300 Pelican Ave.

Description: Request to install decorative French doors at corner entry, installation of gas lantern at side entry, and retention of removal of stucco at foundation wall in deviation of a Certificate of Appropriateness at a Contributing rated, two-story residential building.

Staff Recommendations: 

Constructed in ca. 1890 as a two-story commercial building with double gallery, 300 Pelican Ave. is an altered but contributing building in the Algiers Point Historic District. Although the building has lost most of its ground level detailing, a high degree of Queen Anne detailing remains on the second-story. Now serving as a residence, the second-story of the building retains its full height windows and decorative trim, brackets, applied gable trim, and soffit overhang with vents. The current owner has worked with the HDLC to obtain Certificate(s) of Appropriateness (CofA) to complete work at the building including the removal of existing stucco and reinstallation of wood weatherboards (see below). Included in the proposed scope of work are items that cannot be approved at the Staff level. This work includes the installation of decorative French doors at the corner entry and the retention of exposed brick at the foundation. A previous request for exterior lighting was worked out at the Staff level following the August meeting. 

The current corner entry doors are simple pane over panel doors with limited ornamentation surmounted by a three lite fixed transom. The doors at the building's first-story range from low to high style with the pane-over-panel French doors and a decorative Queen Anne door at the Pelican Ave. facing entrance. The proposed corner entry French doors (see photographs below) deviate in their overall style as well as proportion. Proportionally, the proposed doors appear to be more vertically oriented with narrower paneling and openings. Stylistically, the proposed doors do not exhibit standard Queen Anne motifs and are representative of doors that might open up onto a balcony or at the interior of a building.  Although the building's detailing lends itself to higher style doors and/or windows, the scrolled trim and detailing of the proposed doors are not compatible with the stylization of the building. As shown in the photographs the doors do fit within the existing openings. Overall, the building retains enough of its Queen Anne detailing that replacement doors should match in style. Staff recommends denial of the proposed corner entry doors. 

A major portion of the approved scope of work included the removal of stucco at the first-story and the reintroduction of wood weatherboards. This work created a cohesive siding material at the building, recreating an original condition. During this project, additional work was completed at the masonry brick foundation wall. The existing condition appears to have included areas of deteriorated stucco and paint covering the masonry. This deteriorated condition has existed since at least 2007 with only a small portion of existing stucco remaining at the left-side elevation, making it a legally non-conforming condition. In general, the HDLC does not permit exposed brick where it would have once been stuccoed. The stucco will not only protect the brick, but also aesthetically match the original condition. In keeping with that guideline, Staff recommends that the brick receive a parge coat. 

• Recommendation: 

  • French doors - Denial of installation. 

  • Exposed brick at foundation - Staff recommends that the brick have a parge coat for protection. 

Context Photos:

Proposed and Existing Doors at Corner Entry:

Previous Condition at Foundation:

Applicant Submittal:

January 2023 CofA:

Sanborn Map(s):

Street View: