The Historic
Dimension Series
A student publication series by the UNCG Department of Interior Architecture
Old House, New Future:
The Revitalization of the Shotgun House
by Monica T. Davis Spring 2019
Shotgun houses (“shot-guns”)
are the most
widely acknowledged
expressions of African-American architec-tural
design in the United States. They are
New World constructions, rooted in indig-enous
African architectural and spatial tra-ditions
and influenced by American Indian
and European building techniques. The
place of shotgun architecture in local and
national social history justifies proactive
preservation efforts to save and restore the
remaining shotgun houses in cities across
America.
Historic preservationists and local com-munities
are restoring their existing stock of
shotgun houses both as a form of revitaliza-tion
and for providing middle-income hous-ing
opportunities. These historic architectur-al
house forms are being adapted into artist
studios and affordable housing solutions. In
the process, they are revitalizing local com-munities
as they are reviving old shotgun
communities and repositioning the shotgun
as a suitable, affordable and environmen-tally
friendly solution for contemporary
housing needs. This brief will examine case
studies of the surviving clusters of shotgun
houses throughout the United States. These
thriving shotgun house communities are
fostering neighborhood revitalization and
providing affordable housing options to
residents.
History of the Shotgun House
The shotgun house is a resilient architec-tural
style that dates back to the 1700s and
represents a unique opportunity to explore
the manifestation of African architectural
aesthetics within the American material
culture. Anthropologist and historian John
Michael Vlach has carefully traced the roots
of the shotgun housing type from Africa to
the Caribbean to the United States. In his
1976 dissertation, Vlach demonstrates close
relationships regarding cultural norms, spa-tial
appropriations, and building practices as
the primary links between West Africa and
the Caribbean. His research identifies a tra-ditional
two-room African structure with a
covered porch that perhaps was influenced
by an Arawak Indian structure in Haiti with
its entry at the end of the structure. Tracing
the migration of the shotgun house from Af-rica
to Haiti to Louisiana clearly shows the
persistence of certain traditional building
types. Figures 3 and 4 illustrate the design
of the shotgun houses in Haiti. Vlach’s re-search
notes state there were modifications
made to the housing type which demon-strate
the influence of changes resulting
from contact with various ethnic groups
and different building approaches as well as
changing social needs.
In America, some have falsely assumed that
shotgun houses are architectural extensions
of the slave cabin. Vlach’s research notes
also state that some Americans portrayed
the architectural style as “neo-slave cabins”
because of the continued degradation of
blacks during the shotgun construction era.
Essentially, there is no direct relationship
between the shotguns built by free blacks of
the early 1800s and American slave cabins.
Slave cabins were most often windowless
10’ x 10’ or 12’ x 12’ squares. It is more likely
“Although
shotgun hous-es
are small,
were inexpen-sively
built,
and generally,
lack ameni-ties,
they have
been praised
for their archi-tectural
virtues,
which include
the ingenious
use of lim-ited
space and
decoration
such as ginger-bread
trim and
brightly painted
exteriors. They
represent a
unique Afri-can
American
contribution
to architecture
in the United
States” (Vlach,
1976, p. 21).
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Fig. 3: Image of shotgun houses in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
that formerly enslaved people--who were not exposed to
shotgun architecture at the time of Emancipation--would
have adopted the saddlebag style architecture custom-ary
throughout the South.
In Haiti, enslaved Africans were allowed to influence the
architectural environment in which they lived. They de-signed
their own houses, and by the early 18th century
had developed a small rectangular dwelling with a gable
entrance that was simply called a “caille” or “house.”
This house type was the prototype of the shotgun, was
successively built in urban Haiti, and entered the United
States by way of New Orleans. Figure 2 illustrates the
current conditions of shotgun houses before and after
renovations in New Orleans, LA.
The Shotgun House in New Orleans
Vlach’s research documented that the earliest American
shotguns appeared in New Orleans in the early 19th
century, and the city remains at the core of shotgun
development today. The first shotgun house noted in
the Notarial Archives record was sold in November 1833
and was located on Bourbon Street near St. Philips in the
French Quarter. Early New Orleans building contracts
also reveal that at least five shotguns were built four
years later in 1837, further demonstrating that the ar-chitectural
form had taken root in the city by the 1830s.
These five shotgun houses varied in room placement
and room additions. The presence of these variations
suggests that this vernacular architectural style is prob-ably
much older than recorded in documents from the
1830s, given that vernacular architectural forms gener-ally
take years to evolve.
Early research and documentation offer valuable in-sight
into the evolution of the shotgun and suggest that
shotgun architecture had a dominant role in the New
Orleans landscape of the 1800s. As stated previously,
this architectural style was introduced to the United
States by way of Haitian immigrants. The success of the
Haitian revolution (1791-1804) marked a tremendous
moment in history for blacks in the New World regard-ing
the overthrow of colonial oppression and the estab-lishment
of the first republic in the Americas ruled by
people of African descent. Unfortunately, this success
left Haiti politically and economically isolated. Many
free blacks left in search of economic prosperity, and a
large number chose New Orleans as their new home.
In 1809, five years after the Haitian revolution, more
than fifty ships brought 2,000 free people of color to
New Orleans from Haiti. By 1810, the population of
New Orleans was comprised of 12,223 individuals: 4,507
whites, 4,386 slaves, and 3,322 free people of color. The
influx of individuals created a significant demand for the
construction of new housing. There is sufficient evidence
that confirms the relationship between shotgun homes
and the free blacks in New Orleans who built them.
The precise size of the floor plans of some Louisiana and
Haitian shotgun houses are almost identical. Structural
and aesthetic intentions including ceiling height and
decorative elements were also generally the same. These
characteristics show that the shotgun houses in New
Fig. 2: The before and after renovations images of a
shotgun house in New Orleans, LA on May 14, 2005.
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Fig. 4: Image of shotgun houses in rural Haiti. Fig. 5: Historic images of shotgun houses in the early
1900s in New Orleans.
Orleans were developed almost certainly as a result of
a massive influx of free blacks from Haiti. By 1850, the
number of free black craftsmen in the city had grown to
approximately 680 masons and carpenters. Free blacks
were in a position to both buy and build houses of their
choosing. As Gehman points out, they controlled suf-ficient
financial resources and possessed technical skills
to develop their architectural environment.
The Rise of the Shotgun House
To meet the housing needs spawned by the Great Migra-tion,
mail order plans and materials for shotgun homes
were widely available by the 1900s, making it accessible
and economical to build in both urban and rural settings.
The peak of shotgun construction spanned from Recon-struction
until the 1920s; with 4,000,000 former slaves
seeking low-cost housing, numerous shotgun homes
were built, making it the single most prevalent hous-ing
type in America during that era. The shotgun house
became very prevalent in neighborhoods in the southern
United States from 1880 to 1930, and they also started
appearing throughout the mid-west and California. By
the 1930s, the shotgun represented more than 80% of the
housing stock for African Americans in some Southern
communities.
The spread of shotgun architecture across the American
landscape can be traced directly to the Great Migra-tion.
Given this knowledge, it is easy to envision that
along with each migration stop, the locals created their
own version of the shotgun, most having never seen the
original structures of Louisiana. In each city, the shotgun
structures that emerged are actually unique regional
interpretations of the architectural style. Many people
falsely assume that all shotgun homes are identical.
Upon further inspection, we see that shotgun homes are
mostly similar within the communities they serve. The
most recognizable form is the shotgun single, which
forms the basis for the general housing type. Urban shot-gun
singles are usually set on rectangular lots with nar-row
street frontages. Most often, the homes are set back
slightly from the front property line, and sometimes
behind an ornamental cast-iron or white picket fence.
The rooms of a shotgun house are lined up one behind
the other. Typically, the living room is first, followed by
one or two bedrooms, and finally a kitchen and bath-room
in the back.
Other variations of the shotgun include camelback shot-gun
houses, double shotgun houses, and the north shore
house. In Vlach’s research, the North Shore house is the
original shotgun housing type. It is depicted in early ru-ral
drawings from Haiti where nearly identical forms ex-ist
today. The houses were so named because many were
built on the north shore of New Orleans’ Lake Pontchar-train
as summer homes for wealthy whites. However,
most were built around Mandeville and Abita Springs in
St. Tammany Parish as resort homes for blacks. Recent
research has revealed that several of the earliest surviv-ing
buildings on the North Shore were built by and for
African Americans. Figure 5 illustrates the variations of
shotgun houses built in New Orleans.
A double shotgun is a duplex where two shotguns share
a central wall. The housing style first appeared in New
Orleans in 1854 and became a popular urban crowding
solution nationwide. In some areas, the double-barreled
shotgun became associated with the absolute poorest of
neighborhoods because they required less land use and
fewer materials per household than shotgun singles.
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Camelback shotgun houses were designed to afford resi-dents
more living area and greater privacy. These homes
also called “humpbacks” featured a partial second-floor
addition at the rear of the house. Both shotgun singles
and doubles exist as camelbacks. The partial second
floor, or “hump,” may be one or two rooms deep and
consist of a total of one to four rooms.
Urban Renewal: The Fall of the Shotgun House
While the vernacular style initially represented a source
of self-esteem for African Americans, it later acquired
the stigma of stereotypical perceptions. Jim Crow
practices established a negative view of the shotgun
architectural house form which led to the demise of
shotgun housing. Ultimately, the shotgun was unable
to withstand the racism and classism in America. The
shotgun was gradually transformed from being a point
of self-respect and pride for blacks into a place of resent-ment
and shame.
By the 1950s, the shotgun was sufficiently abhorred by
both blacks and whites. Social order successfully relegat-ed
blacks and the poorest whites to the shotgun housing
style; it maintained a reputation for serving as “inde-cent”
housing for those who possessed no other econom-ic
choices. In many communities, African Americans
abandoned their shotgun homes to escape the negative
stereotypes that further isolated them from economic
opportunities. The negative stereotypes and the poor
conditions maintained by residents and landlords made
the homes an easy target for the demolition triggered by
urban renewal projects.
Shotgun homes were most often located in black neigh-borhoods
where the Federal Housing Authority estab-lished
discriminatory mortgage underwriting standards
that steered lenders away from minority areas. This
practice known as red-lining caused real estate values in
minority neighborhoods to plummet. Absentee owner-ship
and a shortage of mortgage lenders for inner-city
residents led to the disinvestment in these neighbor-hoods
and contributed to the deterioration of the shot-gun
houses in the mid and late twentieth century.
From 1950 to 1970, over 425,000 low-income homes,
mostly in African American neighborhoods, were
demolished through government-funded programs.
Instead of designing local, state and national programs
to target the systemic issues of racism and poverty, the
simple solution was to clear-cut communities. Many
shotgun neighborhoods were specifically targeted.
The Rebirth of the Shotgun House
Not everyone was phased by the negative implications
of shotgun living. The negative perceptions of shotgun
living have lessened, if not mostly dissipated, gradually
over the past twenty years. Thousands of shotgun homes
have remained in continuous use since the early 1900s.
New Orleans and many other cities have significant
shotgun communities, and some have even established
Shotgun Historic Districts. In cities all over the country,
communities have or are taking action to preserve the
last remaining shotgun homes that exist.
The shotgun house has survived to meet the trend
toward small, sustainable housing, and affordable hous-ing
needs. These small homes that were once defined
as symbols of poverty are now respected as innova-tive,
practical and sustainable structures that serve as
a symbol of cultural pride. This new spotlight on the
shotgun house has revealed exciting new prospects and
possibilities for reviving old shotgun communities and
repositioning the shotgun as a suitable, affordable and
environmentally-friendly solution for contemporary
housing needs. Three case studies of surviving shotgun
house communities have been identified: Project Row
Fig. 7: Image illustrates the construction phase of Proj-ect
Row Houses in Houston, TX.
Fig. 6: Project Row Houses in Houston, TX.
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Houses, Covington’s Shotgun Houses, and Baker Street
Bottoms Shotgun Development.
Project Row Houses
Project Row Houses is a community platform that
enriches lives through art with an emphasis on cul-tural
identity and its impact on the urban landscape.
The development is located in the Third Ward area of
Houston, Texas, and includes a group of shotgun houses
restored in the 1990s. Figures 6 and 7 illustrate the before
and after conditions of the shotgun houses. The historic
shotgun house type provides programs that cultivate
independent change agents by creating sustainable op-portunities
for artists, young mothers, small businesses,
and Third Ward residents.
Project Row Houses’ work with the Third Ward commu-nity
begun in 1993 when seven visionary African Ameri-can
artists recognized the potential in a block of derelict
shotgun houses. Together they began to explore how
they could be a resource to the community and how art
could be used as an engine for social transformation.
Project Row Houses offers affordable studio space for
artists, which can be a rarity in many cities. They also
encourage artists to extend their practice outside of the
studio into the social context. The Young Mothers Resi-dential
Program provides housing and counseling on
personal growth and parenting skills, allowing mothers
to raise their children in a creative, nurturing communi-ty.
The purpose of the program empowers young single
mothers and their children in achieving independent,
self-sufficient lives. YMRP has supported roughly 100
mothers and their families.
Project Row Houses also offers free weekly tutoring to
students at any age who need assistance in their stud-ies.
By educating younger generations in the community
through mentoring, tutoring, and college planning, local
youth find value in education that helps them form their
path in life.
Covington’s Shotgun Houses
Around 1890 Henry G. Haver, a foreman at a local wire
works, bought a parcel of land along Orchard Street
and built seven shotgun homes, one room wide by three
and four rooms deep. They were more ornate than the
typical shotgun house, with basements, high ceilings,
Italianate cornices, and two tall windows on the street-facing
side. Haver moved his family into one and sold
the others, likely to laborers either at the wire works or
at the lumber mill, rope works, or Bavarian brewery.
By the 1960s and ’70s, urban flight left many buildings
vacant, particularly in the city’s Westside neighborhood.
Figure 9 illustrates the condition of the shotgun houses
before renovations. The Orchard Street shotgun houses
were a part of the Lee-Holman Historic District and
were protected from demolition. These shotguns were
the longest row in the entire city, and they were worth
preserving.
In 2014, The Center of Great Neighborhoods renovated
the shotgun houses to form an artists’ community, with
studio space in front and a one-bedroom living area in
the back. The revitalization of these shotguns houses
has helped transform and foster a sense of community.
The community has also developed Orchard Park Urban
Farm Project, which provides healthy food options for
the community. The Urban Farm consists of hens, a
greenhouse, and an extensive vegetable garden. Figure 8
illustrates Covington’s Shotgun Houses.
Fig. 9: Image illustrates condition of Covington’s Shot-gun
Houses before renovations.
Fig. 8: Image illustrates Covington’s Shotgun Houses on
Orchard Street with Urban Community Farm.
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Baker Street Bottoms Shotgun Development
The West End of downtown Shreveport, better known
as Baker Street Bottoms, is comprised of six historic
shotgun houses founded in the 1830s. In the early 1900s,
the neighborhood was identified as a red-light district.
In the 1980s there was a push to clean up the image of
that neighborhood, and it adopted the name Ledbetter
Heights, which was a tribute to Huddie Ledbetter, a folk
musician. To highlight the cultural significance of the
Baker Street Bottoms, each shotgun house will feature
a plaque with the musicians’ name and summary of
significance to the Bottoms neighborhood.
These shotgun houses will undergo extensive rehabili-tation
and upgrades by utilizing adaptive reuse. Each
shotgun house measures approximately 16’ x 45’ and
will be transformed into local small businesses that can
cater to area visitors along with downtown dwellers.
The shotgun houses will be centered around a court-yard
area which will have live music, patio dining, and
benches surrounded by mature trees, a brick patio, and
native Louisiana plants. Figure 11 depicts a rendering of
proposed plans.
This transformation will allow downtown Shreveport
a unique opportunity for business owners, retailers,
and developers who want to invest in the richness and
culture of North Louisiana. Young professionals and
established adults are establishing roots in Shreveport
and the Baker Street Bottoms plans will be a catalyst for
a vibrant cultural district.
Conclusion
The surviving clusters of shotgun houses are excellent
opportunities for providing workforce and/or afford-able
housing to many locales currently lacking such
“missing middle” housing. Their narrow and linear
footprint is conducive to urban and rural situations,
particularly narrow urban lots or for infill develop-ments.
Communities are seeing the benefit of restoring
their existing stock of shotgun houses both as a form of
revitalization and for providing middle-income housing
opportunities.
Bibliography
Brown, D., & Williams, W. (2004). Row: Trajectories Through
Shotgun House. Houston, TX: Rice University School of
Architecture.
Gehman, M. (2003). The Free People of Color of New Orleans: An
Introduction. Margaret Media.
Klayko, B. (April 15, 2009). Modern Shotgun House Could Be
Future Prototype. Broken Sidewalk. Retrieved from https://
brokensidewalk.com/2009/modern-shotgun-house-could-be-
future-prototype/
Upton, D., & Vlach, J. M. (Eds.). (1986). Common Places: Read
ings in American Vernacular Architecture. University of
Georgia Press.
Vlach, J. M. (1976). Sources of the Shotgun House: African and
Caribbean Antecedents for Afro-American Architecture.(Vol-umes
I and II).
Vlach, J. M. (1993). Back of the Big House: The Architecture of
Plantation Slavery. Chapel Hill: The University of North
Carolina Press.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Project Row Houses for the use of images 6 & 7, to
National Trust for Historic Preservation for the use of images
8 & 9, to John Michael Vlach for the use of the historic images
3, 4, & 5, and to the Norla Preservation Project for the use of
images 10 & 11.
The Historic Dimension Series is a collection of briefs prepared
by UNCG students under the direction of Professor Jo Ramsay
Leimenstoll. For information on other topics in the series please
visit the website at go.uncg.edu/hds
Fig. 11: Proposed Rendering of the Baker Street Bottom
Shotgun House Development.
Fig. 10: Image illustrates condition of shotgun houses in
the Baker Street Bottom Neighborhood in 2014.
