The Dew Drop Inn Hotel & Lounge, after a 54-year pause, is hosting live music once again. The legendary Central City nightclub reopened Friday (March 1) with performances that paid homage to its storied history. The Dew Drop on the LaSalle Street was the city’s leading Black music venue during rock ‘n’ roll’s formative years. […]
blight and demolition
Viewpoint: It’s time to tear down Plaza Tower
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Like many downtown residents, whenever I open my front door I catch a glimpse of the decaying Plaza Tower, once the grande dame of Loyola Avenue. I see the blown-out windows, black netting and colorful graffiti that makes the building an ongoing eyesore. I’ve been in New Orleans long enough to remember when the Plaza Tower was the home or workspace to creatives types like urban planner and artist Bob Tannen and his wife Jeanne Nathan, who appreciated the building’s unique aesthetics. Current owner Joe Jaeger is trying to unload the asbestos-laden structure and the avoid hefty unpaid fines that have caught the attention of Inspector General Ed Michel.
A 45-story 531-foot skyscraper, the Plaza Tower was the third tallest building in New Orleans when it debuted in 1968 but lost that distinction when the taller One Shell Square opened four years later. The Plaza Tower was designed in the modern style as an office building with a few residential spaces on the upper floors. By 2001, the building was suffering from leaks and deferred maintenance, which created a welcoming environment for toxic mold.