Bishop Portier House
Encyclopedia
The Bishop Portier House is a historic residence in Mobile, Alabama
, United States
. It sits diagonally across from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, and faces Cathedral Square
. It is owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile
. The house, built circa 1834, is one of Mobile's best surviving examples of a Creole cottage
with neoclassical details. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
on February 26, 1970 and subsequently was added to the Historic Roman Catholic Properties in Mobile Multiple Property Submission
also.
, Mobile's first Roman Catholic bishop, who made this his home from 1834, until his death in 1859. The house was designed by Claude Beroujon, a seminarian architect and nephew of Portier. Four subsequent bishops resided here until 1906. Fr. Abram Ryan
, poet-priest of the South, occupied the northwest corner room on the second floor from 1870, until 1877. The residence was restored by the archdiocese in 1958, and again in 2007. In 1970, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
, and plastered gallery
. It is one and one-half stories, with a square plan, and a center hall running from front to rear. It has a gabled roof encompassing full-length galleries, front and rear, on slender columns. There are three ornate dormers with classical detail. The center entrance is framed by pilaster
s, entablature
, transom
, and side lights.
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It sits diagonally across from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, and faces Cathedral Square
Cathedral Square (Mobile, Alabama)
Cathedral Square is a municipal park in Mobile, Alabama. It is bordered by the streets of North Claiborne, Dauphin, North Jackson, and Conti.-History:...
. It is owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile
The Archdiocese of Mobile is a Roman Catholic archdiocese comprising the lower 28 counties of Alabama. It is the metropolitan seat of the Province of Mobile, which includes the suffragan bishopric sees of the Diocese of Biloxi, the Diocese of Jackson, and the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama...
. The house, built circa 1834, is one of Mobile's best surviving examples of a Creole cottage
Creole cottage
Creole cottage is a term loosely used to refer to a type of vernacular architecture indigenous to the Gulf Coast of the United States. Within this building type comes a series of variations. An expanded version of this type of building is commonly referred to as Gulf Coast cottage, with the...
with neoclassical details. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on February 26, 1970 and subsequently was added to the Historic Roman Catholic Properties in Mobile Multiple Property Submission
Historic Roman Catholic Properties in Mobile Multiple Property Submission
The Historic Roman Catholic Properties in Mobile Multiple Property Submission is a multiple property submission of Roman Catholic properties in Mobile, Alabama that were listed together on the National Register of Historic Places...
also.
History
The house is named for Michael PortierMichael Portier
Bishop Michael Portier was a Roman Catholic bishop and the firstBishop of Mobile. He immigrated to the United States in 1817....
, Mobile's first Roman Catholic bishop, who made this his home from 1834, until his death in 1859. The house was designed by Claude Beroujon, a seminarian architect and nephew of Portier. Four subsequent bishops resided here until 1906. Fr. Abram Ryan
Abram Joseph Ryan
Abram Joseph Ryan , OSFS, was an American poet, an active proponent of the Confederate States of America, and a Roman Catholic priest...
, poet-priest of the South, occupied the northwest corner room on the second floor from 1870, until 1877. The residence was restored by the archdiocese in 1958, and again in 2007. In 1970, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Description
The structure is frame with clapboardingClapboard (architecture)
Clapboard, also known as bevel siding or lap siding or weather-board , is a board used typically for exterior horizontal siding that has one edge thicker than the other and where the board above laps over the one below...
, and plastered gallery
Long gallery
Long gallery is an architectural term given to a long, narrow room, often with a high ceiling. In British architecture, long galleries were popular in Elizabethan and Jacobean houses. They were often located on the upper floor of the great houses of the time, and stretched across the entire...
. It is one and one-half stories, with a square plan, and a center hall running from front to rear. It has a gabled roof encompassing full-length galleries, front and rear, on slender columns. There are three ornate dormers with classical detail. The center entrance is framed by pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s, entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
, transom
Transom (architectural)
In architecture, a transom is the term given to a transverse beam or bar in a frame, or to the crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it. Transom is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece...
, and side lights.