The well proportioned lines of the Greek Revival mansion were designed by James Calrow, who, with his partner Mr. Day, also served as builder. Although the three fine houses he designed during this period show Calrow to have been a man of unquestionable talents, he is otherwise unknown to architectural historians.
Symmetry and grace characterize the imposing portico with its eleven Corinthian columns, echoed by the capitals of the pilasters flanking the front door. While construction of this house was under way in 1858, an interested spectator of its progress was T. K. Wharton, one of the architects of the customhouse. In his diary, now in the New York Public Library, he notes on February 10 of that year that this house “promises to be the handsomest piece of work in the District.” Its style, he later remarked, is “rich Corinthian, very handsome.”
The broad gallery, so typical of the Garden District, is also embellished with the popular grillwork, “iron lace” as it is sometimes called. An astonishing diversity of ironwork patterns is to be seen in the area. This particular design of fruit and flowers is a fine example of both single- and double-faced cast iron used in alternation.
Proceeding up the broad, high flight of center stairs, the visitor crosses the wide veranda and reaches the handsome front door, which in its carved basket of fruit ornamentation repeats one of the motifs of the grillwork. An old-fashioned pull type of doorbell announces a caller. Inside one enters a center hall of breath-taking proportions. Within its area of 67 feet by 12 feet could be placed several rooms of a modern development house. Here again we find the reflection of the classic revival in the elaborate plaster work of cornices and ceiling.
On the right of the entrance hall is a large drawing room of the type called “double parlor” because of the suggested separation into two rooms, each of which was treated identically and had matching mantels. A balanced spacing of all openings in the room plus the treatment of windows as doors in the French mode give harmony to the room. Both mantels are of black and gold Italian marble with bronze trim. The front mantel features the fleur de lis of France while the companion mantel has the crossed bows of Louis XVI and the roses of Marie Antoinette. Both fireplaces are backed with black iron embossed with the fleur de lis design.
Across the hall is the dining room, which is lighted by the original gas chandelier, now wired for electricity. Here the graceful mantel is of white marble. Directly behind this room the Crassons have installed a family room kitchen in the early American style. Originally the kitchen was outside, as was the custom of that day, but the present owners made a more convenient arrangement for modern living by this relocation. The comfortable sitting room has a black and gold mantel with the same Louis XVI motifs as one in the drawing room.
No trace of the original garden which extended to Jackson Avenue remained when the Crassons purchased the property. They are now in the process of restoring this corner to some of its former beauty. In the front of the house, however, huge oaks and palms remain from the past. According to reliable sources, these massive oaks were planted as young saplings on September 14, 1874, the day the carpet baggers were driven out of New Orleans.
Double doors, ten feet tall, are natural cypress. Corinthian capitals of pilasters, molded plaster cornices are typical parlor details.