Cabinet - Small enclosed area at one or both ends of the rear gallery of a Creole house. Cabinets were used for storage or as small bedrooms or sitting rooms.

Cajuns - A corruption of the word Acadian, the term Cajun covers decedents of French Canadians who came to Louisiana after the great expulsion in the 18th century. Speaking a distinctive dialect of French, the Cajuns also include other cultures that have come to share the Acadian language and South Louisiana landscape.

Camelback - A shotgun type house with a two room, two story section at the rear above the back two rooms; associated primarily with New Orleans but occasionally found in Other areas.

Capital - Topmost member of a column or pilaster. It is usually decorated and may support an architrave or entablature.

Carriageway - Open passageway connecting the street to the rear courtyard of a Creole townhouse.

Casement Window - A window which swings open like a door.

Cast Iron - Iron made in a mold.

 
Cast Iron Front - A store front made of glass and pieces of utilitarian and decorative iron cast in easily assembled parts. The use of cast iron fronts made building construction faster and less expensive. It also allowed identical buildings to be erected throughout the country.

Cat Slide Roof - A long roof which slopes to the side and is located at a front corner or over the entrance of a house.

 

Chambre - Bedroom

Chamfer - The decorative, beveled surface formed by shaving the corners of a square wooden column at a 45 degree angle.

Clapboard - Wood siding commonly used as an exterior covering on a building of frame construction; also known as lap siding.

Classical Orders - a particular style of column with standardized capital based on the architecture of Greece or Rome. The Classical orders are the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.

Colonnade - A row of columns.

Colossal Column - A column rising multiple stories in height.

Column - A tall, vertical, cylindrical supporting member, usually with a classical capital.

Corinthian - Most ornate of the three Greek orders, characterized by a bell-shaped capital, two rows of Acanthus leaves, and an elaborate cornice. see also Doric and Ionic

Cornice - A decorative molding which forms the top piece of a window, a ceiling, or an exterior wall; the topmost member of the entablature.

Courtyard - Walled garden connecting main house to other outbuildings in the Creole Townhouse complex.
 

Creole - As set forth by the Council on Development of French in Louisiana, "Creole means "homegrown, not imported."" At one time Creole meant offspring of French aristocrats born in the New World. More generally, it means native-born Louisianans who are descended from continental European stock.

Creoles of Color - These are Louisianans of mixed mainly French, African, Spanish, and Native American heritage. The term sometimes suggests a combination of cultures that is all the richer for the mix.