Photo by James Fox-Smith
John Allen LeBlanc
In the living room of John Allen LeBlanc’s suburban Lafayette home stands a replica of Antioch Baptist Church so startlingly real that the viewer might momentarily feel like a giant. Thirty-five by twenty inches and built from cedar boards salvaged from a dismantled fence, the replica is constructed on a scale of one half inch for each foot of the original Antioch, which was built in 1868 in Paulina, Louisiana, and now stands on the grounds of Whitney Plantation. The scale does nothing to obscure the architectural detail of the original, though; LeBlanc’s miniature faithfully reproduces every feature of Antioch—from its fish scale shingles to the weathered door posts and downspouts. Since it is made entirely from salvaged material, you could argue that LeBlanc’s model of Antioch cost nothing to build, but then you’d be overlooking the four hundred and thirty-four hours of work that the retired house painter has invested in this project alone.
Antioch Church is the forty-first, and latest, replica in a series that LeBlanc has built of historic Louisiana structures. Always working at the same scale, he has recreated iconic Louisiana landmarks such as St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Grand Coteau, New Orleans’ St. Louis Cathedral, and St. Genevieve Catholic Church, where he and his wife were married. There are exquisite miniatures of plantations such as New Iberia’s Shadows on the Teche and Oaklawn, the home of former Louisiana governor Mike Foster, but also modest structures, such as the LeBlanc House, the circa 1821 Acadian cottage to which LeBlanc traces his ancestry.
Each is detailed to an extraordinary degree. The wide variety of architectural styles LeBlanc reproduces forces him to constantly invent solutions for replicating the original building materials. He has used paper labels to represent bricks, cut up plastic cake boxes for wrought iron railings, and used an epoxy solution to recreate glass window panes. Imagine doing a jigsaw puzzle in which you have to build each piece as you go and you’ll be close to the mark.
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“This is my genealogy,” explained LeBlanc, noting that his first projects were buildings important to his family, after which he moved on to buildings that were important to others. “He chooses to build replicas that mean something to someone,” explained his wife Shirley, who collaborates on John’s projects by researching the history and particulars of a historic structure and by taking measurements of originals. Frequently, she speaks for LeBlanc, who has suffered depression and some early stage dementia since losing a leg to a staph infection four years ago. “His output has increased as his mobility has decreased,” she explained, “and [the replica building] is so good for him.”
Shirley served as president of the Acadian Memorial for several years, during which time she cultivated close ties with the Acadian community of Grand Pré, Nova Scotia—the origin point to which Louisiana Cajuns trace their heritage. During a trip to Grand Pré in 2000, the couple took measurements of St. Charles des Mines, the church in which Acadian men and boys were imprisoned in 1755 prior to their deportation by the British that led them, ultimately, to Louisiana. LeBlanc built two replicas of St. Charles des Mines—one remains in Grand Pré and the other is on display at the Acadian Memorial in St. Martinville, commemorating the place where the original Acadians alighted at the end of their odyssey.
With the paint on the replica of Antioch scarcely dry, LeBlanc is already planning his next project: a model of circa 1835 Chretien Point Plantation in Sunset. “I’m getting quicker … and I’m choosing harder buildings,” he said with a grin. “Now I only want to do places that can house [the replicas],” he said. Despite the hundreds of hours invested in each, LeBlanc accepts no payment for his replicas. He’s happy merely to know that his creations are enjoyed publicly, paying homage to Louisiana’s architectural heritage and offering another angle from which to appreciate it.
To watch a video profile of John Allen LeBlanc at work, tune in to Louisiana Public Broadcasting’s Art Rocks show, airing at 5:30 pm on July 9 and 4 pm July 10. lpb.org.
