Until the 7th....

Next week I have an interview with an individual from the Preservation Resource Center. As for now, I have a few avenues in which I want my research to travel down.
Historically New Orleans has been physically shaped by climatic and culturally specific responses to these conditions. The Acadians (Cajuns), Spanish, French, and Haitian (Creole), settlers brought with them to the city different building styles and traditions. However, to look across all of these would be overwhelming, so it seems necessary at this time to focus on a particular group and tradition. Who are the craftsmen who have historically built this city? Who builds for who, and has this changed? Living in the Bywater, shotguns surround me and I have learned recently that these are traditionally Creole structures. Yet as I look around at new construction and preservation efforts I would like to learn if this still holds true. In my interview next week I would like to begin a discussion which would offer some clues into the tradition of preservation in this city or hopefully a particular neighborhood. Currently I am reading, Raised to the Trade: Creole Building Arts of New Orleans as recommended by my contact at the PRC. It will be interesting to learn who has historically built as compared to who has historically preserved.