Building Description The Cabildo, New Orleans Louisiana
The Cabildo is three stories tall, including the dormered mansard roof added in 1847. The building is designed in a Classical style which was commonly used in the 18th century for Spanish gevernment buildings; strong similarities in design can be seen between it and the Casa Reale built in 1871 at Antequera, Mexico. The Cabildo displays elements of Roman architecture, particularly the columns of the Tuscan order, the round-arched openings, and the sculptural figures in the tympanum.
In general, the building is rectangular in massing, approximately 107 feet long on its primary facade facing Chartres Street, and approximately 100 feet long on its facade facing St. Peter Street. The structure is one of a complex of buildings erected around a central courtyard. These buildings have been modified through the years, and some of them no longer exist. Today, three buildings survive: the structure which housed the arsenal, designed by James Dakin and built in 1839, located adjacent to the Cabildo on St. Peter Street; the structure which served as a jail, located adjacent to the Cabildo on Pirate Alley, and the Cabildo itself.
The Cabildo was designed by Guillemard as a two story structure, constructed of brick and stucco, with a flat tiled roof typical of Spanish construction. The mansard roof is constructed of flatboat timbers covered with slate. The primary facade is nine bays across, and consists of an open arcade on the ground floor created by round arched openings and massive piers, and an enclosed gallery of the same type of opening on the upper floor. The arches on both levels are enframed by molding, and feature keystones. A section of the front facade consisting of the three central bays projects forward slightly on both levels. The piers of this section feature engaged columns of the Tuscan order on the ground floor, and engaged columns of the Ionic order on the upper floor. In addition, the remaining piers of the upper floor feature Ionic pilasters, and paired Ionic pilasters appear on the corner piers of both the ground and upper floors. Above the piers, and Tuscans columns of the ground floor is a proper, unbroken Tuscan entablature. Likewise, above the Ionic columns and pilasters of the upper floor is a proper Ionic entablature. Both of these entablatures extend along the St. Peter Street and Pirate Alley facades of the building. The projecting section of the front facade is surmounted by a pediment, whose raking course is enriched with a dentil course. Within the tympanum is a high-relief sculpture of American emblems executed in 1821 by Pietro Cardelli.
Overall, the main facade of the Cabildo is symmetrically composed of a projecting central section, three bays wide, with a pediment, flanked on either side by less articulated sections also three bays wide. The facade has a strong visual rhythm established by the repetition of round-arched openings. Finally, with the exception of the relief provided by the open arcade, the front facade is, for the most part, rather flat and its detail restrained.
Within the open arcade of the ground floor, the pavement consists of flagstones. Five large, round-arched openings appear on the inside wall of the arcade. The central opening is distinguished from the others as the entrance by a heavy enframement created by pilasters with bands of molding running between them above the arch. This opening features exquisite heavy wrought iron gates executed in 1851.
The St. Peter Street facade is eight bays across. The facade is finished in stucco scored to resemble stone, and does not feature columns or pilasters of any order. The openings of the first bay from the Chartres Street corner are similar to the round-arched openings on the front facade. The next five bays are of particular interest. On the ground floor, five segmentally arched casement windows set in full length round arched recesses reconstruct the rhythm of the fenestration of the old Corps de Garde structure which occupied the site before the Cabildo was constructed. Although the Corps de Garde building was virtually destroyed in the fire of 1788, a portion of the St. Peter Street wall survived, and provided a basis for Guillemard's design of this facade. This five-bay fenestration is evident in the design of the Sala Capitular, directly above, where five square-headed casement windows are visible.
The Pirate Alley facade of the building features the two entablatures seen on the other two street facades but no other enrichment. Various types of openings appear on this facade. The first three openings on both levels are identical to corresponding openings on the St. Peter Street facade. A fourth bay on the ground floor is occupied by a full length round arched opening, containing a gate leading into the courtyard. The remainder of the facade is featureless except for square-headed and round-arched recesses in the wall suggesting openings.
The mansard roof which replaced the original flat tile roof, is double pitched, and finished in brown slate. The steeper pitched lower section features eighteen dormers: nine across the Chartres Street facade, six across the St. Peter Street facade and three above the first three openings of the Pirate Alley facade. These large dormers contain segmentally arched casement windows. Crowning the entire structure, centered behind and above the pediment, is an octagonal wooden cupola set within a square, balustraded base. The sides of the cupola are louvered, and this culminating feature is capped with a bell shaped roof and spire.
One enters the Cabildo through the great arched opening placed in the center of the interior wall of the arcade. From the entrance hall, doorways leading right and left provide access to the various rooms of the ground floor. Directly ahead is a large three-quarter turn stair which leads up to the second and third floors. The stair is built of stone and is presently carpeted.
On the ground floor, the doorway to the left leads to a large room, which is the space occupied by the old Corps de Garde building during the Spanish rule. This room has been restored to the appearance of the interior of the Corps de Garde in 1751. The original brick floors have been exposed, and the windows along St. Peter Street have been restored to segmentally arched casement type.
On the right side of the entrance hall is the Lamplighter's Room, today used as the point where members of the public pay admittance fees. The original floor in this room have been simulated using ceramic tiles, and the roof beams and casement windows are original.
Access to the second floor is provided by way of a small stair at the rear of the Lamplighter's Room. At the top of this stair are located the Mayor's Office, the Mayor's Parlor and a small ante-chamber. Ceiling beams in these rooms are original.
On the opposite side of the building from these rooms, overlooking St. Peter Street, is the Sala Capitular. This room is five bays long and two bays wide. This is the five-bay fenestration which was laid out by Guillemard using the ruins of the Corps de Garde as a guide. In the center of the inside wall of the Sala Capitular is a large fireplace with an elaborate mantel, installed as part of the restoration of the 1960's to replace the one removed in 1825. This room, as well as all of the rooms on this floor were restored to their appearance at the time of the Louisiana Purchase. The ceiling features exposed roof beams installed to match the original ones in the Mayor's Office. The long room adjacent to the Sala Capitular was originally two smaller rooms, but for exhibit purposes it was altered.
The final significant space on the second floor is the large gallery which runs across the Chartres Street facade of the building, above the open arcade. Eleven round arched openings with large casement windows enclose the gallery. Along the inside wall of the gallery are nine openings leading into the various rooms of the second floor. The central opening is a round arched one similar to the main entrance of the building in the ground floor. The remaining openings are square-headed, with enframements consisting of corbels supporting a pediment enriched with egg-and-dart molding.
When the mansard roof was added in 1847, the central staircase was expended upward to the new floor. The walls of the mansard were constructed of flatboat timbers, originally covered with cypress lath and plaster. In the restoration of the late 1960's, the plaster was removed and the flatboat timbers left exposed. The large pegs used in the construction of the roof are visible, as are the beams of the high ceiling.
The Cabildo occupies a site on the corner of Chartres Street and St. Peter Street, adjacent to the St, Louis Cathedral. The site of the Cabildo was reserved for the use of the government from the earliest days of the settlement of New Orleans. Together with the Cathedral and the Presbytere, these three buildings face onto a large public square known as Jackson Square (formerly the Place d'Armes). The Cabildo is part of a complex of buildings which includes the Upper and Lower Pantalba Buildings, located along Jackson Square facing each other. This layout of a large square surrounded on three sides by buildings and open on the fourth to the river creates an impressive and attractive urban space, enhanced by the symmetry of the Cabildo and the Presbytere which flank the Cathedral, and the two identical Pontalba buildings.
