Neighbor Helps Bring Back Joy

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USA TODAY article sent in by Dean Burridge
Faubourg St. John neighbor Kenneth Gowland, like most architects, isn’t used to conducting building surveys in a boat. But when it came time to revive the historic Joy Theater in downtown New Orleans, there was just no other way.

Gowland recalls the scene when he first entered the theater last July to survey the building for restoration.
“At no point did anyone pump it out,” said Gowland, owner of MetroStudio in New Orleans. “(The Joy Theater) was filled with nasty, stagnate water.”

• STORY: Old movie theaters find new life
In 2005, the theater had been closed almost two years when Hurricane Katrina blew off much of its roof. The exposed, below-grade building collected large amounts of water as the storm devastated the city.

Gowland said the decision by four private developers to restore the theater reflects a growing realization that there are great business opportunities in the city’s historical core.

“The Joy is not the biggest or the oldest building on Canal Street, but it comes to everyone’s mind,” Gowland said. “This is where everyone in New Orleans saw Jaws.”

Six years after Katrina, the water was eventually pumped out as the entire building went through what Gowland called an “environmental remediation phase.”

“I think people are understanding that the value of a city is in its infrastructure,” he said.

Located on the main commercial thoroughfare in downtown New Orleans, Gowland said the Joy is the first theater in the area to breathe new life, with others beginning to follow.

“Renovation of the Saenger Theatre across the street is just now kicking off in earnest,” he said. “I think the Joy is a major catalyst.”

Although Gowland said he believes the theater’s revival is a sign of an improving downtown economy, he didn’t downplay its importance to the New Orleans community for nostalgic reasons.

According to Gowland, converting the former single-screen theater into a multiple-use facility was difficult because the original theater possessed little of the required technological and building infrastructure.

“It was like turning an apple into an orange,” he said. “There was no stage and we had to build a whole new balcony.”

A separate challenge was to ensure the building maintained its original historic facade, which was required to receive a historic tax credit to subsidize the $5 million renovation. This included replicating the marquee, the Joy Theater’s most distinguishing feature.

Gowland said he is pleased with the results.

“We ended up with a really unique multipurpose arts facility,” he said.

The theater reopened Dec. 29 with local Grammy winner Irma Thomas performing a set of her R&B and soul classics for the sold-out crowd.

Theater spokeswoman Sandie McNamara said the plan is to welcome more national acts in the coming months and provide space for film festivals, movie premieres and comedy shows.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-02-01/theater-revival-new-orleans/53123520/1

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-02-16/movie-theater-revival/53122180/1

Day Tripping

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article and photos by Charlie London

Those over 50 likely remember the Beatles’ song Day Tripper.
If you don’t, click on the video below.

My day trip started with my wife giving me a ride to City Hall so I could participate in the public commentary on the location of the Skate Park that drink manufacturer Red Bull is donating to New Orleans.

Mr. Vincent Smith, Capital Projects Administrator for the City of New Orleans basically repeated the information you can find in my previous blog post in the link below:
https://fsjna.org/2011/12/skate-park-meeting-at-city-hall-wednesday/

There were large poster boards explaining the selection criteria which you can see in the link below:
https://fsjna.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Skate-Park-Site-Selection-Criteria.pdf

I asked if the Skate Park would have a fence built around it. Mr. Smith replied that it would not and added that the preference for the Skate Park is for an area that already is “secure”. Meaning that parks that already have gates and regular opening and closing times would have preference.

That would almost certainly disqualify the Lafitte Corridor as it is open 24 hours each day. So, if you are interested in a Skate Park in Mid-City you should likely get busy asking for it.

I asked about better public input. I work at night so I have the luxury of attended a few daytime meetings. Most people don’t. With meetings that begin at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. that leaves most folks out of the planning process for the Skate Park. Mr. Smith indicated that people should be able to comment by phone and on the internet soon.

There were about 10 people who attended the meeting. Michael Homan, his son Gil and myself were there on behalf of the Lafitte Corridor. Councilmember Jon Johnson and several others were there to promote the Skate Park going in at Joe Brown Park in New Orleans East and a couple of people were there to try to get the Skate Park in Martin Behrman Memorial Park in Algiers.

Regardless of whether you are for or against a Skate Park make your opinion known to Councilmember Guidry at sgguidry@nola.gov *** Follow Gil Homan’s lead and make your voice heard.

My day trip continued with a walk from City Hall down Loyola where I encountered this new and innovative bus stop at Tulane and Loyola. It’s been there about one week.

I continued my day trip to Canal Street where I waited for the streetcar to take me all the way to Esplanade Avenue by the museum. The newly restored Joy Theatre was across from the streetcar stop and the first performance will be by Irma Thomas tonight.

If you have the time, I highly recommend riding the streetcar downtown from or to the museum. And, don’t forget you can get on the Esplanade Bus at Fortier Park which will take you right to the French Quarter. Both the busses and streetcars are very clean.

It’s only $1.25 each way and sure beats paying much more to park your car, that is… if you have the time. The streetcar and bus schedules are getting better but aren’t quite up to running exactly on time.

(courtesy youtube user kouran92)