NEW ORLEANS–One of the Crescent City’s premier 19th century architects was a native of Cork city. Now, a new exhibition celebrates “An Architect and His City: Henry Howard’s New Orleans, 1837-1884.”

Henry Howard, circa 1870s.

Howard sailed from Ireland to New York in 1836, moving to Louisiana the following year, not long after fellow Irishman and architect James Gallier Sr. arrived in the city. At the time, New Orleans was America’s third largest city, a bustling trade hub, albeit one driven by slave labor.

Howard studied at the the Cork Mechanic’s Institute before his emigration. In New Orleans and the surrounding area he designed some 240 homes, factories, churches, orphanages and commercial buildings through the Civil War and Reconstruction.

The exhibit runs through April 3, 2016, at The Historic New Orleans Collection on Royal Street in the French Quarter. There’s also a new companion book, “Henry Howard: Louisiana’s Architect.”

Here’s a story and photos about the book from nola.com. And some background on the history of the Irish in New Orleans.