Strikingly handsome in its simplicity, the Bernard house is often cited as a pure example of a Louisiana raised cottage. Sturdy brick pillars support the wide gallery which is reached by a long flight of steps. Wooden railings are plain while windows to the floor are symmetrically arranged on either side of the recessed doorway.
Long owned by various members of the Bernard family, the cottage exudes family tradition but the builder and construction dates are unknown. Earliest record of the “property with improvements” is 1861. Bernard family lore tells of workmen who were finishing the roof watching Admiral Farragut’s fleet steam up the river toward New Orleans in 1862.
The floor plan of the main floor of the house is typical, a wide central hall, in this instance eight feet wide and 33 feet long, which extends from front gallery to back gallery. Behind the characteristic double parlors on the right of the hall an added wing contains dining room and kitchen. All rooms are large, distinguished in proportion but not formal in character. Modernization has been done in an unobstrusive way by the present owners who also corrected alterations done some 20 years ago so that all changes are now compatible with the structure’s original lines.
This old house has been adapted skillfully to the needs of an active family with the attic converted for boys’ bedrooms and additional rooms in the ground floor basement. The spacious corner lot is landscaped with swimming pool and patio.
GEORGE A. COIRON HOUSE
2926 St. Charles Avenue
A delightful Southern home with many galleries to catch the breezes, the Coiron house dates from 1882, yet it was designed and built in the manner of dwellings of the 1860 period. The architect is unknown but the original owner was one Thomas McDermott, who resided there for many years with his two maiden sisters.
Older Garden District residents still recall McDermott sitting on the little porch off the dining room every summer evening, smoking his cigar until dusk. One charming eccentricity of the McDermott sisters earned them a place in the ranks of colorful individuals who have made the Garden District their home. When the garden produced no live blooms, these old ladies pinned paper flowers to the hedge on the Seventh Street side of the property.
Subsequent owners of the house were Mrs. Hughella Virginia McCloskey, Henry Mooney, Ernest Scipio Myers, Mr. and Mrs. Morris Legendre, and, by bequest of the Legendres, Christ Church Cathedral.