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The Columns on Jordan —BETTER THAN EVER.

BY ADAM BAILEY

Within its existing footprint, and with respect for its historic character, this mansion has been revitalized from disrepair and reconfigured to fit the modern lifestyle of its current owners— creating a livable and comfortable atmosphere with eclectic and honest details.

Known locally as The Columns on Jordan, it is a stately Neoclassical, Colonial Revival-style mansion. At first glance, it appears as though little has changed since it was built in 1896. It, since it was built in 1896. It, however, has not remained frozen in time. The renovations that have frozen in time. The renovations that have occurred over the last century have purposefully left their marks—with each owner leaving behind their own personalized imprints based on their own interests.

Tastes have changed.

When Tom and Elizabeth Arceneaux purchased the property, Mrs. Arceneaux knew they needed to do something special to do justice to what she calls a “fabulous home in a fabulous location.”

“It hadn’t been properly lived in for sev-“It hadn’t been properly lived in for sev eral years and needed extensive work,”

Arceneaux recalls. “I needed to know ev-Arceneaux recalls. “I needed to know ev erything about it—from studying Sanborn maps to visiting the LSU archives. You can maps to visiting the LSU archives. You can tell it was so well loved, even though it had fallen into neglect.”

Historical Context

Just consider its history for a moment. Perfectly nestled in the heart of Shreveport’s fectly nestled in the heart of Shreveport’s

Highland Historic District, the mansion’s origins date back to 1879—a time when mule-driven streetcars rumbled through one of Shreveport’s first neighborhoods one of Shreveport’s first neighborhoods known as Park Place. Jordan Street didn’t even exist, at least in name. It was called

Eastern Avenue, and would later become

Railroad Avenue before changing to Jordan Street at the turn of the 20th century.

Originally built in 1896, the mansion’s Originally built in 1896, the mansion’s ownership has changed hands numerous times over its 125 year existence. The first owner on record was the Friend family, who lived there until 1905. In 1906, it was who lived there until 1905. In 1906, it was sold to Dr. C.C. McCloud—who actually never lived there. He instead stayed in downtown Shreveport’s old Columbia Ho-downtown Shreveport’s old Columbia Hotel. For reasons unknown to anyone other than Dr. McCloud, its first major renovation was when he raised the first-floor of tion was when he raised the first-floor of the entire mansion, turning the first floor the entire mansion, turning the first floor into the second floor while constructing a new ground-floor underneath. After three years of ownership, McCloud then sold the years of ownership, McCloud then sold the mansion without ever spending a single night inside its walls.

In 1909, Mr. John Pleasant Honaker, who owned a local mercantile business, purchased the mansion, and lived there until he sold the home to W. B. McCormick in 1925. McCormick sold the property to Samuel Guy Sample in 1930.

In 1947, Mr. Clair W. Bryan bought the property from Sample. Bryan owned an advertising agency, Bryan & Bryan Advertising, and ran it out of the mansion. A story is told that at one point he noticed bees coming from one massive Ionic columns located on the front porch. In an attempt to locate the beehive and have it removed, Bryan placed a saw cut into the column—at which honey immediately began oozing down its side. The cut can still be seen to this day.

Bryan died in 1978. His orthopedic specialist, Dr. Edwin Simonton, Jr., then a single man, bought the property in early 1979. Dr. Simonton later married Judith Shanley. One-by-one, as the eight children of Edwin and Judith “left the nest,” they decided to share their mansion and opened a bed-and-breakfast. During his tenure in the residence, Simonton completed numerous renovations—uncovering many walled-up fireplaces, refinishing/ adding to the original flooring, building a carriage house and pool. Dr. Edwin Simonton was an avid LSU football fan, evidenced by the LSU inscribed swimming pool.

In 2005, Dr. Simonton died, placing his children in possession of the home. Over the next several years, home. Over the next several years, the mansion unfortunately fell into a state of neglect and disrepair, and it was not livable, until the Arceneaux’s purchased it in 2010.

Historical Processes

Since the Arceneaux’s purchase, extensive restorations have taken place. Those included gutting bedrooms and bathrooms; renovating the kitchen; updating HVAC, electrical and plumbing systems; rebuilding the stairs; and replacing wood flooring that was beyond repair. For

the most part, Arceneaux borrowed not only inspiration from historical architecture, but also from the process of how builders and craftsman worked years ago. And though she acts as her own general contractor, she has always been willing to partner with an assortment of professional artisans to help complete parts of the renovation—all whom she considers talented experts practiced in the diverse skills on how to interpret historical structures for modern living.

Arceneaux notes that builders in the early 1900s worked with less technology for planning, and were generally apt to make changes to the design when they encountered obstacles as they were building. They could be spontaneous in their design changes, she contends, because the artisans of the day were master craftsmen who could take a problem and turn it into a unique and workable feature of a mansion.

Arceneaux notes that builders in the early 1900s worked with less technology for planning, and were generally apt neous in their design changes, she contends, because the artisans of the day were master craftsmen who could take a problem and turn it into a unique and workable feature of a mansion.

“It’s typical of what they would have done,” she says of such in-process modifications. “One thing drives another,” Arceneaux adds. “I think some of the best renovations come together that way.”

From Troy Nelson (carpentry) to Brian Zelt of Stewart Electric (electrical) to John Riv-tric (electrical) to John Riv ers Bicknell (muralist/artist), Arceneaux is quick to recognize all of their time-labored contributions. “The mansion wouldn’t be what it is “The mansion wouldn’t be what it is without their efforts. What everyone did, and continues to do, from the did, and continues to do, from the painters to the glass artists is nothing painters to the glass artists is nothing short of extraordinary.”

If These Walls Could Talk

The work has evolved over time. “My mantra, from day one was no pretense. I wanted to simplify, not add complex-I wanted to simplify, not add complexity. And it helped that my budget was ity. And it helped that my budget was limited,” Arceneaux confesses. As far as a timeline for completion? “My priority was to make it functional, to make it safe. And, little-by-little, Tom and I have slowly chipped away. But it’s a never-ending process.”

As you enter the mansion off of Jordan Street, around the circular drive, you are greeted by a grand, full-height entry porch (which is very typical of Colonial Revival homes in the South). Colonial Revival homes in the South). Its massive Ionic columns offer a formal and inviting presence, with their perfectly detailed terra cotta capitals—each supporting the simple entablature that is punctuated by a dentil-band just beneath the cornice. “Rumor has it, the columns came all “Rumor has it, the columns came all the way from New Orleans,” recalls the way from New Orleans,” recalls Arceneaux.

Once you pass through the entry door—reconstructed by local glass art-

ist Rick Raster—Arceneaux has played with Americana in her own way, infusing the couple’s modern tastes into the historic interiors. The floorplan echoes that of a grand Louisiana mansion with the library, kitchen, dining room, keeping room, and great room on the first level. Its fourteen-foot ceilings, the freshly painted walls, selected furniture, fixtures, and drapes all allude to humble beginnings, but also make the home feel modern. Furnished with both 19th-century and 20th-century pieces, the interior is simple, in scale, and evolved. The mid-20th-century furniture that Arceneaux has selected fits this mansion as neatly as would Windsor chairs and Shaker chests. Everything in the mansion is livable, with a vernacular charm. “Something new, something old,” she confesses. The formal dining room, once referred to as the Oriental Room because of the collectable artistic pieces and the décor displayed, is formal and elegant. There, Arceneaux commissioned local artist Johnny Rivers Bicknell to paint a floorto-ceiling trompe l’oeil. French for “fool the eye,” Bicknell’s mural creates the illusion of reality. Through skillful use of color, shading, and perspective, painted objects appear three-dimensional.

On the second story, the master bedroom and a private study adjoin a second story balcony overlooking Jordan Street. “Tom serves me breakfast on the porch every morning,” adds Arceneaux. “Soft boiled eggs and toast soldiers. It’s my favorite breakfast.” The guest rooms are situated down a hallway, opposite the master bedroom, beginnings, but also make the home feel and the third floor has an entertainment modern. Furnished with both 19th-cen- room, equipped with a 75” flat screen television—a nod to a more modern way of life. A stately historicism extends throughout the interior, and is formal, with what Arceneaux calls “a patina of old.” Fresh painted walls, with exposed beams lend “a soft but very sophisticated feeling,” and the flooring, depending on the past and present owner, is a combination of old pine, oak and The formal dining room, once referred to as the Oriental maple—richly colored and evocatively knotted. Transom Room because of the collectable artistic pieces and the décor windows, prominent door casings, and bold, multifacetdisplayed, is formal and elegant. There, Arceneaux commis- ed crown moldings emphasize the Colonial Revival style throughout the home. mural creates the illusion of reality. Through skillful use Outside, the mansion had long been painted white, which of color, shading, and perspective, painted objects appear seemed perfect. In the early 1980s, Dr. Simonton added a carriage house and pool. “The pool is in the shape of a femur

On the second story, the master bedroom and a private study adjoin a second story balcony overlooking Jordan Street. “Tom serves me breakfast on the porch every morning,” adds Arceneaux. “Soft boiled eggs and toast soldiers. It’s my favorite breakfast.” The guest rooms are situated down a hallway, opposite the master bedroom, and the third floor has an entertainment room, equipped with a 75” flat screen television—a nod to a more modern way of life. A stately historicism extends throughout the interior, and is formal, with what Arceneaux calls “a patina of old.” Fresh painted walls, with exposed beams lend “a soft but very sophisticated feeling,” and the flooring, depending on the past and present owner, is a combination of old pine, oak and maple—richly colored and evocatively knotted. Transom windows, prominent door casings, and bold, multifaceted crown moldings emphasize the Colonial Revival style throughout the home. Outside, the mansion had long been painted white, which seemed perfect. In the early 1980s, Dr. Simonton added a carriage house and pool. “The pool is in the shape of a femur

“There’s not one particular space that’s better than another. They all go together, they all flow together.

Today and Beyond

Today, nearly eleven years after purchasing the property, the “soon to be finished, but never ending” renovation process perfectly marries a feeling of spaciousness and light with a formal solidity. It’s the “overall feeling” of the place that most pleases the Arceneaux’s. “There’s not one particular space that’s better than another,” she says. “They all go together, they all flow together.”

Many aspects and details are particular and special. Examples include the effusive light throughout the mansion and the glass detailing at the front porch entry, the millwork on the arched second-floor hallways, which contrasts with the assertive horizontals and verticals of the extensive molding, the Ionic-columned front porch, the unusual, historical location.

But ultimately, as Arceneaux says, “It’s the little pieces that come together and make it great.”

ity. It’s the “overall feeling” of the place that most pleases the Arceneaux’s. “There’s not one particular space that’s better than another,” she says. out the mansion and the glass detailing at the assertive horizontals and verticals of the exten-

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