Historic Buildings of the French Quarter
In his first book, New Orleans Houses: A House-Watcher's Guide, Lloyd Vogt demonstrated how architectural details provide clues to a house's history and to the time it was built. Now Historic Buildings of the French Quarter explores the unusual and picturesque buildings of New Orleans' French Quarter. One of the oldest officially designated historic districts in the United States, the French Quarter, or Vieux Carré, provides a rich hunting ground for observers looking for architectural relics of the city's varied past. Evidence of the formal building and garden designs brought by the first French colonists distinguish the Ursuline Convent, which is the oldest surviving structure in the Mississippi Valley. Another early landmark, Madame John's Legacy, a circa-1788 house that features strong French-colonial influences, is also discussed. Traces of Spain's rule still exist in the structures and courtyards of many French Quarter homes.   One hundred twenty-five original line drawings depict all types of structures, from crude colonial cabins to ornate early-twentieth-century shotgun homes. The text includes expanded histories of dozens of individual buildings that are particularly important, including St. Louis Cathedral, the Beauregard-Keyes House, and the Banque de la Louisiane (now Brennan's Restaurant). Historic Buildings of the French Quarter concludes with a helpful bibliography and a glossary of architectural terms. Lloyd Vogt was one of Pelican's most popular and successful authors. His New Orleans Houses: A House-Watcher's Guide, now in its fifth printing, is the standard reference guide to building styles in the Crescent City. He also wrote a companion book for children, A Young Person's Guide to New Orleans Houses. Vogt received his architecture degree from Louisiana State University. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including a traveling grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a scholarship to study at the Fontainebleu School of Music, Art, and Architecture in France.