The house at 506 Nashville photographed in June 2015, and the vacant lot in April 2016. (via Google maps)
The New Orleans City Council enforced a $42,195 fine this month for the destruction of a Nashville Avenue home that the owner blamed on bad weather, but that city officials attributed to the condition he had left the home in. Continue reading »
A photo of the Newman building to be torn down, and a rendering of the new science building to replace it. (via City of New Orleans)
The Isidore Newman School received permission from city officials to tear down and replace one of the buildings on its campus, and an Audubon Boulevard homeowner will be able to tear down a Cohn Street home to extend his backyard. Continue reading »
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The request to tear down a multi-unit home on Broadway Street was withdrawn Thursday following opposition from neighbors, City Council officials said.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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
