Jean-Louis Dolliole

Jean-Louis Dolliole (1779 – January 9, 1861) was an African-American architect in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, during the 19th century. He was a free man of color who also worked as a cabinetmaker, home builder, contractor, planter and leader of the African-American community of New Orleans in the time of the Antebellum South. Dolloile is noted for the architectural design of several residential projects which continue in use as homes into the 21st century. The designs were early versions of the creole cottage that became a common style of homes in New Orleans and elsewhere in the southern United States. Dolliole was a leader in the early development of the Faubourg Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans.

Dolloile family home at 933 St. Philip Street in New Orleans, as seen in 1937 (photo courtesy of the Library of Congress) Louis Dolliole's sons, Jean-Louis, Joseph and Pierre, likewise became builders and designers. Jean-Louis Dolliole went on to become the most notable of the architect-builders in the family. Either as a group or working independently, they built many French-style houses, notably with their sloping roofs, in the Tremé district of New Orleans.

In February 1818, Jean-Louis Dolliole married a free black woman, Hortense Dussau. Also, because of his mother's African heritage, Dolliole was himself considered a "free person of color" under the Black Codes extant in New Orleans at the time. Dolliole became active within the community of the freepeople of color in New Orleans, often helping others with business and legal matters.

Architectural career

The home at 1436 Pauger Street in New Orleans came to be known as the Dolliole-Clapp House and is illustrative of his designs. The home has a creole cottage appearance from the street but is pentagonal in shape because the lot is itself pentagonal. This home, like others of Dolliole's design, was built with bricks between wooden posts. It has a pan tile roof. It has a hipped roof with a large overhang along the front. Unlike creole cottages, Dolliole's urban designs do not have overhangs along the sides, owing to the close proximity to adjoining structures.