Extensive restoration work was done by the present owners Mr. and Mrs. George A. Coiron, Jr., after they purchased the house in 1964 from Mrs. Sylvia Reiner, who had acquired it from the Cathedral.
During the renovation, interesting construction details of this finely built house were revealed. Year-round comfort was assured inside the house by the original designer who left air chambers between the inner and outer walls, which are braced some 12 inches apart. Every room has a balcony or gallery.
Above the front door is the number 710, etched in France, which was the original street numeral on St. Charles Avenue before the municipal numbering system was changed in 1895.
A bit of history attaches to the iron fence and gates which were installed in 1934 by Mr. Myers. The rear gate, originally from old Spanish Fort, had been purchased for $35 from a junk man who got it when the popular lakefront amusement park was demolished.
JOHN B. HOBSON HOUSE
1224 Jackson Avenue
Particularly charming, this raised cottage is one of the few remaining vestiges of the elegance of the homes along Jackson Avenue during the early days of the Garden District.
Research by Samuel Wilson, Jr., architectural historian, establishes that the house was built around the time of the War Between the States by a man named Swain, who previously had resided in a house on the corner of Philip and Chestnut streets. In 1869 it was the property of Louis Schneider. In May of 1881 the house was sold to Isaac West, whose family lived there until 1929, when it was purchased by the Kilpatricks. They in turn sold to Mr. and Mrs. Paul Pigman. Mr. and Mrs. John B. Hobson bought the house in 1962.
The beautiful façade is embellished by a deep cornice, fluted Corinthian columns and lovely “iron lace” in a pattern of lyres and flowers. Instead of the usual symmetrical arrangement of windows on either side of the central doorway, the Hobson house has a gentle bay on the left side. Originally the house had a large rear wing which was destroyed by fire in the 1950’s.
Inside the house are found ornate and elegant plaster moldings and ceiling medallions. A spiral stairway rises dramatically to the second floor from the wide central hall. The Hobsons have furnished the house with a collection of 18th century English antiques.