Gallery (New Orleans)

[1] The City of New Orleans provides specific definitions for platforms projecting from the face of the building, differentiating between balconies and galleries.

In contrast, galleries are platforms extending beyond property lines to cover the full width of the public sidewalk, supported by posts or columns at the street curb.

[3][4] New Orleans was founded in early 1718 by the French as La Nouvelle-Orléans under the direction of Louisiana governor Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville.

[5] During the early French settlement, houses were constructed in the Creole cottage style – simple, one-story structures with timber board walls.

These galleries served a dual purpose: providing protection from the elements and embracing the pleasant, airy designs influenced by the French style in the West Indies.

[6][7] In a 1731 plan, high hip-roof houses in New Orleans were spaced across city blocks, surrounded by gardens, and positioned with their front sides either directly at or near the sidewalk.

[7] In 1749, Ignace François Broutin drew up the Intendance building plan, featuring a design with two-story galleries.

[8][9] In 1763 following Britain's victory in the Seven Years' War, the French colony west of the Mississippi River – along with New Orleans – was ceded to the Spanish Empire as a secret provision of the 1762 Treaty of Fontainebleau.

In response, the Spanish administration implemented stricter building codes, prohibiting timber construction and wooden shingles.

To accommodate the growing population, new two and three-story masonry and stucco townhouses were constructed, maintaining the continuity of French colonial architecture.

These townhouses were constructed with continuous balconies featuring hand-wrought iron railings on both street and courtyard sides, providing not only architectural charm but also facilitating the entry of light and fresh air.

This innovation allowed iron to be molded, enabling the creation of highly decorative patterns and intricate filigree that gained popularity in the 19th century.

Early gallery designs were inspired by wrought-iron balcony railings, featuring patterns like the cathedral arch and scrollwork.

[7] These galleries, cast in New York, bear the initials AP of Micaela Almonester, Baroness de Pontalba on them.

These galleries were built in various styles inspired by the Pontalba and Touro buildings, with an average construction period ranging from 1853 to 1855.

By the 1880s, galleries adorned with cast-iron ornaments had lost their uniqueness as the molded patterns became commonplace in many buildings throughout the city's streets, and they were perceived as outdated.

[22][23] The latter is notable because the wrought-iron railing, originally crafted by master blacksmith Marcellino Hernandes for the narrower balcony of the late 18th-century building, was extended to the full sidewalk width in the 1880s.

Finally, the establishment of the Vieux Carré Commission prevented the ironwork from being repurposed as scrap metal to support World War II.