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The shotgun house is the architectural DNA of New Orleans — one room wide, three to five rooms deep, front door to back door in a straight line. The name supposedly comes from the claim that you could fire a shotgun through the front door and the bullet would exit the back without hitting a wall. An estimated 10,000 survive across Tremé, the Marigny, Bywater, and Uptown. The form likely traveled from Haiti to New Orleans via free people of color after the Haitian Revolution. It is vernacular architecture at its most honest: narrow lots, cross-ventilation, community-facing porches.
Quick facts
- ·One room wide, three to five rooms deep — front door to back door in a straight line.
- ·The form likely traveled from Haiti to New Orleans via free people of color after the Haitian Revolution.
- ·An estimated 10,000 shotgun houses survive across Tremé, the Marigny, Bywater, and Uptown.
- ·The design maximizes cross-ventilation on narrow lots — practical architecture for subtropical humidity.
- ·The best concentrations are in the Marigny and Bywater; walk along Dauphine or Burgundy Streets.
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Editorial content compiled with AI assistance. Place details verified against public records.