The Renaissance Neighborhood History Project

For folks who are as enraptured as I am with houses as I am, here is a place to archive house related content. I'll add to this as I get more suggestions and discover more content with houses as a main character!   READ The Yellow House:  A Memoir by Sarah M. Broom Winner of the 2019 National Book Award in Nonfiction A brilliant, haunting and unforgettable memoir from a stunning new talent about the inexorable pull of home and family, set in a shotgun house in New Orleans East. Red House:  Being a Mostly Accurate Account of New England's Oldest Continuously Lived-In House by Sarah Messer Sarah Messer explores America’s fascination with history, family, and Great Houses. Her Massachusetts childhood home had sheltered the Hatch family for 325 years when her parents bought it in 1965. The will of the house’s original owner, Walter Hatch—which stipulated Red House was to be passed down, "never to be sold or mortgaged from my children and grandchildren forever"—still hung...

  East Dial Building Telephone technology has evolved exponentially such that, chances are, you may even be reading this on your phone.  A concept that would have been inconceivable for those living and working in 1929 when Southwestern Bell Telephone Company designed and built the East Dial Building in what we now call the Renaissance Neighborhood.   The elegant two-story building at 1204 S. Harvard Avenue features buff brick with ivory terracotta trim.   T he double front doors facing Harvard on the south end of the building are flanked by large lighted sconces and a large ornate awning above.    The motif lining the awning is of small robed human figures, hands connected, heads tilting down as if gazing on those who pass below.    Above the awning the ornate terracotta decoration continues consisting of more human figures, scrollwork, flowers, and a pair of shield wielding lions.    These are all classic art deco designs whi...