The Files on the Mayfair Witches

Many pages of the Parlor are redirected to their corresponding updated pages on the new site. Pages that redirect are indicated with a ⚜ symbol.

Search The Parlor

Sunday, March 19, 2023

Amelia Street Gallery Two

I've added a second gallery to the Amelia Street page.  One difference you'll notice right away is that the kitchen appears to have been redecorated/renovated/remodeled at some point between listings.  The same seems to have been done with at least one of the bedrooms.

The articles the images came from no longer have the images in the online articles, but I've linked them anyway.  The images I was able to find on Pinterest.  They show the house furnished, and hopefully, they will give a good idea of what each room is when they are photographed unfurnished. 

So far, the new and updated content about the houses seems to be a favorite.  I actually enjoy research on the houses.  Every time I research a house in New Orleans like these, I learn something new about the people who once called them home that is also a significant part of New Orleans' history.  I also run into things I never would have thought I'd find, such as all the different nationalities and ethnic backgrounds that are so much more than what people initially realize when it comes to New Orleans.

Or other places in Louisiana.

I mentioned Belle Grove Plantation in Iberville Parish, Louisiana as being one prototype for Fontevrault.  As I said, the plantation mansion had been built for John Andrews, a planter from Virginia, in 1857.  He sold it to Henry Ware in 1868.  The house remained in the Ware family in one way or another until it was abandoned in 1925.

Of course, the house was looted and became a ruin by the time it burned in 1952.  And of course, the remains of the structure were deemed a hazard and razed by the end of the 1950's.

I think one stereotype is that in and around that area of Louisiana, people tend to expect planters to be pretty much of French or French Creole ancestry.  And yet, many were of English and Scottish ancestry.  And even more than that.

In fact, one of the houses in the Garden District that is similar to the Brevard-Rice house was built for a man who emigrated to the United States from Germany.  Those are just a few examples, to be honest.

There are photos of Belle Grove's interior online, but they were taken only after the house had fallen into ruin.  I've yet to see a photo of the interior of the house taken when it was still in use and/or in reasonably livable condition.  It's only when I find photos taken of the front elevation with people standing on the gallery that I can really see its enormous proportions.

In recent years, a 3D model of the house with interior rooms has been created on Second Life, and it is truly astonishing.  The model, I understand, was made from floor plans that can also be found online.  It might also be a pretty good estimate of what Fontevrault's interior would have looked like...

Amelia Street

I spent quite a bit of time on the Amelia Street page.  As I make my way towards distinguishing the two houses from one another, I decided to add some additional images and details about the house on St. Charles Avenue.

The details of the house come from a more recent listing on Realtor.com, and I've added a gallery of images from that listing that show the interior of the house.  It has been renovated over time, of course, but it isn't always obvious which rooms are which when they are empty.  Some are obvious, like the kitchen area, and a closet quite enormous.  

I have some more photos I might add at a later date, but hopefully, we can start to see which house is which.

At the bottom, because I couldn't help myself, I decided to put some graphics together to show what Fontevrault "looked like".  Fontevrault was the plantation established by a separate faction of Mayfairs after the duel with Julien Mayfair ended in Augustin Mayfair's death.  I managed to find a good size print of the Mass Market cover to show the listing old mansion sitting in water and added that.

Madewood Plantation House was the "prototype" used for the artwork depicting Fontevrault, and I made a graphic from an actual photo of the house...with reflecting water.

In The Witches' Companion, Fontevrault was closest to a now long gone plantation in Iberville Parish, Louisiana named Belle Grove.  This particular house is one I've been fascinated with for several reasons.  Here, I managed to find a sepia photo of the house after it had been abandoned but before it burned, colorized it, and then gave it a reflecting water effect.  If I ever decide to make it so the house is listing somewhat, I wonder which side would most likely have started to sink first?

The two plantation houses with their graphics can be found at the bottom of the Amelia Street page.

Also, if you get the chance, the graphic at the top of the page that shows the Amelia Street house in a green light has a link below it.  That will take you to the site where that image came from.  On it are many portraits of houses in New Orleans done in this beautiful way, a sort of mystic glow.  They are absolutely stunning and well worth spending the time to look at each and every one.