What is a Raised-Basement Home?

New Orleans is known for many types of homes from the 1700s and 1800s. One of the architecture styles you may not be as familiar with as the typical Creole or Shotgun home is called the Raised-Basement Home.

This type of home is just what it sounds like. It’s a home with a basement, but the basement isn’t completely in the ground. Instead, the basement is raised and consists of a lower ceiling. With the basement built at ground level, the home is better protected from flooding.

Typically, the raised-basement home also features higher ceilings in the living area. These homes are very commonly found in the Broadmoor, Mid-City and Carrollton neighborhoods. They are most easily identified by the large stairs leading to the living space found on the second floor.

If you’re new to the New Orleans area, these homes can be rather confusing when you first discover them. You may be wondering why there are no windows on the first floor or why the stairs go to the second floor. Due to the water table issues found in the area, raised-basement architecture was looked at as a solution.

The above ground “basement” was popular and used for storage space. Most commonly, the living space of these homes is found on the second floor. However, many have been remodeled and the “basement” is now living space, as well. Some may not be legal, though. If the basement doesn’t have at least 7-foot ceilings, it’s illegal to label it as living space.

Banks Street Homes

Many of the homes found along Banks Street offer raised-basement designs. They look like a shotgun home with a false basement. Some were originally shotgun homes, by design, but later raised due to flooding.

These homes feature stucco front steps with a lower floor completely enclosed. The lower floor will run the length of the building, in most cases and the stairs will be much higher than a traditional home. This style of home isn’t the easiest to move into, due to the steps, but it’s certainly a part of New Orleans history.