The house at 1407 Broadway. (via City of New Orleans)
The request to tear down a multi-unit home on Broadway Street was withdrawn Thursday following opposition from neighbors, City Council officials said. Continue reading »
Nov 042016
Sep 282016
The boundaries of the proposed Uptown historic district are in blue. (via City of New Orleans)
A new oversight structure for historic homes in much of Uptown and Carrollton easily moved forward to the New Orleans City Council for a final decision on Tuesday, after the City Planning Commission swiftly voted in favor of recommendations that have been pending for most of the year. Continue reading »
Sep 282016
Jean-Paul Villere
Tuesday morning I awoke abruptly just before 4 a.m. from a dream. Convinced I was awake for the day, I decided to send a few emails. While clacking out my correspondence in the dead silence of pre-dawn I heard in the not-too-far distance successive gunshots. I thought it was about eight rounds. Maybe it was seven. But does it even matter how many there were? I called 911. They took my location, name, etc. Then I went for a run. And this is normal in New Orleans. At least for now. Continue reading »
Sep 122016
2321 State Street (via City of New Orleans)
A home on State Street in the university area will be spared demolition instead of being replaced by two other houses after review by the City Council last week. Continue reading »
Aug 242016
The corner lot at the beginning of the summer. (photo by Jean-Paul Villere)
Jean-Paul Villere
As summer’s sizzle dissipates over the coming weeks, the back-to-school throngs may muse on their most recent season away from academia, and some may even have it as their premiere assignment upon recommencement. While I don’t really recall in my younger years a time when this was asked of my fertile student mind, my 42-year-old memory ain’t what she used to be. So color me pseudo-nostalgically amused when my oldest had this very task put to her and she wrote about our family train trip to Chicago. Which I totally dug too. Except, and in honest reflection, my real takeaway for summer 2016? Pecking away, hours over days and largely singlehandedly, at an overwhelmingly under-maintained vacant corner lot in my neighborhood. Continue reading »
Aug 222016
By Sandra Stokes, president of the Louisiana Landmarks Society
It has become all too familiar in historic neighborhoods – perfectly proportioned historic homes demolished for totally out-of-scale McMansions; harmonious streetscapes marred by inappropriate new construction; or additions that look like cancerous growths on what was a perfectly fine home.
Louisiana Landmarks Society recognizes the advantages of local historic districts in maintaining scale and character in neighborhoods, while providing stability and predictability. At the same time, we also understand the concerns of residents that being subject to the jurisdiction of the Historic Landmarks District Commission (HDLC) might infringe upon their personal property rights. Continue reading »
Aug 162016
The house at 704 Nashville Avenue. (via City of New Orleans)
Demolition requests for large homes on Nashville Avenue, Broadway Street and Peniston Street were all denied or deferred on Monday by city officials. Continue reading »
Jul 252016
The church at 2517 Jackson Avenue. (via Google Maps)
The 143-year-old former church at 2517 Jackson Avenue is slated to become a private home with a swimming pool and gardens, following the approval of permission to demolish an old home next door. Continue reading »
Jun 242016
At left, 2112 Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard and the three identical shotgun homes next to it. (2014 image via Google)
The owners of a historic shotgun home on Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard have withdrawn their controversial request to tear down the structure, the New Orleans City Council said on Thursday. Continue reading »
Former clinic on Louisiana Avenue to be demolished and rebuilt; VFW to replace meeting hall on Lyons
Jun 212016
A rendering of a proposed new clinic at Louisiana and Freret streets. (via City of New Orleans)
A large former medical center at 2500 Louisiana Avenue is slated to be torn down and rebuilt with a new clinic, city officials said, and, in a separate request, the Veterans of Foreign Wars are planning to tear down and rebuild their meeting hall on Lyons Street. Continue reading »
May 242016
Fire damage can still be seen at the building at 4712 Magazine, now slated for demolition. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
A large Magazine Street building heavily damaged in a fire earlier this year has been approved for demolition, but neighbors and City Council members say they intend to remain involved in the rebuilding plans against any large, “big box” style developments in its place.
Meanwhile, a separate request to tear down part of a historic home just off the Freret corridor for a driveway split the City Council and failed amid concerns that the character of the streetscape might be altered for the purposes of an investment property. Continue reading »
May 172016
At left, 2112 Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard and the three identical shotgun homes next to it. (2014 image via Google)
A city panel rejected a request Monday to demolish a historic shotgun home on Oretha Castle Boulevard hailed as a crucial element of the streetscape of the rapidly redeveloping corridor. Continue reading »
Mar 162016
Construction equipment chews through the old structure on the Amelia Street side on April 20, 2015. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
The church pastor who owned an apartment building that dramatically collapsed on Amelia Street is seeking federal money to rebuild more affordable housing on the site, City Councilwoman LaToya Cantrell told neighbors on Tuesday evening. Continue reading »
Feb 292016
8405 Jeanette Street (via Google Maps)
The committee overseeing demolition requests across most of Uptown New Orleans balked at a mortgage company’s recent request to tear down a single-story Carrollton home amid protests from the Preservation Resource Center and confusion over what the bank intends to do with the property. Continue reading »
Feb 182016
Dark green and dark blue lines show proposed boundaries. (via City of New Orleans; click for enlarged PDF)
Most of Uptown New Orleans between South Claiborne Avenue or Earhart Boulevard and the river should receive historic-district protection against demolitions — with much stricter standards on St. Charles and Carrollton avenues, according to a unanimous recommendation Wednesday night by a committee of residents appointed by Mayor Mitch Landrieu. Continue reading »
