Bayou Road Buildings Get Facade Improvements

December 27, 2015 by Charlie London

article by Danielle Del Sol | Photographs by Liz Jurey
excerpt from the December, 2015 issue of Preservation in Print with permission from author

bayouroad-photobyLizJurey-2015dec

The New Orleans Redevelopment Authority has awarded nearly $1 million in the past year to property and small business owners on Bayou Road to improve the facade of their building in a historically appropriate way.

The Bayou Road businesses received grants up to $37,000 each and up to 30 hours of technical assistance to renovate their buildings with NORA’s Facade Renew program.

The technical assistance portion of the grant, administered by NORA project partner Tulane City Center, gives owners information on what their building originally looked like, and the context in which it was developed.

The $1 million came from the Louisiana Office of Community development, using post-Katrina Community Development Block Grant funds. The program has inspired business owners who may not have previously realized the value of restoring historic features.

On Bayou Road, one of the oldest commercial corridors in the city — the ridge was a Native American center of trade for many years before European settlers arrived — New Orleans Tribune publisher Beverly McKenna and her family are continuing to improve properties they started buying 35 years ago.

The area is like a small slice of the Caribbean, with vibrantly colored buildings, feral chickens and businesses like the Coco Hut, known for its jerk chicken, and Club Caribbean, the top reggae club in town. McKenna and her husband, landlords to these beloved businesses, are receiving Facade Renew grants to revitalize four of their properties.

Club Caribbean will receive a fresh coat of paint and a new patio area. The other buildings will receive tropical paint jobs and other improvements, as well, at the able hands of contractor Sidney Barthelemy, Jr. of B-Squared LLC.

McKenna, who lives and works within blocks of Bayou Road, said that she and her husband were keen to offer the properties as opportunities for local residents to realize their dream of being small business owners. As such, they didn’t overdevelop the investment properties they acquired. NORA’s grants allow the couple to expedite needed work to the buildings while helping them keep rents affordable.

http://prcno.org/programs/preservationinprint/piparchives/2015%20PIP/December%202015/0.html

Filed Under: Featured, HISTORY Tagged With: bayou, bayou road, bayou st john, broad, danielle del sol, economic impact, facade improvements, faubourg st john, historic preservation, history, New Orleans

Lhote Lumber Company

April 15, 2015 by Charlie London

 

courtesy Tulane University’s Architectural Archive

In 1904, the Lhote Lumber Company significantly expanded its operations and built a new $500,000 plant in the Second Municipal District along the Old Basin [Carondelet] Canal. Lhote employed over 150 workers at this new site. As a transition, the company briefly maintained its former operations in the Storyville neighborhood (1300 Toulouse Street) as a branch facility.(1) Relocating the lumber plant afforded Lhote more direct access to schooners and railroad cars from which to distribute its products.(2)

Lhote Lumber Company in1909.  Click on the graphic for a larger view.
Lhote Lumber Company in1909. Click on the graphic for a larger view.

First established in 1847, the company was known for its mill work and “manufacturing cabins and dwellings framed for shipment.”(3) By 1904, its manufactured dwellings were being referred to as “Ready-Made Houses.”(4)  Lhote maintained an international business, shipping its products through the Gulf of Mexico. From Mexico, Lhote was hired to manufacture the 1900 Orizaba exposition buildings and the Vera Cruz quarantine station.(3) Hard times quickly fell on the operation. In July 1910, New Orleans auctioneer W.A. Kernaghan offered the plant for $200,000.(5) When it failed to realize this price, the National Realty Company acquired it for $188,000.(6) National Realty promptly flipped the mill, selling to the National Sash and Door Company for $200,000.(7) George V. Lhote became the operation’s general manager.

Advertisement for Lhote Lumber Company - Sept 1, 1904.  Click on the ad for a larger view.
Advertisement for Lhote Lumber Company – Sept 1, 1904. Click on the ad for a larger view.

National Sash and Door Company experienced an economic upswing after World War I, becoming the recipient of numerous commissions for residential and commercial projects. In 1918, the Southern Pine Association hired the company to construct a model children’s bungalow that was displayed in Lafayette Square.(8)  National Sash & Door also supplied mill work for the Lafayette model school on Carrollton Avenue, the Bohn Motor Company Garage, and for new branches of the Whitney-Central Bank. It exported its products to clients in Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas, as well as to those in the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico and South America.(9) Records from a number of different Southeastern Architectural Archive collections document the Lhote Lumber Company and the National Sash & Door Company.

Architect James Freret produced drawings for the company’s 1883 millwork catalog, housed in the SEAA’s Architectural Trade Catalogs. Architect C. Milo Williams photographed tLhote’s Storyville lumber operation in the last decade of the nineteenth century. His image is housed in the SEAA’s Williams Family Records. Architect Martin Shepard, who frequently worked for construction and real estate concerns, kept various mill work company ephemera, including an advertising notebook from the National Sash and Door Company. Shepard’s records are housed in the Southeastern Architectural Archive as Collection 109.

Lhote Properties from the 1873 Langermann Atlas.  Click on the map for a larger view.
Lhote Properties from the 1873 Langermann Atlas. Click on the map for a larger view.

(1)”To Our Customers and the Public.” The Times-Picayune  24 July 1904.

(2)”New Lhote Plant the Largest Lumbering Mill in the South.” The Times-Picayune 19 July 1904.

(3)Henry Rightor. Standard History of New Orleans, 1900.  p. 531.

(4)Advertisement.  The Times-Picayune 1 September 1904.

(5)”Lhote Mill May Reorganize.” The Daily Picayune 29 July 1910.

(6)”Lhote Lumber Plant Bought.” The Daily Picayune 9 September 1910.

(7)”National Sash and Door Company Files Its Charter.” The Daily Picayune 22 October 1910.

(8)”Model Bungalow of Southern Pine.” Lumber World Review 25 June 1918: p. 58.

(9)”Lhote Sees Big Future for Millwork Industry.” The Times-Picayune 24 May 1925. Images above:  Lhote Lumber Company, Second Municipal District. Sanborn Atlas. 1908-1909. Advertisement.  The Times-Picayune 1 September 1904.

Filed Under: HISTORY Tagged With: bayou st john, faubourg st john, history, lhote, lumber, New Orleans

Big History in Our Big Park

October 26, 2014 by Charlie London

City Park

By Kimberly Jochum, Amanda Knight, and University of New Orleans History Department

citypark-fountain-mossontreeThis tour unveils the park’s history. Only a fraction of City Park’s 1300 acres will be accessed, yet you will walk through the cultural center of the park, visit the famous dueling grounds, stand beneath a tree whose branches touch the ground, and learn about many interesting events in the park’s history.

Locations for Tour

1. Origins of New Orleans City Park

Before the French colonized Louisiana, Native Americans lived on the land that is now City Park. Bayou St. John was part of a trade route commonly used by the Chapitoulas and the Houmas Tribes. After the French began to settle along the Gulf Coast…

2. General Beauregard Statue

The General Beauregard equestrian statue stands at the main entrance to City Park. Designed by Alexander Doyle, better known for creating the city’s Robert E. Lee monument, the statue depicts Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant …

3. Monteleone Gate

Two 25 foot marble pylons mark the Esplande Avenue entrance to City Park. They were erected in memory of Park Commissioner Anthony Monteleone following his death in 1913. Known as the Monteleone Gate, the pylons include eight bronze lamps and 600…

4. New Orleans Museum of Art

Opened as the Isaac Delgado Art Museum in 1911, it was renamed the New Orleans Museum of Art in 1971. In the early 1900’s, wealthy sugar broker Isaac Delgado wrote to the City Park Board about his intention to build an art museum. “I have…

5. Dueling Oak

Many myths are associated with the “Dueling Oaks.” An 1892 Times-Democrat article noted that “Blood has been shed under the old cathedral aisles of nature. Between 1834 and 1844 scarcely a day passed without duels being fought at the…

6. Allard Grave

1777 marked the birth of Louis Allard, son and heir of the affluent Creole family of Francoise Lorreins and Jean Allard. One narrative of Louis Allard’s life said he was “destined to be an active citizen of the bayou for the next seventy…

7. Timken Center

Built in 1912, the Casino was conceived as a combined refreshment stand and administrative center. The upper floor of the Casino once housed the park’s administrative offices, and it was used for City Park Improvement Association meetings. Late…

8. Popp’s Bandstand

John F. Popp was a park visitor with a penchant for classic style architecture and music. He was determined to construct a bandstand for the park that was harmonious with the other newly constructed buildings. On July 4, 1917, Popp’s…

9. Segregation in City Park

Until 1958, all park amenities, including the playground, were restricted to white residents. African American children and families were banned from entering the park. In a 1995 interview, the late author Tom Dent discusses his childhood experience…

10. Peristyle

The Peristyle was created as a platform for dancing while listening to music performances at the nearby band stand. It was originally called the paristyleum and cost $15,330 when erected in 1907. The dancing platform was designed to match the style…

11. Langles Bridge

The Langles Bridge is located near the south side of the Timken Center, formerly known as the Casino building. This original stone bridge is dedicated to Miss Angele M. Langles; her estate appropriated $650 for City Park. Angele and her mother…

12. Famous Oaks

City Park is known for having one of the largest collections of mature live oaks in the world. The oldest is rumored to be up to 800 years old, although most sources claim the oak’s age is closer to 500 years. Live Oaks are evergreen, but their…

13. Bibliography: City Park Tour

“100 Years.” New Orleans Museum of Art. http://noma.org/pages/detail/19/100-Years (accessed on 2/23/12) Absalom, Thom. “Myth and History.” New Histories. Bozant, Kevin, Frentz, Amanda and Jochum, Kimberly. “Plaques,…

Filed Under: HISTORY Tagged With: bayou st john, city park, faubourg st john, history, museum, New Orleans, statue

200th Anniversary of the Battle for New Orleans

October 25, 2014 by Charlie London

battle-map4web

200th Anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans

By Mary Ann Wegmann, Louisiana State Museum, and the University of New Orleans History Department; Associate Editor & Media Editor: Jessica Anne Dauterive; military history research assistance: Rhett Breerwood

A tour of French Quarter sites and buildings connected to the Battle of New Orleans through fact as well as legend.

Locations for Tour

1. Battle of New Orleans: Introduction

Almost 200 years ago, on January 8, 1815, Major General Andrew Jackson and his outnumbered American defenders overwhelmed veteran British troops at the Battle of New Orleans. The battle took place five miles downriver from New Orleans in Chalmette,…

2. Battle of New Orleans: Jackson Square

Formerly the Place d’Armes around which New Orleans was built, Jackson Square, a National Historical Landmark, is now the most prominent location in the “Vieux Carre” or Old Quarter. On December 18, 1814, Jackson reviewed his troops on…

3. Battle of New Orleans: St. Louis Cathedral

Facing Jackson Square and the Mississippi River, the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, is the oldest Catholic cathedral in continual use in the United States. With its three steeples, St. Louis Cathedral, as it is commonly known, is…

4. Battle of New Orleans: Cabildo and Presbytere

Viewed from Jackson Square, the Cabildo appears to the left of St. Louis Cathedral. The Cabildo, built under Spanish rule in 1795-1799, is the site of the Louisiana Purchase Transfer ceremonies in 1803 and Louisiana’s most important historical…

5. Battle of New Orleans: Pirate’s Alley, The Arsenal, Creole House & Jackson House

Walking out of Jackson Square toward St. Louis Cathedral, Pirate’s Alley appears on the left, between the Cathedral and the Cabildo. Formerly known as “Orleans Alley,” the passage is one block long, extending from Chartres Street at Jackson…

6. Battle of New Orleans: Maspero’s Coffee House

Maspero’s Exchange, also known as Maspero’s Coffee House and now called the “Original Pierre Maspero’s,” is located at 440 Chartres Street, on the corner of St. Louis and Chartres Streets, nearest the river and Canal Street. The original…

7. Battle of New Orleans: Old Absinthe House

The Old Absinthe House bar is located at 240 Bourbon Street. This stucco building at the corner of Bourbon and Bienville Streets, one of the oldest in New Orleans, dates to approximately 1806. In the nineteenth century, the Old Absinthe House…

8. The Old Federal Courthouse, Now the Andrew Jackson Hotel

The Andrew Jackson French Quarter Hotel, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is located at 919 Royal Street, the former site of the old United States courthouse where Major General Andrew Jackson was indicted for contempt of court and…

9. Former Home of Presiding Judge Francois-Xavier Martin

Judge Francois-Xavier Martin, a Louisiana Supreme Court judge for thirty-one years, from 1815 until his death in 1846, first acquired 915 Royal Street in 1818 for $7,500. At that time, a two-story brick house with a tile roof was situated on the…

10. Battle of New Orleans: Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop

For many years, a bar called “Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop” has occupied this building at the corner of Bourbon Street and St. Philip Street. Designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1970, Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop was built between 1772…

11. Battle of New Orleans: Old Ursuline Convent

Almost 300 years ago, in 1727, the Ursuline nuns arrived in New Orleans at the invitation of Governor Bienville. While awaiting the completion of their convent in 1734, the Ursuline nuns established a school and an orphanage. The Ursuline Order…

12. Battle of New Orleans: Fort St. Charles/U.S. Mint

The United States Mint was once the site of Fort St. Charles, one of the defenses built in 1792 during the Spanish period. Fort St. Charles was the largest of five fortifications surrounding the city. Spanish Governor Baron Hector de Carondelet noted…

Filed Under: HISTORY Tagged With: battle of new orleans, chalmette, history, New Orleans

Carnival Collection at Tulane

February 7, 2014 by Charlie London

Louisiana Research Collection. Tulane University. Howard-Tilton Memorial Library Special Collections.

Proteus dreams the Vegetable Kingdom

Using the theme “A Dream of the Vegetable Kingdom,” the Krewe of Proteus created Carnival floats and costumes for its 1892 parade based on corn, watermelon, and even English peas. Intended as working drawings for float builders and costumiers, the designs from Tulane’s Louisiana Research Collection are now on display in the Special Collections gallery, Jones Hall Room 201.

“The hand-painted watercolor designs are by Carlotta Bonnecaze, the first woman and first creole to design floats for a carnival krewe,” says Lee Miller, head of the Lousiana Research Collection. Carnival historian Henri Schindler calls Bonnecaze’s work “astonishing” and argues that in this 1892 parade, she used subtle layers of color to achieve her most beautifully painted designs.

“A Dream of the Vegetable Kingdom” is a rare instance of the Louisiana Research Collection preserving both a complete set of eighteen float designs and a complete set of 101 costume designs. Unlike today, each costume depicted a unique character designed specifically for the person who wore it. Of that number, sixteen float designs and thirty-eight costume designs have been chosen for display.

In addition to being beautiful works of art in their own right, the designs are heavily used by researchers in a variety of fields, including present-day Carnival designers, float builders, business people, historians, sociologists, and litterateurs. The Louisiana Research Collection preserves one of the largest Carnival collections in the world, including roughly 5,600 original designs, all of which are available online through the Louisiana Digital Library. With all of the designs viewable online, the collection restricts access to the delicate originals for preservation purposes, so this is a rare opportunity to see the original works on paper.

The Special Collections Gallery, Jones Hall Room 201, is open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. For information, please call 504-314-7833, or email [email protected].

The LaRC Carnival Collection

The 1892 Proteus designs are only a fraction of LaRC’s extensive Carnival collection. The Louisiana Research Collection is a research library and archives, not a museum, and so does not acquire materials such as costumes or other textiles; but for documents on paper, such as invitations, dance cards, and designs, LaRC may likely have the largest Carnival collection in the world, representing almost three hundred krewes.

A detailed guide to our Carnival collection is available here. If your krewe is not represented, please contact us.

Explore more than 5,600 Carnival designs online

LaRC’s Carnival collection is perhaps most famous for its original designs. LaRC’s float and costume designs are strongest for the krewes of Comus, Momus, and Proteus for the 1870s through the 1940s, and includes the famous 1873 “Missing Links” Comus costume designs, which used Darwin’s “Origin of Species” to satirize political leaders of the day.

Thanks to generous support from the Tulane University Office of the Provost, the Louisiana Research Collection has placed all 5,600 of its original Carnival designs online. You can browse the complete collection here.

Do you belong to a Carnival krewe?

If so, please make sure that your krewe is represented in the LaRC Carnival collection. We recommend that your krewe assign an officer to serve as liaison with LaRC. Your LaRC liaison would be responsible for keeping your documents up-to-date by collecting and delivering each year’s invitations, announcements, and other printed materials to LaRC.

LaRC can also act as your krewe’s archives by permanently preserving a complete set of your minutes and reports. That would ensure that your krewe’s records are safe, secure, and available for your use. This service is completely free. If you would like to learn more about making LaRC your krewe’s official archives, please contact us at [email protected].

Why?

LaRC preserves the Carnival collection for one reason: to make it available to researchers from around the world. Everything the Louisiana Research Collection preserves – from the papers of Lindy Boggs to the papers of Jefferson Davis – is available to all researchers on an equal basis.

There are many ways you can help, from letting us know about documents that need preservation to helping fund an internship for a student eager to work with original Louisiana documents. Find out more about how you can help preserve our past for our future.


For more information about Tulane University’s Louisiana Research Collection (LaRC), please visit our website.


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Louisiana Research Collection Room 202, Jones Hall, Tulane University,
New Orleans LA 70118
Phone: 504-865-5685 | Fax: 504-865-5761
[email protected]  |  [email protected]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: carnival, collection, history, mardi gras, New Orleans, tulane

Historic Preservation Excellence

November 30, 2013 by Charlie London

LLSlogopreservation-award

Louisiana Landmarks Society
Awards for Excellence in Historic Preservation

LLS announces the inaugural Louisiana Landmarks Society Awards for Excellence in Historic Preservation. These awards will honor projects completed in Orleans Parish (outside of the French Quarter) in 2012 or 2013 that represent outstanding examples of restoration or rehabilitation of historic buildings, as well as new construction in a historic district.Nominations for the 2014 Awards may be submitted from individuals, companies, or organizations. Nominations should be submitted via a nomination form on the LLS website starting today. The deadline for nominations is January 15, 2014. Of particular interest are projects which:

  • Demonstrate that historic preservation can be a tool to revitalize older neighborhoods
  • Show that historic preservation is “green” and sustainable
  • Support the cultural and ethnic diversity of the preservation movement
  • Are creative examples of saving a historic building
  • Involve properties that utilized various federal or state tax incentive programs
  • Represent new design that is appropriate to historic neighborhoods

“It is important to recognize the extraordinary investment of time, money, effort, and attention to detail that is required to create projects that stand out in a city known for historic preservation,” said Elliott Perkins, executive director of the Historic District Landmarks Commission.The Selection Committee includes representatives from Louisiana’s State Historic Preservation Office, New Orleans and CBD Historic District Landmarks Commissions, Tulane School of Architecture and the Louisiana Landmarks Society.

“We are excited to be able to continue this important awards program, and to inaugurate it in 2014, marking fifty years since Louisiana Landmarks Society saved the Pitot House,” said Walter Gallas, LLS Executive Director.

The 2014 Louisiana Landmarks Society Awards for Excellence in Historic Preservation winners will be presented at a luncheon on April 9, 2014.

We encourage you to nominate projects you may know, and to spread the word. Questions can be sent to [email protected] or by calling 504.482.0312.

NOMINATE A PROJECT

If you have a project to nominate for the 2014 Awards, please submit your project before January 15, 2014.
NOMINATE A PROJECT

LLS ELSEWHERE

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Flag Day in Faubourg St. John

June 14, 2013 by Charlie London

flag-day-faubourgstjohn
photo by Charlie London
info below from Wikipedia
In the United States, Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened on that day in 1777 by resolution of the Second Continental Congress. The United States Army also celebrates the Army Birthday on this date; Congress adopted “the American continental army” after reaching a consensus position in the Committee of the Whole on June 14, 1775.

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day; in August 1949, National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: flag day, history, New Orleans

Go Ride the Streetcar

June 1, 2013 by Charlie London


Riding the St. Charles streetcar down its historic line is a great opportunity to see different areas of New Orleans, including the mansion lined Garden District and oak tree canopied university area of Uptown. A single ride is $1.25, or purchase a day pass for $3for unlimited rides.

GoNOLA TV is a regular video segment on New Orleans food, music, shopping and nightlife. Visit http://www.gonola.com for all the best places to eat, drink, shop and play in New Orleans or head on over to http://www.neworleansonline.com and plan your vacation today!
***
photos below by Charlie London (originally posted at FSJNAdotORG on May 24, 2012)

Upon returning from the May 10th BlightStat meeting, I had the opportunity to, once again, ride New Orleans’ fine public transportation.

Click on the map for a larger view

If you haven’t taken a ride on a New Orleans streetcar or bus lately you really are missing out.

The streetcar operator told me each one of these refurbished streetcars cost 1 million dollars!

Get a great view of New Orleans’ architecture. Take the bus or the streetcar!

Architectural Vignettes
New Orleans, with its richly mottled old buildings, its sly, sophisticated – sometimes almost disreputable – air, and its Hispanic-Gallic traditions, has more the flavor of an old European capital than an American city. Townhouses in the French Quarter, with their courtyards and carriageways, are thought by some scholars to be related on a small scale to certain Parisian “hotels” – princely urban residences of the 17th and 18th centuries. Visitors particularly remember the decorative cast-iron balconies that cover many of these townhouses like ornamental filigree cages.

European influence is also seen in the city’s famous above-ground cemeteries. The practice of interring people in large, richly adorned aboveground tombs dates from the period when New Orleans was under Spanish rule. These hugely popular “cities of the dead” have been and continue to be an item of great interest to visitors. Mark Twain, noting that New Orleanians did not have conventional below-ground burials, quipped that “few of the living complain and none of the other.”

One of the truly amazing aspects of New Orleans architecture is the sheer number of historic homes and buildings per square mile. Orleanians never seem to replace anything. Consider this: Uptown, the City’s largest historic district, has almost 11,000 buildings, 82 percent of which were built before 1935 – truly a “time warp.”

The spine of Uptown, and much of New Orleans, is the city’s grand residential showcase, St. Charles Avenue, which the novel A Confederacy of Dunces aptly describes: “The ancient oaks of St. Charles Avenue arched over the avenue like a canopy…St. Charles Avenue must be the loveliest place in the world. From time to time…passed the slowing rocking streetcars that seemed to be leisurely moving toward no special designations, following their route through the old mansions on either side…everything looked so calm, so prosperous.”

The streetcars in question, the St. Charles Avenue line, represent the nation’s only surviving historic streetcar system. All of its electric cars were manufactured by the Perley Thomas Company between 1922 and 1924 and are still in use. Hurricane Katrina flood waters caused severe damage to the steel tracks along the entire uptown and Carrollton route and had to be totally replaced and re-electrified. The cars themselves survived and are included in the National Register of Historic Places. New Orleanians revere them as a national treasure.

Creole cottages and shotgun houses dominate the scene in many New Orleans neighborhoods. Both have a murky ancestry. The Creole cottage, two rooms wide and two or more deep under a generous pitched roof with a front overhang or gallery, is thought to have evolved from various European and Caribbean forms.

The shotgun house is one room wide and two, three or four rooms deep, under a continuous gable roof. As legend has it, the name was suggested by the fact that because the rooms and doors line up, one can fire a shotgun through the house without hitting anything.

Some scholars have suggested that shotguns evolved from ancient African “long-houses,” built here by refugees from the Haitian Revolution, but no one really knows.

It is true that shotguns represent a distinctively Southern house type. They are also found in the form of plantation quarters houses. Unlike shotgun houses in much of the South, which are fairly plain, New Orleans shotguns fairly bristle with Victorian jigsaw ornament, especially prominent, florid brackets. Indeed, in many ways, New Orleans shotguns are as much a signature of the city as the French Quarter.

New Orleans’ architectural character is unlike that of any other American city. A delight to both natives and visitors, it presents such a variety that even after many years of study, one can still find things unique and undiscovered.

This material may be reproduced for editorial purposes of promoting New Orleans. Please attribute stories to New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau. 2020 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70130 504-566-5019. http://www.neworleanscvb.com/.

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FEMA Archaeologists Discover Artifacts

February 22, 2013 by Charlie London

FEMA

FEMA Archaeologists Discover One of the Oldest Native American Artifacts South of Lake Pontchartrain

NEW ORLEANS – Pottery shards, animal bones and pieces of clay tobacco pipes are among the items recently discovered by a team of archaeologists under contract to the Federal Emergency Management Agency surveying land near Bayou St. John in New Orleans.

“It was a bit of a surprise to find this,” said FEMA Louisiana Recovery Office Deputy Director of Programs Andre Cadogan, referencing a small, broken pottery fragment. “We clearly discovered pottery from the late Marksville period, which dates to 300-400 A.D. The pottery was nice, easily dateable, and much earlier than we expected. This is exciting news for historians and Tribal communities as it represents some of the only intact prehistoric remains of its kind south of Lake Pontchartrain.”

The Bayou St. John spot holds a prominence in New Orleans’ history, throughout the years serving as the location of a Native American occupation, a French fort, a Spanish fort, an American fort, a resort hotel and then an amusement park. Through a series of shovel tests and methodological excavation, the archaeologists discovered evidence of the early Native Americans, the colonial period and the hotel.

“The historical record tells us that the shell midden (or mound) created by the Native American occupation was destroyed by the French when they built their fort here,” said Cadogan. “However, we’ve discovered, through archaeology, that rather than destroy the midden, the French cut off the top of it and used it as a foundation for their fort.”

FEMA’s work near Bayou St. John is part of an agreement with the State Historic Preservation Office, Indian Tribes and the state to perform archaeological surveys of parks and public land in the city of New Orleans. It falls under FEMA’s Environmental and Historic Preservation program, which evaluates historical and environmental concerns that may arise from projects funded by federal dollars.

FEMA hazard mitigation funding was used for thousands of home elevations and reconstructions throughout Louisiana. Rather than evaluate every property for archaeological remains—a nearly impossible task—FEMA, the State Historic Preservation Office and various consulting parties signed an agreement, which allowed FEMA to conduct alternate studies such as the archaeological surveys.

“The surveys not only offset potential destruction of archaeological resources on private property from the home mitigations but also give us a leg up on any future storms. We are helping the state of Louisiana learn about its history as well as provide information that leads to preparedness for the next event,” said Cadogan.

FEMA, in coordination with the State Historic Preservation Office and Indian Tribes, identified the areas to be surveyed. Once the field studies are completed and all of the artifacts are analyzed and recorded, the State Historic Preservation Office will become stewards of the information.

The Louisiana State-Specific Programmatic Agreement can be found at www.fema.gov/pdf/hazard/hurricane/2005katrina/LA_HMGP%20PA.pdf.

Editors: For more information on Louisiana disaster recovery, visit www.fema.gov/latro.
Follow FEMA online at www.twitter.com/femalro, blog.fema.gov, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema. The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.
FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: artifacts, bayou st john, FEMA, history

Old Soldiers Home

December 29, 2012 by Charlie London

blake-7879The Confederate Soldiers’ Home at 1700 Moss St. was built for veterans of the Civil War and was named Camp Nicholls to honor local Civil War Brig. Gen. Francis T. Nicholls, who later was a two-term governor of Louisiana.

  In March 1866, shortly after the end of the war, the Louisiana Legislature decided to provide for local veterans, and the result was the Confederate Soldiers’ Home for Louisiana. The original home operated in Mandeville until the Reconstruction government stopped funding it. Reconstruction ended in 1877, but it wasn’t until 1882 that a reorganized board of commissioners purchased land on Bayou St. John to build a residence for the soldiers.

  The new home was dedicated with a ceremony on May 16, 1884. Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson’s wife made a flag of Louisiana with “Camp Nicholls” embroidered on it, and this flag was raised to the top of a 70-foot pole.

  As a special surprise, the Washington Artillery loaned a mounted brass howitzer named “Redemption” for the ceremony and hid it behind a grove of trees. When the canon was fired, folks were startled.

  The property where the soldiers’ home was built measured 325-by-350 feet and had several buildings already on the grounds, but more buildings were added for living quarters. The property also had amenities such as live oak and magnolia trees, a stocked pond for fishing and vegetable gardens. Years later, several old cannons taken from Spanish Fort were placed at the home, and in 1908, a submarine torpedo boat constructed during the Civil War resided at the grounds until it was moved again in 1942.

  Camp Nicholls filled an urgent need for housing among indigent and disabled Civil War veterans, and 25 men became its first residents. By 1901, 117 veterans were living there. During its 60 years of operation, it was home to more than 300 Civil War veterans. After World War II the National Guard established a camp that operated there into the 1970s. Before Hurricane Katrina, the property was occupied by the New Orleans Police Department’s 3rd District, special operations division and EMS.

  All the buildings on the property were razed in 2009. It is the future home of Deutsches Haus, which moved to Metairie after the building it had occupied for 82 years was demolished in 2011 as part of the University Medical Center/VA hospital complex. Deutsches Haus President Keith Oldendorf says his group will begin clearing the property in January 2013. He says plans are to begin construction in the fall and open in 2014.

http://www.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/hey-blake-what-can-you-tell-me-about-the-old-soldiers-home-on-bayou-st-john-across-from-city-park/Content?oid=2116431

***
February 15, 2011

CLICK HERE for Stephanie Bruno’s article about Deutsches Haus at 1700 Moss


Curt Sprang talks with Kerry Tully of Swirl Wines about the Deutsches Haus planned relocation to the property at 1700 Moss Street.

Curt Sprang of ABC 26 News did “man on the street” interviews February 15, 2011 in Faubourg St. John about the possibility of Deutsches Haus relocating to the property at 1700 Moss.

1700 Moss is also the site of the old Confederate Soliders Home.

April 9, 2009 video below by Charlie London. The video shows the demolition of the Old Soldiers Home.


Just outside the fencing around the old Police Station at 1700 Moss Street there is embedded in the grass some blue-and-white lettered tiles which say “SOLDIERS’ HOME.”
‘On this site at 1700 Moss St. there was a Confederate soldiers’ home named “Camp Nicholls” in honor of Gov. Francis T. Nicholls, a Civil War hero.

In March 1866, the Louisiana Legislature established a Confederate Soldiers’ Home for Louisiana. The home operated at Mandeville until 1868 when the Reconstruction government halted the appropriation. Then under an 1882 amendment of the 1866 Act, a reorganized Board of Commissioners bought the tract of land on Bayou St. John for the purpose of building a soldiers’ home.

The new home was dedicated with great ceremony on May 16, 1884. Mrs. T.J. (Stonewall) Jackson had herself made a flag of Louisiana, and this flag was raised to the top of a 70-foot flagpole by her daughter, Miss Julia Jackson; the daughters of Gen. Robert E. Lee, Mildred and Mary; Gen. D. H. Hill’s daughter, Nanny; and Mary May, daughter of Col. A.H. May, veteran officer of the Washington Artillery. The large brass howitzer “Redemption” of the Washington Artillery fired a salute of 13 rounds.

The camp was home for many years to Confederate veterans, and on the grounds a visitor could see several old cannons taken from Spanish Fort and a submarine torpedo boat constructed during the Civil War.

Then in 1949, it became the State Headquarters for the 39th Infantry Division of the National Guard; and in April 1951, a new $120,000 armory was constructed, and the site became the home of the 135th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron of the Louisiana Air National Guard.

After a period of vacancy, the building was renovated in 1983, and the Police Department took up residence.’

http://bestofneworleans.com/gyrobase/…

“Camp Nicholls, 1700 Moss Street, is a Confederate soldiers’ home established in 1883 during the Administration of Governor Nicholls. Only a few veterans remain in the institution. On the grounds may be seen several old cannon taken from Spanish Fort and a submarine torpedo boat, said to be the first of its kind, constructed by a Captain Hunley during the Civil War. The boat sank in the bayou on its first trial, and lay submerged many years before being salvaged.”

The New Orleans City Guide, 1938 Federal Writers Project, WPA

Photo by Jim Danner

Filed Under: More Great Posts! Tagged With: 1700 moss, bayou, bayou st john, best, confederate, eclectic, history, moss, neighborhood, New Orleans, old soldiers home, soldiers, street

Tour Faubourg St. John

June 11, 2012 by Charlie London


Capture New Orleans from a different perspective. Kayak on Bayou St. John as we guide you along our historic waterway running through the city. We’ll keep with the pace of the city—nice and easy, taking in the southern scenery, hospitality and weather.

The bayou itself was a key component in establishing our city. The Native Americans showed early explorers (Iberville and his brother, Bienville) the bayou as a way to access, at the time, a potential future city from the Gulf of Mexico without having to fight the Mississippi River’s strong currents. While kayaking, you will see some of the older city structures, like the Spanish Custom House and the Pitot House, both built in the late 1700’s. You might hear and catch a glimpse of the happenings at Fair Grounds Race Course, one of the oldest horse tracks in the United States, as well as the site of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. You will be paddling along side beautiful City Park, which houses centuries-old live oak trees. You’ll see New Orleans Museum of Art as you pass the grand entrance of the park. St. Louis Cemetery #3 will be visible from your kayak. The elaborate above-ground tombs are pretty spectacular.

There is plenty of wildlife to observe. It isn’t uncommon to spot a blue herring perched on an old piling or a pelican diving into the water after a fish. At sunrise or dusk you might notice one or 15 of the notorious nocturnal nutria venturing out for a swim and a snack.

Bayou St. John flows through many thriving neighborhoods. You’ll have the opportunity to observe (and maybe interact with) the other wildlife. Folks do all sorts of things on the banks of the bayou—exercise, play, picnic, tag, etc. You’ll certainly get a feel for New Orleans through the local community.

A variety of foliage surrounds Bayou St. John—cypress trees, oak trees, magnolia trees, crepe myrtles, etc. The locals living along the bayou build colorful festive gardens that can be seen while touring.

This experience will bring balance to many things: You’ll find nature in an urban setting, visit history in the present, have a few active hours among several decadent ones, and feel local while vacationing.

Kayaking tours on historic Bayou St. John

Rent a kayak and paddle yourself into paradise!

Take a walking tour of the area!

Rachel Dangermond submitted the information below:

City Park and Bayou St. John
The intersection of Esplanade Ave. at Bayou St. John and
City Park Ave. is one of the points of higher elevation in the
city. Bayou Metairie flowed into Bayou St. John here. Bienville
is supposed to have found the Indian village of Tchou-Tchouma
in 1718 where the Esplanade Ave. bridge is now located. In the
18th and 19th centuries Bayou St. John provided an important
second water route to the city. The mouth of the bayou at
Lake Pontchartrain was protected by a fort built by the Spanish.

Ocean going vessels were able to travel as far as the present
end of the bayou. From this point goods were carried to and
from the city by portage during the 18th century along Bayou
Road. In 1805, a canal was dug, following an earlier canal by
Spanish governor Carondelet, which brought the ships to a
turning basin just behind what is now the Municipal Auditorium
at Basin St.

Statue of Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard
(May 28, 1818 – February 20, 1893) was a Louisiana-born
American author, civil servant, politician, inventor, and the first
prominent general for the Confederate States Army during the
American Civil War. Beauregard was trained as a civil engineer
at the United States Military Academy and served with
distinction as an engineer in the Mexican-American War.

His arguably greatest achievement was saving the city of
Petersburg, Virginia, and thus also the Confederate capital of
Richmond, from assaults by overwhelmingly superior Union
Army forces in June 1864. However, his influence over
Confederate strategy was marred by his poor professional
relationships with President Jefferson Davis and other senior
generals and officials. In April 1865, Beauregard and his
commander, General Joseph E. Johnston, convinced Davis
and the remaining cabinet members that the war needed to
end. Johnston surrendered most of the remaining armies of
the Confederacy to Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, including
Beauregard and his men.

Following his military career, Beauregard served as a railroad
executive and became one of the few wealthy Confederate
veterans because of his role in promoting the Louisiana
Lottery. Today he is commonly referred to as P.G.T.
Beauregard, but during the war he rarely used his first name
and signed correspondence as G.T. Beauregard. Nicknames
were The Little Creole, The Little Napoleon, Bory, Felix

Place of birth: St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana ontreras”
sugar-cane plantation in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana,
about 20 miles (32 km) outside New Orleans, to a white
Creole family, the third child of Jacques Toutant-Beauregard
and Helene Judith de Reggio Toutant-Beauregard. He had
three brothers and three sisters. Beauregard attended
New Orleans schools and then went to a “French school” in
New York City. It was during his four years in New York,
beginning at age 12 that he first learned to speak English.
He trained at the United States Military Academy at West
Point, New York. One of his instructors was Robert Anderson,
who would later become the commander of Fort Sumter and
surrender to Beauregard at the start of the Civil War.

In 1841, Beauregard married Marie Laure Villeré, the daughter
of Jules Villeré, a sugar planter in Plaquemines Parish and a member
of one of the most prominent Creole families in
southern Louisiana.

Marie was a paternal granddaughter of Jacques Villeré, the
second governor of Louisiana. The couple had three children: René,
Henri, and Laure. Marie died in March 1850, while giving
birth to Laure.

Ten years later, the widower Beauregard married Caroline Deslonde,
the daughter of André Deslonde, a sugar planter
from St. James Parish. Caroline was a sister-in-law of John
Slidell, a U.S. senator from Louisiana and later a Confederate diplomat.
She died in Union-occupied New Orleans in March
1864. They had no children together.

On first meeting, most people were struck by [Beauregard’s] “foreign”
appearance. His skin was smooth and olive-
complexioned. His eyes, half-lidded, were dark, with a trace
of Gallic melancholy about them.

His hair was black (though by 1860 he maintained this hue
with dye). He was strikingly handsome and enjoyed the
attentions of women, but probably not excessively or illicitly.
He sported a dark mustache and goatee, and he rather
resembled Napoleon III, then ruler of France—although he
often saw himself in the mold of the more celebrated
Napoleon Bonaparte.

Place of death: New Orleans, Louisiana and was buried in the Tomb
of the Army of Tennessee, Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans

City Park is a beautiful and well maintained
urban park, the largest in the city and fifth largest municipal
park in the United States and, at this writing, is reported to
be one of the safest. In 1854, the first section of the park
was acquired by the city. This tract of land, fronting on
Bayou St. John and present City Park Ave., was part of the
Allard Plantation. The first improvements to the park were
made in the 1890’s. The park is laced with lagoons (the
lagoons along City Park Ave. are part of old Bayou Metairie,
seven miles of them which contain bass and bream), and
trees typical of the region such as magnolias and live oaks
(the dueling oaks are named for the duels that were supposed
to have taken place from 1804 to 1830).

The amusement park area has a fine old carousel dating from
1904. The Casino, dating from about 1914
is the center for information, rentals, and refreshments
(domed band shell and Beaux Art style pavilion were built in
the 30’s). The park has three 18-hole golf courses. Major restorations
and all of the paving of roadways, construction of bridges, drainage
and other improvements in a large area of the park were done under
WPA in the late 30’s.

copy of the Pitot Housec. 1940
800 Moss Street
A modern Pitot House (see 1440 Moss Street) facsimile. One
of the original Pitot House mantels still survives in the newer residence.

Louis Blanc Housec. 1798
924 Moss Street
Formerly the plantation and home Louis Antonio Blanc. The
second story gallery has slender colonnettes and the
French window, jalousies and steep roof are characteristic of
Louisiana colonial plantation houses; similar to Parlange
and Homeplace Plantations elsewhere in the state.

Spanish Custom Housec. 1784
1300 Moss Street
A small-scale typical Louisiana Plantation hose. Various
reasons have been given for the name of the so-called
“Custom House” although there is no real tradition that it
ever functioned in this manner. Probably built for Don
Santiago Lloreins when the land formed part of his
plantation.

Evariste Blanc House
(Holy Rosary Rectory)
c. 1834
1342 Moss Street
Some Greek Revival alterations have been made in this
Bayou St. John plantation house, although evidence of an
earlier style including slender colonnettes and round arched
doors, is plainly visible.

Cabrini High School1964 – 1965
1400 Moss Street

Morel-Wisner House
c. 1850’s
1347 Moss Street
Mid-19th century, possibly constructed as a residence
for the attorney Christoval Morel in the late 1840’s after
he purchased a large tract of land on the Bayou St. John
in 1847. The house served as New Orleans’ first Fencing
Club in the 1880’s and one time as a rowing club. From
1935 until her death the house served as the home of Dr.
Elizabeth Wisner, an original member of the faculty and later
the dean of the School of Social Work at Tulane University.

Christoval Morel’s father, Pierre L. Morel dueled under the
oaks in City Park while his wife (Victorine de Armas) was
pregnant with Christoval. The Duelling Oaks in City Park
have seen some of the most colorful scenes in New Orleans’ history.
For years sword clanged against sword and bullets streaked between
the ancient trees.

An article in the Times-Democrat, March 13, 1892, said,
“Blood has been shed under the old cathedral aisles of
nature. Between 1834 and 1844 scarcely a day passed
without duels being fought at the Oaks. Why, it would not be strange
if the very violets blossomed red of this soaked grass!
The lover for his mistress, the gentleman for his honor, the courtier for
his King; what loyalty has not cried out in pistol
shot and scratch of steel! Sometimes two or three hundred
people hurried from the city to witness these human baitings.
On the occasion of one duel the spectators could stand no
more, drew their swords, and there was a general melee.”

In early Creole days more duels were fought in New Orleans
than any other American city. Creole honor was a thing of intricate delicacy,
to be offended by a word or glance. The Duelling Oaks were a favorite setting
for these affaires d’honneur, with pistol, saber,
or colichemarde, a long sword with a broad forte and very
slender foible, a favorite duelling weapon since the
seventeenth century.

Creoles were expert swordsmen and often delighted in any
and every opportunity to exhibit their art. Duels were fought
over real and trivial insults, were sometimes deliberately
provoked by young men anxious to display their skill. A quarrel between rival lovers,
a fancied slight, a political argument, a difference of opinion regarding an opera,
any one of these things was ample excuse for a duel under the oaks. In his
History of Louisiana, Alcee Fortier states that on one Sunday
in 1839 ten duels were fought here.

In 1855 the police began to enforce the laws against duelling,
but it continued surreptitiously for many years, despite
frequent arrests and prosecutions. Finally, however, the law
began to have some effect and there seems to have arisen a simultaneous
loss of interest in the affairs. At last the time
came when a man challenged to defend his honor with the
sword or pistol, suffered no stigma by refusing an invitation
to the Oaks. By 1890 duelling was only history.

The house is a frame one and a half story Greek Revival style structure raised
off the ground on six-foot-high piles. The large half story created by the gabled
roof is broken by two fine dormers on the Bayou St. John façade. The roof which
extends outward to form a gallery across the bayou façade
is supported by six square wooden columns resting on the
brick piers below.

The entrance façade is five bays wide with the front door
placed at the center. The façade is covered with ship-lap
siding while ordinary weatherboards cover the solid brick
exterior walls. The rear, which once contained a gallery and
two cabinets, has been converted to a kitchen/den/breakfast area.

The house is very similar to raised houses in the Bayou-
Lafourche area. However, by the 1840’s the traditional
Creole plan with no hall had been replaced with the
increasingly popular center hall plan favored by Americans.
As such, this house is an important example of two
different building styles. Morel house is a New Orleans
landmark. New Orleans Designated Landmarks

Pitot House
c. 1796 – 1799
1440 Moss Street (Formerly 1370 Moss Street)
In 1964 as a result of a trade with Cabrini High School
the Pitot House, threatened with demolition, was moved
about 200 feet and is now located in a corner of the
Desmare Playground. It is another fine Moss Street example
of the Louisiana plantation house on a fairly small scale.
While the upper part of the present structure is totally
original, some of the older brick columns were either re-used
or rebuilt after the move. Restored under the auspices of the
Louisiana Landmarks Society. Open Thursday 11 am – 4 pm.

Musgrove-Wilkinson Housec. 1850’s
1454 Moss Street
A large, extremely simple Greek Revival residence, with wide central
hall and plain interior mouldings.

New Orleans Museum of Art1911
City Park
1971 Additions: Stern Auditorium, Wisner Educational Wing
and City Wing – August Perez & Associates, Architects and
Arthur Feitel, Consulting Architect.

The Degas House
Historic Home,
Courtyard & Inn
 2306 Esplanade Avenue 
New Orleans,
Louisiana 70119 
(504) 821-5009 
www.degashouse.com

Filed Under: HISTORY, More Great Posts! Tagged With: bayou, bayou st john, bike, city park, desoto, esplanade, faubourg, faubourg st john, fortin, grand route, history, New Orleans, orleans, ride, site seeing, st. ann, tourism, tours, Ursulines, walk, walkable, where is faubourg st. john

Relic Hunter Helps Find Diamond

May 22, 2012 by Charlie London

You likely know Richard Angelico as the investigative reporter that shined the beam of justice on nefarious characters for many decades. Well, he’s casting a different beam now. Mr. Angelico uses all kinds of metal and other detectors to find a wide range of artifacts from the Civil War era.

He does research on areas around the country where he believes relics may be hiding and then goes after them. He’s built quite a reputation as the “go to” guy when it concerns relic hunting.

That proved true when just the other day he received a call from a very concerned family about a precious item that had been lost.

The family of a young lady named Ericka, called him yesterday about renting an underwater machine to look for a brand spanking new engagement ring she lost this past weekend while swimming in the Pearl River with her fiance and friends.

Of course his first question was, “Do you know how to use an underwater detector and how to grid search for a lost item?”

So, long story short, Mr. Angelico called ace water detectorist Mal Theriot. He and Mal headed out to the Pearl River this morning with the young lady and her family in two boats. After 2 1/2 hours Mr. Angelico found the ring in shallow water and everyone was happy once again.

Filed Under: HISTORY Tagged With: angelico, bayou st john, diamond, faubourg st john, history, hunter, New Orleans, relic, richard

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