Monday, December 13, 2010

Interesting

I didn't notice this letter from the Mayor until now.

This is the interesting part:

"I'm committed to making sure that historic properties in the hospital footprints are moved and protected as best as possible."

While the "as best as possible" language leaves some wiggle room, note that it doesn't simply say VA Hospital Footprint, but rather "hospital footprints" instead.  To date, not a single house has been moved off the LSU Footprint.  And multiple historic homes have been demolished in that site.

Please contact the Mayor - (504) 658-4900 - and tell him to halt demolitions in the LSU Footprint until a concrete house moving plan is finalized.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The neighborhood on the LSU side was first established in the ante-bellum period. In the 1850s, houses were being erected in the area bounded by Tulane (then Common), Canal, Claiborne and Galvez. By the late 1870s, most lots in the neighborhood had been improved and contained houses or outbuildings.

Brad V said...

Thanks for the note. It is definitely important to recognize that much of the housing stock that remains in the LSU Footprint is indeed older than what was in the VA Footprint.

I believe the records showing antebellum development also contradict, to some extent, the date of drainage of the area as represented in some of the planning documents for the hospitals.