Thursday, October 21, 2010

Alphabe-Thursday - "E" is for English Turn - October 21, 2010


Alphabe-Thursday - "E" is for English Turn - October 21, 2010

English Turn is a community located in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, on the Westbank
of the Mississippi River.  Supposedly, it got its name, in 1699, when Bienville, coming
downstream at this bend in the river, met up with the British who had chosen this site for
a settlement.  Bienville convinced Captain Lewis Banks that the French held the territory
and the British turned around, hence "English Turn."  The site was actually considered as
a settlement or capital because of the heavy river traffic but it was abandoned because of
lack of shortcuts to the Gulf of Mexico.

English Turn is now a gated, affluent community of very high priced homes.  Fortunately,
the area escaped damage during Katrina's visit to New Orleans.  During my recent visit
( and on past stays in New Orleans ), I've spent time in English Turn.  My closest nursing
school classmate and dear friend has lived there for about fifteen years and another one
of my classmates did for a number of years as well.  Neither of the three of us, of course,
was born to such wealth.  We all came from rather humble beginnings and it was difficult
for our families to afford to let us go to nursing school.  It goes to show, however, that
with study, education, and hard work, one's circumstances in life can certainly change. 
I might have ended up there had I remained in New Orleans and married my first love! 

My friend's home is in a gated community which I find interesting because of the great
variety of styles of homes.  Certainly, there is much Southern architecture, with stately
white columns but there are English Tudor styles and everything in between.  I thought
you might enjoy seeing some of them.  My friend originally lived in what she calls "the
large house" - a stately Southern home with eight bedrooms and eight baths ( I think ),
about 7,000 square feet.  When her two daughters grew up and moved out of the house,
she decided she wanted to downsize and they bought "the small house" ( it only has four
bedrooms but it is still pretty large to me at about 4000 square feet! ).



























This was my friend's first home in English Turn - what she called "the big house" and that it was!!


This is her current "small house" at English Turn - about 4000 sq ft - 3000 sq ft smaller and still plenty big!








All I know is that these elegant homes are a far cry from the "shotgun" house I rented
when I first left Charity Hospital in 1965, as a young nurse.  This Wikipedia photo is a 
very close replica of that first house!

photo by Wikipedia

 
I am taking part in Jenny Matlock's Alphabe - Thursday!
Come and join in the fun.

24 comments:

  1. Yowza!! Great, great shots of some grand old homes, Carmen! Great E!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What beautiful homes. There is such a variety of houses in the neighborhood. It would be fun to drive past them. I can't imagine trying to live in one and keep it clean . Oh! They probably have someone come to clean.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, great houses, great pictures... !!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous6:31 AM

    I can't make my mind up as to which is my favourite - they're all beautiful. I would love to own one myself one day

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Carmen,

    These are beautiful grand homes. I wonder how much they are worth today. I love the ones with pillars but I guess one needs outside help to clean it. Thanks for haring.

    Anne-Marie

    ReplyDelete
  6. While I can appreciate the architecture, the environmentalist in me cringes at the excess.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow. Wow. Nice houses!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. What beautiful stately homes out there. Nice shots, Carmen

    ReplyDelete
  9. We have a daughter in New Orleans. I love the architecture in your area. The houses look quietly elegant! Love the pic of the shotgun! I think I've seen that house!

    ReplyDelete
  10. hahhahahahahaha.... the elitist neighborhoods of the afluent aristocrats....the very thing I tried so hard to escape from..... :) I'm glad I did. :) Don't feel so bad about your "shotgun" apartments. Being elite doesn't guarantee anything other than itself.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I live in a gated community, but it isn't anything like this one! Wow, beautiful homes...

    We gated our's a decade ago because we are so far out in the wilderness and hunters were roaming around during elk season....

    ReplyDelete
  12. "English Turn" is a fascinating name, Carmen. And, yes, there certainly are a wide variety of houses in your friend's gated community. Some are just gorgeous, but I like the little shotgun house better. It has a veranda, which is essential and, after that, everything else is excess. LOL
    Received the big envelope from you yesterday. Thanks. Will e-mail you later.
    -- Kay

    ReplyDelete
  13. English Turn certainly has some wonderful grand homes, Carmen! I'm glad you had a good time at your reunion. I love New Orleans and I'm glad it is coming back. I remember seeing many of those charming "shotgun" homes there..they are not much different in design from my Brooklun home :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. What fun to look at these amazing homes. Thanks!

    =)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Just stopping in from Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday. These houses just make me so jealous. They are beautiful! Great pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Those houses have a lot of space to dust and vaccuum. I'm glad it's not me. :-) I like the idea of living in a place that has a name like English Turn. I suppose if my town had a descriptive name, one could be Too Many Faults. Thanks for sharing, Carmen.
    Su-sieee! Mac
    This and That. Here and There. Now, Sometimes Then.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Those are incredibly wealthy looking homes for sure, Carmen! Your photos are spectacular..Glad you had a wonderful time!

    ReplyDelete
  18. What beautiful homes - gorgeous- but unless they come with a full time maid they are too much for me! I love the history of the name of the place - that must have been one convincing fellow!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thanks for the history- very interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  20. My daughter always dreams of us having a bigger house. I grew up in a house that was less than 1K square feet with three bedrooms and ONE bathroom. So this nearly 2100 sq ft house, 4 beds, 2 1/2 bath suits me just fine. Those homes are beautiful. And sure I would love to have one, but I don't want to clean it.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Life's Journey (Volume 1) [Paperback]
    Carmen Henesy (Author)
    Visit Amazon's Carmen Henesy Page
    Check out my first book of poetry and its reviews - written in May -
    http://www.amazon.com/Lifes-Journey-1-Carmen-Henesy/dp/1451547366/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1287727711&sr=1-1
    $12.95 plus shipping

    My name is PJ. -
    They were gorgeous houses. I would have loved to see the inside!


    JDaniel4's Mom -
    My friend has a team of women from Honduras who comes in once a week to clean her place. They are amazing. In just an afternoon, they clean the whole place from stem to stern.


    Amiko -
    I saw pictures on a realtor's site of one very modern place - it even showed the interior. Not at all my taste, though.


    marisworld -
    I like the Southern style more than the big stone Tudor style.


    A 2 Z -
    I was looking online at some of the sale prices of the homes, anywhere from about $500,000 to a million dollars. Here in San Francisco, they would be double that.


    secret agent woman -
    There is definitely excess! Some of these homes are just gigantic and I can't imagine any one family needs that much space.


    paige -
    I'll never have anything like that. Since the loss of my job of 21 years, two years ago, I can barely pay my rent!


    Poetic Shutterbug -
    These homes are much less expensive in English Turn than they would be out here but I couldn't live in New Orleans...too much crime, miserably hot and still a lot of racism.


    Judie -
    I actually live in the San Francisco area ( 34
    years now ). Spent six years in New Orleans for nursing school from 1962 to 1965 and stayed on till 1968.


    C -
    Back when I had my little shotgun house, I couldn't afford anything else. It was such a fun time, though, just out of nursing school! We had a great time back then.


    Rocky Mountain Woman -
    That's something! Having to fence out the hunters.


    Kay L.Davies -
    Glad you got the CD and book. I'm still remiss in sending your Visa card...was so lazy today but I'll do it tomorrow. Have so many thank you notes I'm finishing up, have to mail them as well.


    Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti -
    My friend, Meaux, gave me a little oil painting of a shotgun house many years ago as a memory of New Orleans. I just love it. She also did a little needlepoint of a red bean!


    Sue -
    I always enjoy looking at houses. Wish I had been there a little longer so I could have gotten to the Garden District and photographed some of those homes.


    Write Chick -
    I wouldn't mind one of those homes as long as I could afford maid service - though I suppose that isn't an issue if you can buy one of those places.


    Su-sieee! Mac -
    No question, there's a lot to dust in those homes! They are really show places.


    Icy BC -
    I needed more time, really. Was so busy with the reunion, I didn't get to see the city very much.


    Christy -
    New Orleans is filled with history. It is sad to see how slowly it is recovering from Katrina. In some places, it is really not doing very well.


    Sharkbytes -
    New Orleans needs a good deal of work. Roads are terrible and much damage remains from Katrina.


    Lourie -
    Cleaning one of those places would be a full time job and a near impossiblity without help!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Oh Carmen. What a magical journey through lovely homes. One of my favorite things is always going on home tours...and yours was perfect.

    Not only could I stay in my cozy PJ's and slippers, I saw a lot more than my tired feet might let me see in one day.

    This was a wonderful stop on my journey through Alphabe-Thursday.

    I am totally charmed.

    Thank you.

    A+

    ReplyDelete
  23. I wonder what they look like inside. And I wonder how much oil they need to keep them warm in winter and how long does it take to clean the whole house. hayyyy.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Wow! these are nice, beautiful houses. A great piece of luxury home builders Los Angeles.

    ReplyDelete