Dr. Louis B. Long House

Dr. Louis Bernard Long and his wife, Jeanne Comeaux Long, built this home at the very beginning of the Great Depression in late 1929. The Tudor style structure is a good example of the popularity of the Revivalism architectural movement occurring at that time in the United States. It is also one of the original homes built in Arbolada Addition, the first “planned” residential development in Lafayette. The home was designed by architect, Frederick J. Nehrbass, a local architect of notoriety, and it was constructed by J. B. Mouton, the longest-operating contractor in Lafayette. The house draws heavily on Medieval English precedents, featuring a steeply-pitched, front-facing, multi-gabled roofline thickly-cased windows, multiple small window panes, a prominent entrance gable, a four-centered arch at the front door, a prominent front chimney and ornamental false half-timbering. The design evokes the picturesque look of a quaint, Old English cottage, which at the time was very popular due to American’s fondness of the architecture experienced in Europe during WWI. The Revivalism architectural movement was a trend that continued from the late 1800s and focused on old-world characteristics of European buildings experienced by Americans when traveling abroad. Tudor architecture was not the envisioned Spanish Revival style specified by Arbolada developers, but was consistent with the aesthetic intended for the subdivision.