A. HAYS TOWN changed the face of the Louisiana house. In a career that includes designing more than five hundred homes, he has led architects, builders, and homeowners to embrace the finest elements of  Louisiana’s rich architectural past. Almost every home built in Louisiana during the last twenty years is in some way inspired by Towns work. The Town original, though, still stands out as dynamic yet timeless, elegant yet earthy, refined yet muscular, and above all dramatic to the eye yet soothing to the spirit.

    The Louisiana Houses of A. Hays Town honors his legacy as Louisiana’s premier residential architect. Color photographs of numerous homes – including Town’s own – Philip Gould combined with an illuminating text by Cyril E. Vetter produce a volume that captures the appeal and beauty of the states finest architectural tradition.

      Town established a successful commercial practice in Baton Rouge in 1939, but in the 1960’s at an age when many people are considering retirement, he turned to his abiding passion – residential architecture. Throughout this chapter of his career, he perfected and expanded his inimitable style and emerged as one of the most prominent architects in the South.

      Town’s residential designs are perceptibly influenced by the diverse culture of Louisiana. His synthesis of the classic Acadian cottage (with its raised front porch and exterior stairs), Spanish courtyards, and exterior French doors with Creole influenced full-length shutters achieves an original confluence of seemingly disparate yet elegantly balanced seems and forms. Other Town trademarks include pigeonniers, tree alleys, thirteen-foot ceilings, heavy use of such woods as cypress and heart of pine, plantation-style separate structures, and brick floors with a special beeswax finish.