Wednesday, October 6, 2010

The Famous A. Hays Town House, and its location!





This home has been floating around the internet for the past few years, bouncing around from blog to blog. When I fist saw it on Things That Inspire, I was instantly captivated by its beauty, and excited that A. Hays Town had finally got recognition in the blog world. Being originally from Baton Rouge, he was the first architect I had ever heard of, and definitely who inspired my love for architecture. He was such a big influence on my family, in fact, that the last three houses I have lived in have been designed in his infamous style. Many bloggers have asked the question "Where is this house?" In their posts, and, after a little digging, I have found out!


I am almost embarrassed that I was not aware of the location earlier. I am a diehard LSU fan, and since I have a sister and five cousins currently enrolled there, and the fact that we have season tickets to the football games, I find myself in Baton Rouge at least once every two weeks. Near campus there is a beautiful street named Highland Road. Many Antebellum mansions, charming french country cottages, and a few exclusive country clubs can be found along the street. Many of A. Hays Town's work can be found on Highland Road, such as this beautiful house:Okay, now to the location of the home! The back of the home faces Highland Road, though it is invisible from the street. By using Bing Maps, however, you can clearly see the home. In the search bar, type in 6294 Highland Road, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Going to bird's eye view will give you a clear view of the home, which is at the corner of Highland and Nelson Drive. By using Google Maps, you can go to street view (the yellow person on top of the zoom bar) and see that the driveway is to the side of the house, on Nelson Drive, and that the home either forms an "L" or "T" shape with a three car carport. (hard to tell with all of the trees blocking the view.) I can't find the front door, but the front does not feel as formal as the back does.

On the other side of the home from the driveway, there is a charming walled pool with a good sized cabana, and beyond that , a vegetable garden. I can imagine with all the privacy of the lot, that one could truly feel as if they were in France here.

Well thats all I have so far! When I head back to BR I will drive by the home to see if I can get any good pictures.

P.S. for all you football fans, the home Nick Saban lived in while he coached at LSU is across the street, one house to the left with the very green grass and circular drive, but more on his house later!

8 comments:

  1. I remember that home from TTI - It is stunning!
    xxx-Gina

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  2. Great detective work!! It's beautiful...

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  3. This is one of my all time favorite houses! I looked on Zillow, and the address is 6257 Highland Rd. I love that walled pool area!

    It's interesting about the front of the house versus the back. When I first posted about this house, an architect who had apprenticed to A. Hays Town and worked on this house - Jeremy Corkern - emailed me and said that this is indeed the front of the house. And yet, looking at Bing maps, there is really no path that leads to the central door from Highland - but if you look closely on the Bing maps aerial view (and look at every view on the 360" turn), you can see that there is a path that leads to Nelson to the more formal facade (or, it could be a path that leads around the house to the garage).

    Great find! I thoroughly enjoyed putting another piece in the puzzle. If you ever see a for sale sign on this house, please do a post on the interiors!!!

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    1. http://www.hagerrealtyla.idxco.com/idx/6191/details.php?idxID=136&listingID=B1106447

      It's for sale. Here are photos of the interior. Enjoy!

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  4. The second I see the for sale sign, I will definitely do a post! It appears to be a later A. Hays Town work, when he delved into more strict styles (greek revival, french country) than t the beginning of his career, when he combined many different styles to crete the signature A. Hays Town-Louisiana look. This is good because it means the home might be a little more updated than some of his work. Many people who own homes that he built in the 60's or 70's are very apprehensive to renovate, because they don't know how to go about this without destroying the things that make the home an A. Hays Town house.

    The address is so confusing to me, because Bing maps, google maps, and Zillow all say something different, but I assume Zillow would be the most accurate of the three. (but then again, Zillow says my house numbers are 870, when they are really 814.)

    I'll be in Baton Rouge in two weekends, and will have to see if I can tell anything else from the street!

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  5. I live in the neighborhood where this home is located in Baton Rouge and have had an opportunity to see the interiors at neighborhood functions. Words cannot explain the beauty of this home. It is the sense of proportion, the beautiful views from every room, the furnishings, the quality of every last material and the workmanship. When you are inside the walled garden pool area, you truly feel as if you are in France. This was Mr. Town's last home. When interviewed and asked which home was his best, he commented that he was working on it now - it was this home! The roof was brought in from Atlanta and was salvaged from a 100 year old church - it is a gorgeous color! I have heard that the home is going on the market for sale in the near future. It is located on historic Highland Road in an area called "Millionaire's Mile". It sits on approximately 2 1/2 acres of land and has fabulous gardens and live oak trees that could never be replaced in my life time. I wish I could afford this home, whoever is fortunate enough to acquire it will not only have a work of art but a loving home to raise a family, to entertain, and to live in a place that is close to the most desirable attractions in Baton Rouge, yet private.

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  6. It is a beautiful house that I saw in ur in blogs.
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  7. I love the designs of the house.Very simple yet amazing.I found lots of interesting information here. The post was professionally written and I feel like the author has extensive knowledge in the subject. Keep it that way this is very good to see.


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