The Erath Building
THE ERATH BUILDING
CIRCA 1884
AUGUST ERATH, BORTN IN MORAT, SWITZERLAND, IN 1843, CAME TO LOUISIANA
IN 1866, MARRIED CATHERINE BECHT, AND MOVED TO NEW IBERIA IN 1876.
ERATH WAS A BREWER BY TRADE, AND PRACTICED HIST ART HERE FOR A FEW
YEARS. IN 1884, HE COMMISSIONED THE CONSTRUCTION OF THIS BUILDING AS
A RESIDENCE AND PLACE OF BUSINESS. THE ARCHITECTURE IS UNUSUAL IN
THAT THE SEVERAL GABLES WERE DESIGNED TO MASK SIX CHIMNEYS. AS THE
BUILDING NEARED COMPLETION, MR. ERATH HAD HIS INITIALS CAST IN IRON AND
AFFIXED TO THE WEST WALL. HE WAS A CIVIC LEADER AND SERVED AS MAYOR
FROM 1887 TO 1889. AUGUST ERATH DIED IN 1900.
Submitted by @alwaysreadtheplaque.