When celebrated architect Henry Howard was no longer able to draw or write, he still managed to design the final structure of his career for merchant Auguste Tete in 1882. Howard dictated to an assistant the specifications for the home, reiterating the forms he had used throughout his lengthy career and modifying them when necessary, according to author Robert S. Brantley. One such modification was the staircase in the home’s entrance hall. The run of the staircase is exceptionally long, the risers unusually short, resulting in an almost effortless ascent to the second floor.
The Tete family included three daughters, necessitating a ballroom for parties. Howard addressed this need by placing a hall next to the stairway, with two parlors opening onto it. According to “Henry Howard: Louisiana’s Architect” by Brantley and Victor McGee (2015, HNOC/Princeton Architectural Press), a cavernous space was divided by thin millwork molding rather than Howard’s customary Roman arch to create a space 40 feet long. A dining room and library at the rear of the space could be accessed via pocket doors. This footprint remains intact today.
In 2021, Dana Cooper, a retired environmental attorney, and Bo Cooper, an immigration attorney, bought the three-bay, two-story Italianate home, which features deep upper and lower galleries.
The couple worked with MNK Design/Build, architect Daniel R. Samuels and interior designer Nomita Joshi Gupta of Nomita Joshi Interior Design to bring their vision for the home to fruition. Master plaster craftsman Jeff Poreé was responsible for restoring or recreating the home’s extensive plasterwork where necessary. Ironsmith Darryl Reeves of Andrew’s Welding and Blacksmith was responsible for restoring the home’s unusual wire iron fence.
The only structural changes that the couple made were to remove a bathroom and kitchen addition to a side porch, a remnant from when the house had been cut up into seven apartments. In that space, Samuels designed a home office for Bo based on the dimensions of the original porch.
Dana’s mother moved to New Orleans when she was 11. Dana, the daughter of an Air Force master sergeant, grew up all over the world, but considers New Orleans home. Bo lived in New Orleans as a young child. The couple met at Tulane Law School, then moved to Washington, D.C. to pursue careers in public service. Over the next 35 years, they happily raised their three children in D.C. but were always drawn to return to New Orleans.
“This is my heart,” Dana said. “I always knew I would be back. And this house? She is beautiful. She was worth it. She deserved this love.”
Photo by Liz Jurey
Photo by Liz Jurey
Photo by Liz Jurey
Photo by Liz Jurey
Photo by Liz Jurey
Photo by Liz Jurey
Photo by Liz Jurey
Photo by Liz Jurey
