House In A Box

Shortly after we moved to Nashville we saw a newspaper article about a local Habitat for Humanity chapter that was holding a 'House In a Box" build day.  The house in a box is a unique way to build a Habitat for Humanity house.  You build the walls to the blueprint specs but you don't attach them together.  They are shipped, laying flat, to their final destination and are assembled there.  They use this process for a number of different reasons.  Sometimes there might be a large group that wants to participate in a build, but there are no local builds that can accommodate that number of participants.  Sometimes houses are needed in parts of the country where volunteers are lacking.  Or sometimes there is a need for a large quantity of homes, and it's faster to build the structures elsewhere and assemble them on-site.  

 The houses that we helped build were to be shipped to New Orleans to help rebuild the city after Hurricane Katrina.  We knew that's where they were going, and while we were in New Orleans we decided to go find them. 

Harry Connick Jr. and Bransford Marsalis, both musicians and New Orleans natives wanted to help people who lived in poverty before the hurricane, and  had been displaced.  They also wanted to provide a place for teaching, sharing and preserving the music, culture and history of New Orleans.  They chose to build a community called Musicians Village 

Musicians Village is comprised of 72 single family homes and five elder-friendly duplexes, a playground, and the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music.  The houses have been painted bright colors in an attempt to brighten the neighborhood and bring joy to those who see them.  The village looks great.  Most of the houses are well-kept, a couple are even for sale.  

It is a great community.  There is definitely a pride in ownership happening there, and that is a wonderful thing.  You can read more about Musicians Village here.

The community includes a playground, which  sits diagonally across from the music center.  We were there on Sunday morning and both were empty, but they appear to be well-used.

I'm so glad we took the time to seek out this neighborhood.  We are so pleased to have helped build such a great place for so many people.