelbacks (i.e., a one story house with a partial second story at the rear); a few are two story Craftmans houses; and three are what is known in New Orleans as a "basement house" (a tow story house with the second story being the principal floor and reached via a prominent flight of stairs).

 

Three idenitcal bungalows are worthy of note-one located on Jackson and two side by side on. Their distinctiveness is derived from their posts-found on both the proch and side porte-cochere. A very high two-stage brick base goes almost to the roofline. In the space between (6 to 8 inches) is a grouping of short wooden members which have tiny wooden elements extending from them.

 

English Cottage (3%)

 

All of the nin houses in the "English cottage" category are middle class dwellings. In short, non are "manor houses" of the type found in many early twentieth century subdivisions. But despite being relatively small in size and few in number, most of the Garden District's English cottages are well developed and make a considerable architechural statement. The massing on the very best examples is particularly picturesque - i.e., multiple steep gables and prominent front chimneys.

 

Miscellaneous (2%)

 

This category is being used for houses that are strongly styled but do not appear in sufficient numbers to warrant their own category. Four are Mediterranean/Italian houses and one is in the French Chateau style.

 

Eclectic (2%)

 

this category has been used in the past for houses that combine various styles, as was typical of the period.

 

No Style (4%)

 

This catergory has a somewhat misleading title; it does not mean devoid of details necassarily. It has been used by the Division of Historic Preservation in many successful district nominations to encompass buildings that cannot be "pushed" into a stylistic category. They may have various details that contribute to the neighborhood's historic look; however, the styling is not pervasive enough and/or emphatic enough to warrant a stylistic label. The "no style" category also includes legitimate historic houses that are indeed quite plain, although even they support the overall character of the district in ares such as massing, fenestration pattern, systems of porches, ect.

 

Non-contributing (15%)

 

Buildings in this category are either less than fifty years old or seriously altered historic buildings. There are more of the former. All of the non-contributing buildings maintain the district's one and two story scale. The only ones with a large footprint are three apartment complexes on Jackson - two are one building units; one is a complex fo four connected buildings fronting onto Jackson and extending back into the block. Fortunately, the four building complex is screened along Jackson by mature magnolia trees. Several of the distrct's less than fifty year old buildings are attractive traditional-looking one story brick houses.

 

CONTRIBUTING ELEMENTS

 

Contributing elements are defined as buildings constructed between c. 1905 (the date of the earliest houses) and 1950 (the current fifty year cutoff) which retain sufficient integrity. Each building in the district was examined by the state's Register coordinator and a professional judgement call was made as to when alterations were extensive enough to warrant non-contributing status. On the whole, the district's buildings are well-preserved and well-maintained. There is some vinly and aluminum siding, but is is not a notable issue. Most of the handful of re-sided houses were counted as contributing. In these instances various extant details gave the houses a sufficiently strong historic character, siding notwithstanding. There are few instances of partial porch enclosures and replacement of porch posts, but in these cases, the architectural was sufficiently strong to offset the alterations.

 

ASSESSMENT OF INTEGRITY

 

The district 15% non-contributing rate is on the low end for a Natinal Register district in Louisiana. Non-contributing buildins are scattered here and there and maintain the district's one to two story scale. The only truly intrusive modern buildins are in the above mentioned apartment complex on Jackson which at least is screened along its front by large trees.

 

SAMPLE LANDMARKS

1. 1808 White

2. 1900 block White

3. Albert at 19th

4. 2627 Jackson St

5. 2626 Jackson

6. 2036 Jackson

7. 1927 Albert

8. 2208 Marye

9. 1805 Jackson

10. 2038 Albert

11. 1906 Albert

12. 1807 White

13. 2410 Marye

14. 2104 white

15. Marye at 26th

16. 2156 White

17. 2022 Albert

18. 2336 Marye

19. 2130 Jackson

20. 2604 Jackson

 

The Alexandria Garden District is of state architectural as an impressive example of an historic twentieth century suburb. With its low non-contributing rate and the range of styles represented, it is in effect a window into the past to show someone the look of a period surburb - particularly the eclecticism so characteristic of the era. It is one of the state's six major urban residential lanscapes reflecting the eclecticism of the period (two in Shreveport, one in Monroe, on in Alexandria, one in Baton Rouge, and one in New Orleans). The period of significance spans from c. 1905, the date of the earliest houses, to 1950 the current National Register fifty year cutoff.

 

By way of backgroung, it must be remembered that Lousiaina was and is a predominantly rural state dotted with small towns and hamlets. There were only a limited number of cities (7) of the size to support an urban residential landscape such as the Alexandria Garden District. And the neighborhood is some of these had experienced their peak prosperity at an earlier period (for example, Lake Charles, where there is an impressive Queen Anne/Colonial Revival district, and most sections of New Orleans). By contrast, other cities like Shreveport, Baton Rouge, Alexandria, and Monroe experienced some of their greatest growth in the early twentieht century, causing older housing stoch to be replaced and/or new suburbs to be created.

 

Stylistically, the Alexandria Garden District illustrates very will the prevailing eclecticism of the early twentieth centruy when a typical suburb was replete with all manner of houses, including Craftsman, Colonial Revivial, the Englis cottage look, Mediterrenean Revival, etc. Thrity-nine percent of the district's houses are in the Craftsman/Bungalow style, and a significant number (29%) represent the various historic revival style that were so popular at the time. Indeed, looking to the past for architectural inspiration was a dominant trend in early twentieht centruy American architecture - whether it be the nation's own colonial past (or what they perceived to be "colonial") or the exotic and faraway past of French chateaux., Mediterranean villas and "olde English" cottages. And, of course, "designing in the period" was assisted greatly by a rising generation of architects who could produce a design in just about any style from any period, whatever the client wanted.

 

The Garden District represents the historic revivalism of the period even more than the numbers would indicte because so many of the houses make quite an architectural statement--with many being quite large. Particularly noteworthy is the district's impressive collection of Colonial revivial houses (22% of the total), representing the style in its numerous forms. As previously mentioned, many of these are large two-story landmarks, often with colossal columns (12). And even many of the smaller Colonial Revival houses are well-developed (for example, a one story Mount Vernon influenced house that looks straight from the pases of White Pines, an early twentieth centruy publication that promoted the style). Sprinkled into this already interesting mix are four landmark Mediterranean houses, a distinctive French chateau (complete with a tower), nine English cottages (most of which are strongly styled), and several houses featuring a mixture of styles (also a trend of the period).

 

In short, the Alexandria Garden District is a place of enless architectural variety, as we typical of an early twentieth century suburb. Standing at Marye and 24th, one sees an oriental-looking bungalow on one corner, a pictureques English cttage on another, and then there's a handsome Mediterranean villa. Brick-paved albert Street is particualarly blessed - both with variety and landmarks. Within a two-block stretch one finds the district's most distinctive, intensively articulated English cottage, a Roman-looking wvilla with a side tower, two large and impressive Craftsman houses, a red brick neo-Georgian house with a handsome entrance portico, and a Colonial Revival house with a colossal colonnade down two sides. Then on Jackson Street there's a grand "Southern Colonial" mansion across the street from a French chateau. All of this is in stark contrast to the monotonous suburbs which developed in post-World War II America.

 

The Alexandria Garden District also derives some of its architectural distrinction from the size and overall quality of its landmarks. Although a small numerical percentage fo the total, they have a cconsiderable visual presence. Many have the overall feel and presence of a mansion or estate. Some 20 or so are of sufficient architectural merit to be individually eligible for the Register, which is a large number for a district of 293 buildings. (Many fo the state's parishes do not have this many buildings individually eligible under architecture.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alexandria Garden District HOA

Done