5301 Camp St
New Orleans, LA 70115, USA

Lowe-Forman House - National Register of Historic Places

Statement of Significance:

The Lowe-Forman House Is locally significant In the area of architecture because It Is a superior example of late-nineteenth century architecture within the context of Its local neighborhood.

The area of New Orleans west of Napoleon Street, east of Audubon Park, south of Prytanea Street, and north of the Mississippi River Is a homogeneous and well-recognized area of late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century middle class residential development. There Is also some later development. Turn-of-the century development in this area Is mainly characterized by standard builder houses with standard ornamentation. This Includes shotgun houses, camel back houses, and two-story side hall plan houses which are ornamented with Italianate brackets, Eastlake columns, single Queen Anne Revival gables, and some Colonial Revival columns.

In contrast to this, the Lowe-Forman House has several distinctive features which place It considerably above the standard builder products commonly found in the area. These Include:

1. The well-crafted, highly unusual curved east end of the lower front gallery.
2. The use of double Eastlake columns on the lower front gallery rather than the usual single Eastlake columns.
3. The use of two asymmetrically placed gables on the front facade rather than the usual single gable.
4. The highly unusual second story gallery with Its single column.
5. The richly three-dimensional staircase. This Is In contrast to the usual single straight flight staircase. The house stands as one of possibly 30 of the architectural landmarks in an area of over 10,000 structures. It Is therefore nominated for significance at the local level.