New Orleans, Orleans Parish story
Brick and Post
If you look closely at some of the oldest buildings in the city, you'll find a unique construction method called briquete-entre-poteaux. It's a French Colonial technique where bri…
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If you look closely at some of the oldest buildings in the city, you'll find a unique construction method called briquete-entre-poteaux. It's a French Colonial technique where bricks are filled in between a timber frame. You can see this engineering style at the Rosette Rochon House, a Creole cottage built in the late 1820s or early 1830s.
This method provided a sturdy but flexible structure that could withstand the shifting, soft soils of the river delta. It's a rugged, practical way of building that allowed the city to grow upward and outward on a foundation of mud and silt.
Updated June 2026