Street
shotgun house
What does shotgun house mean?
A one-room-wide house where every room opens directly into the next with no hallway, front door to back door in a straight shot. The folk etymology: you could fire a shotgun through the front door and the pellets would sail clean out the back. Defines whole neighbourhoods of New Orleans — the Bywater, Marigny, Tremé, Central City.
"He grew up in a double shotgun on Burgundy with his auntie on the other side."
Origin
Likely brought to New Orleans via free Haitian immigrants after the 1791 revolution; the form echoes West African and Caribbean housing styles. Dominant in NOLA from the 1860s through the 1920s.
Frequently asked questions
What is a shotgun house?
A shotgun house is a long, narrow New Orleans-style house with rooms in a straight line front to back.
Where does the name shotgun house come from?
The common explanation is that the rooms line up so directly you could fire a shotgun through the front door and out the back without hitting a wall.
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