Visit this home and several other fine examples of New Orleans’ iconic shotgun houses at the Shotgun House Tour on Saturday, May 12
323 Eliza St · Friends of the PRC
The owners of 323 Eliza St. jokingly refer to their home as “petite grande” and it is truly the perfect description. The double shotgun, built in the 1890s, was spared from the 1895 fire that devastated Algiers Point and claimed so many of its contemporaries. Each room of the house spills into the next and is filled with treasured family relics as well as secondhand finds. Every kitchen appliance, cabinet, stool and frame, appear to have a story. The perfectly functioning antique refrigerator once belonged to one of the owner’s grandparents. The Chambers brand stove was purchased from a friend, and is fully equipped with a built-in crockpot. The mini bar is staged in an old wooden icebox that the homeowner’s father salvaged from an Uptown home he renovated in the 1970’s. The couple found a beautiful matching pink sink and toilet from the Green Project that now occupies one of the powder rooms. A beige settee occupying a parlor (referred to as the “shadow room” due to its dark blue hues) was once used in the television show “Scream Queens,” featuring Jamie Lee Curtis.
Since moving in last August, the couple have tackled, and will continue to tackle, major renovations. Their excitement and passion for renovating is obvious and contagious. To date, the back porch has been the largest renovation, previously enclosed with stained glass, the floor was entirely composed of white marble, and included a sunken hot tub that had to be filled with the outdoor hose. It has now been updated into a kid-friendly, screened-in porch.
Aside from the kitchen and bathrooms, which have received a welcome facelift, the rest of the home has remained largely untouched. The many stained glass windows, which were created by the previous homeowners in their studio on Magazine Street before it burned down, are to remain in place.
The camelback and powder rooms were most likely later additions dating to the 1920s or 1930s. The homeowners believe that since the addition, the staircases and upstairs floor plan have not been changed. The only modification to the floor plan that they have made was enlarging a powder room by moving a wall slightly.
One of the more precious features of the house is a mini children’s reading area set in a small nook underneath the stairwell leading to the second floor. It is the cherry on top.
Photos by Charles E. Leche
Shotgun House Tour 2018
Saturday, May 12, 10:00am – 4:00pm in Algiers Point
Advance sale tickets: $25, $20 for PRC members. $30 on day of tour.
Buy your tickets today!
