A visual chronicle of the shotgun shack, a truly American architectural icon
▻https://timeline.com/visual-shotgun-shack-american-d507d33d83c2
In cities, housing needs are the biggest driver of architectural innovation (see California for its bungalows, the Northeast for its row houses). Local climate and available materials are often as important in determining regional residential solutions as space and population, and the shotgun houses common in the South—especially Louisiana—are a prime example.
Though variations are common, generally a shotgun house is defined as a raised, single-story rectangular home with a narrow frontage—typically less than 12 feet wide—and no hallway. Tall-ceilinged rooms open onto one another from front to back, allowing for maximum ventilation in a hot, humid climate. Modest and efficient, shotgun houses were constructed as inexpensive accommodation for laborers clustered in neighborhoods like New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward. By the 20th century the diminutive dwellings had come to dominate NoLa’s working class residential landscape.
