James Gallier, Jr. designed this room to act as two different kinds of spaces: it could be a hallway or a library as needed. As a hallway, all of the doors in this area could stay open, allowing air to flow through the upstairs windows and doors into the second floor rooms.

As a library, the doors to the surrounding bedrooms would be closed, creating walls for the library and giving the person using this space privacy. Due to James Gallier, Jr.'s design, traffic, light and air could still flow on the second floor. Traffic would flow through a set of doors, which connected all of the rooms to each other.

 

 

 

The double skylight in the library could be opened to create a flow of air up the main staircase, ensuring continued air movement in the library. The skylight also provided light to this space.

An 1868 inventory of James Gallier Jr.’s holdings listed four bookcases containing one thousand volumes. 

 
 
 

Hermann-Grima/Gallier Historic Houses Administrative Office
820 Saint Louis Street New Orleans, LA 70112
Phone:(504) 525-5661 Fax: (504) 568-9735 Email: info@hgghh.org