The Shotgun house is a narrow one-story dwelling without halls. Each room is placed behind the other in single file. The roof ridge is perpendicular to the street. The traditional description of why these houses are called "shotgun" is that if one fired a shotgun through the front door, the shot would pass through the lined-up doors of each room and out the back door. This description does not really fit most shotgun houses, because the doors of the successive rooms don't usually line up.
Land being scarce in New Orleans, the lots are very narrow, typically about 35 feet. The shotgun design developed as an inexpensive design to fit these narrow New Orleans lots. Shotgun houses were built in lower and middle class neighborhoods. They come in three principal variations:
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Single Shotgun
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Double Shotgun
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Camelback Single or Double Shotgun
The double shotgun requires less land per living unit than singles and were
used extensively in poor areas. In middle class areas, more single shotgun
houses were built. In Bywater, 47% of the shotgun houses are singles.
The rooms of a shotgun house are usually of a good size, approximately 14
feet square and have high ceilings. They usually have some decoration such
as moldings, ceiling medallions, and elaborate woodwork.
The street scene provided by a group of shotguns in a row is quite
interesting with the projections of overhangs, decorative brackets, and
steps.
Click on thumbnails to see larger images of architectural details.
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The shotgun double house has four shuttered openings on the street, two
doors and two windows. The shotgun single will have one door and window in
the front. Most Bywater shotgun houses are flush with the sidewalk with the
steps and overhang projecting out onto the sidewalk. The original steps were
of wood box like construction. This provided a bench-like platform on each
side facilitating the New Orleans practice of "stoop sitting."
Early shotgun houses did not contain a bathroom. An outhouse would be
constructed in the back yard, and baths would be taken in the bedroom or
other room of the house. In later houses, a bathroom with a small hall would
be inserted before the last room of the house.
The first two rooms, called double parlors, are usually separated by double
pocket doors. The remaining room-to-room doors are single width and may be
double leaf "French" doors or single leaf panel doors.
The front roof of the early shotgun ended in a hip. After the 1880's often a
gable was inserted above the overhang. The overhang usually was supported by
decorative wooden brackets and contained cast iron ventilators. The front
foundation wall included two cast iron ventilators as well.
CONSTRUCTION
The typical Bywater shotgun house is a wooden frame structure, with drop
siding on the front and lap siding on the sides and back. Decoration
includes fancy brackets supporting the overhang, quoins at each corner and
segmented arch shutters covering the door and window openings. It is built
on a solid brick foundation wall in the front covered in plaster with two
cast iron vents. Brick piers along each side support the rest of the house.
These piers are usually not plastered. The fireplaces down the center of a
double house provide support as well. The shotgun is typically raised 2 1/2
to 3 feet above ground level in deference to the New Orleans climate. Black
slate typically covers the roof of a Bywater shotgun house, but other colors
are occasionally found.
PERIOD
Shotgun houses were built from after the Civil War through through the
1920's.
Click here to see examples of architectural floor plans.
EXAMPLE PHOTOS
