The Prairie

The VA Footprint, S. Rocheblave Street still under construction in the foreground, as seen from just outside the perimeter looking toward the river.  The Blood Center and the former Grand Palace Hotel, along with Charity Hospital, are all still visible off in the distance.  The LSU or UMC Footprint starts where the trees visible along S. Galvez.

The live oaks off on the right are the ones that remain of the many that lined what was once Banks Street.

In the words of one Anthony Turducken: "lower mid-city = urban prairie"

Oaken Mishap

Some incident involving a live oak tree, various utility wires, and a large truck unfolded yesterday evening just outside the VA Footprint at S. Rocheblave and Banks, in front of the S.W. Green Mansion.

Neighbors reported a loss of various services, including cable television.

Mid-Century Modern

This small building on the remaining stub of Banks Street - seemingly part of the Children's Clinic (the portion to the right had already been demolished) - went down this week in the UMC Footprint.

Banks and S. Rocheblave

Here's how the intersection looked today.  A small guard shed or something along those lines has been set up inside the fencing around Dixie Brewery.  The brown brick warehouse-type structure visible here will not be retained by the VA.  The only portion VA hopes to retain and reuse is the tall, red brick portion, the greater "tower" part of the building.

Update on the VA Hospital Footprint

A few notes to catch you up:

+ Late last week, the final three houses were moved off the VA Hospital Footprint.  The site has been entirely cleared except for those structures that will remain as part of the medical center complex (unless the Dixie Brewery tower is found to be not structurally sound, I suppose).

+ The Dixie Brewery has been fenced for some time now.  From what I know, the building was actually expropriated by the LSU Board of Supervisors over a week ago on Friday, February 25.  I'm still trying to confirm that fact.  But it appears to coincide with the fencing, and it would mean that the VA can now begin to assess the structure for stability - which will ultimately determine the fate of the iconic building.  I'm not certain of the legal status of the property in part because the owners apparently filed a legal motion pre-emptively before the state expropriated.

+ The S.W. Green Mansion has been shifted into its final position, twisting a bit from the diagonal position it had when if first moved across S. Rocheblave.  It fits!  And it looks rather nice standing amidst the live oaks.

+ Parts of Banks Street have been torn up above S. Rocheblave Street.  How much more will go?  I hope this only part of temporary work on the intersection. 

As with so many aspects of the LSU/VA hospitals project, nobody from the developing parties has reached out to explain what's going on.  I cannot think of a single time in the past two years that the developing parties have reached out proactively to this blog to provide factual information and defuse potential criticism.  It's been a major failing of the project - an inability or unwillingness to engage with online media.

+ Additionally, the 2500 and 2600 blocks of Cleveland Avenue appear to be completed, at long last - at least four months after construction started.

+ The lakeside lane of S. Galvez Street is finally open in full again after being closed since about last summer.  The lane was closed at Canal for the past several months despite the lack of any real impediments to traffic.

Creep - more damage to Banks Street?

With many city residents already upset at the loss of Banks Street in the VA Footprint, I was surprised to see the destruction of the street creeping above and outside of the VA Footprint on Wednesday evening.

As the shot above shows, equipment was pounding holes in and essentially rendering the street unusable, as well as a part of the neutral ground above what used to be S. Rocheblave.  It was not possible to turn around at that intersection as of the other evening.

Chopped

"The replacement VAMC would maintain, and enhance, much of the green space around the Pan- Am Building and the live oaks along Canal, South Rocheblave and Banks Streets."

An Excellent Letter to the Editor

Someone wrote to the Times-Picayune in opposition to the unnecessary closure of Banks Street to make way for the proposed VA Hospital.

If there's one symptom of the bad planning involved in the LSU/VA Footprint that seems to grab the attention of a broader audience, I would say it's the closure of Banks below S. Rocheblave.  I can't tell you how many vehicles I've seen proceed down Banks in recent weeks as if it was still intact, only to find the roadway literally gone. 

Live oaks being torn down along what used to be Banks Street

A few giant old live oaks lay chopped up and in piles late this afternoon when I visited the site.

The End of Banks Street

The reverberations of equipment breaking pavement echoed across the vacant VA Hospital Footprint this afternoon. 

Banks Street, that great oak-lined avenue, was being broken at various points below S. Rocheblave.  The photo above shows the heavy equipment at work near the Dixie Brewery.

Down at S. Galvez, the street was simply gone.

It was difficult to fathom.

Thank you, Ed Blakely

Thank you, too, C. Ray Nagin.  Thank you for causing the destruction of a large swath of the architectural and cultural heritage of New Orleans.

Above, all that remains of 2411-13 Banks Street, a classic New Orleans raised basement house, is a shattered piece of the elaborate stucco flying wings that flanked its central staircase.

The house was one of the last remaining structures on its block as of last week.

Dr. Blakely, in August of 2008:

"We think it's important for you to understand that the City of New Orleans is pledging its resources to purchase only one site, the site that we propose originally, that is the site that we think makes the most difference for the people now and in the future."

Oh, it's making a difference alright.  As in, it's displacing over 600 people using widespread government takings and obliterating a neighborhood in a national historic district.

It makes a person bitter.

Hmmm

Where did the ornate metal fenceposts go?

Salvage? Anyone?

All sorts of reusable items were thrown into the rubbish heap as crews prepped the house at 321 S. Galvez for moving - the column, above, most noticeably.  Not only would it make common sense to salvage these items, it's also required under the Programmatic Agreement that governs the site preparation.

I've contacted the appropriate parties in an effort to ensure that future demolitions and house move preps include the necessary salvage measures.

This house, too, had many quoins - wooden corner squares typical in New Orleans architecture.  I didn't see any of them salvaged.  But I did see a number of them ground into the dirt today as crews demolished what was left of this house at 2425-27 Banks Street:

The Fall

While it's listed as a contributing property, the one house in the VA Footprint that I was not too concerned about seeing demolished...went down yesterday.  It was in deplorable, unsalvageable condition, which was apparent to anyone, and it was riddled with termite and other damage, from what I was told.

A Hop, Skip, and a Jump

The sea green shotgun from 314 S. Tonti, the second of the two homes moved with roofs and owners intact, now rests on temporary piers just a block away from the VA Footprint on Banks Street.

Slow Motion Move Out

Still Here

On Banks Street, these two residents of the VA Footprint said they weren't dressed up for the camera, but they wanted their picture taken as a reminder that people are still living in the site.

Little Ms. Bettye, Wielding Crowbar...

...had an encounter this morning in front of the home on Banks Street she believes is her own.

"This whole thing is screwed up," she said to a neighbor shortly before this scene developed.  She said they had boarded up her property, and she was going to take the boards down.

I told her that her home may have already been expropriated, even if she did not get notice - which happened with an owner on Palmyra, as I reported yesterday.

The Green "VA" spraypaint indicating an ownership change is already on the sidewalk out in front of the house.

A Modernist Morsel

Until now, I've never mentioned or photographed this building on Banks just below Galvez in the LSU Footprint.  It's the former office of an obstetrician and gynecologist.  And it looks like someone really should call the local chapter of DOCOMOMO and get them involved.

I'm not the world's biggest fan of modernist architecture.  But if this fight has taught me nothing else, it's taught me that the destruction of large swaths of neighborhood has all sorts of collateral damage - and that sometimes even if something doesn't matter to you, it might be the highest form in another person's mind.

Press Conference Under the Oaks

This morning's press conference went well - a number of tv cameras and reporters showed up on Banks Street under the live oaks as demolition continued.  The shots shown here depict things before the actual press conference got underway.

People from Louisiana Landmarks and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, as well as footprint residents and business owners and concerned citizens at large, showed up for the event.  Interestingly, even random passersby stopped by to see what was going on.