Described as a “Swiss villa” by the Daily Picayune in 1868, this prettily decorated frame house raised on eight-foot-high brick piers was built for Cuthbert Bullitt and his wife, Eliza. Bullitt, from Kentucky, was a customs collector, bon vivant, and gambler who spent his winters in New Orleans as he got older (he lived to the
age of ninety-seven). It is believed that Gottheil (c. 1813–1877) brought the design from Europe. The symmetrical facade is animated with decorative cross timbers and the broad gable roof adorned with jigsaw bargeboards, and this decoration is repeated on a smaller scale on the gables over the windows. The interior details, however, are Greek Revival. Originally built on St. Charles Avenue, the house was moved here in 1883 after cigar manufacturer Simon Hernsheim purchased the St. Charles Avenue site to build his enormous mansion, now the Columns Hotel.