docomomo_nola

Arthur Q. Davis, FAIA (1920-2011)

2011-12-20T11:22:00.002-06:00

Arthur Q. Davis, FAIA, originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

I feel so very fortunate to have had the opportunity to get to know architect Arthur Q. Davis through my work at the Tulane University School of Architecture, especially in my efforts since the storm to document the modern architecture of New Orleans. In 2008 Mr. Davis graciously met with my Regional Modernism class and made a great impression on the students. He was a colorful storyteller and shared anecdotes from when he studied under Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer and worked for Eero Saarinen, thus establishing within the room a tangible link to some of the great masters of modernism. We are now beginning to understand that Mr. Davis and his partner Nathaniel C. Curtis, Jr (1917-1997) were masters of regional modernism, committed to designing contemporary architecture relevant to our regional climate and urban fabric.

We tend to think of New Orleans architecture only in the vernacular. We tend to privilege traditional architecture over contemporary. We tend to overlook the modern architecture in our midst. But in the 1950s New Orleans was a hotbed for modern architecture and the partnership of Curtis and Davis were pioneers of the new. However the recent losses are staggering. Since the storm we have lost six significant buildings designed by Curtis and Davis - the St. Frances Cabrini Church, four schools (McDonogh 39, Thomy Lafon, Carver and Cabrini) and the Dr. Lyman K. Richardson Residence. In the past few years Mr. Davis frequently lamented that an architect should not outlive his buildings. We are blessed that the magnum opus of the firm, the recently renamed and brilliantly illuminated Mercedes-Benz Superdome, the most recognized building in the state of Louisiana, stands as a testament to the ingenuity and ambition of Mr. Curtis and Mr. Davis.

Francine Stock
president
DOCOMOMO US/Louisiana

Arthur Q. Davis (1920-2011)

2011-12-01T08:48:00.007-06:00

New Orleans architect Arthur Q. Davis passed away on Wednesday, 30 November 2011 at Ochsner Baptist Medical Center. A graduate of Tulane University's School of Architecture and a World War II veteran, Davis studied with Walter Gropius and apprenticed in Eero Saarinen's Michigan office.

In 1947, Davis received an offer from another Tulane alumnus -- Nathaniel C. Curtis, Jr. (1917-1997) -- to establish a joint practice in New Orleans. The Curtis and Davis partnership lasted nearly thirty years, and its Modernist buildings were once pervasive throughout the Crescent City. Structures such as Thomy Lafon Elementary School (razed 2011), the Rivergate Convention Center (razed 1995) and the Superdome garnered international attention. Journals such as Progressive Architecture, Architectural Forum and Architecture d’aujourd’hui highlighted the firm’s notable buildings, a long list that came to include projects in Germany, Vietnam, and Saudi Arabia.

In 1978, the firm was acquired by the West Coast engineering and architecture office of Daniel, Mann, Johnson, and Mendenhall (DMJM). Davis worked with DMJM for twenty years, and then established his own firm, Arthur Q. Davis FAIA and Associates, in 1998.

In 2009, Mr. Davis published a memoir, titled It Happened by Design: The Life and Work of Arthur Q. Davis, which summarizes his career and his reflections on the profession. He was working on a history of the Berlin Medical Center at the time of his death.

Image above: Frank Lotz Miller, photographer. Arthur Q. Davis, Architect. Curtis & Davis Office Records, © Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

Shaw, Metz & Associates, 1963

2011-10-03T15:14:00.003-05:00

Shaw, Metz & Associates (Chicago, IL)

225 Baronne Street, New Orleans, LA

Made use of NATCO Corporation's structural clay called Face Brick:

"Natco Face Brick is available in all standard, norman, roman, jumbo and norwegian sizes . . . modular and conventional dimensions. . . plain and textured finishes. . . "

Image/quoted matter above is from "new ideas in ageless structural clay--brick by Natco" Progressive Architecture (September 1963): p. 115.

Modernism Along the Avenue: A Bicycle Tour

2011-09-15T16:32:00.000-05:00

DOCOMOMO NOLA is proud to partner with AIA New Orleans to present Modernist Architecture Along and Around St Charles Avenue: A Bicycle Tour.

date: Saturday October 1, 2011

starts: 2pm, AIA New Orleans, 1000 St. Charles Avenue

ends: 5pm, House of Tomorrow - Wisznia Residence, near Audubon Park

This unique architecture tour of notable and noteworthy Modern architecture buildings along Saint Charles Avenue will begin at 2pm at AIA New Orleans Center for Design, on Lee Circle, and culminate with a reception at the residence of architect Marcel Wisznia - a House of Tomorrow (1936, Moise Goldstein, architect, Nathaniel Cortlandt Curtis, designer).

Visitors and locals alike appreciate the Gilded Age architecture along the St. Charles Avenue streetcar line. This bicycle tour narrated by Tulane School of Architecture professor John Klingman will introduce the very fine St. Charles modernist buildings that the guidebooks omit and many locals ignore. Featured architects include Charles Colbert; Curtis & Davis; Favrot & Reed; Moise Goldstein & Associates; August Perez; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Leonard Spangenberg; and Weiss, Dreyfous & Seiferth. Some of the tour's highlights are included on the DOCOMOMO NOLA iphone app.

Note - this is a 'one-way' tour, beginning at Lee Circle and ending in Uptown, by Audubon Park.

Registration: This tour is limited to 50 people. Continuing Education Credits Apply.

$35 General Public

$25 AIA New Orleans/Docomomo NOLA members

$15 Students

RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED. Click here to register

This tour is dedicated to the memory of architect and historian Samuel Wilson, Jr. in honor of the centennial of his birth. We are especially grateful for Wilson’s seminal survey of 20th-century architecture in A Guide to Architecture of New Orleans 1699-1959.

[Unity Temple, Leonard Spangenberg architect, 1960-61; photo: Stephanie Day, Tulane School of Architecture New Orleans Virtual Archive]

Schadler Building (threatened)

2011-08-15T12:22:00.005-05:00

Schadler Building (threatened), originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

Th Schadler Building on Tulane Avenue's "Miracle Mile" is threatened with demolition due to its location within the LSU hospital footprint.

Alfons Schadler acquired the site from the Hartwell Estate to construct a new headquarters for his Southern Radio Supply Company (est.1932).

The two story air conditioned building included a "high fidellity sound room," a 2000 SF showroom and 4000 SF of office space. It was designed by architect John M. Lachin, Jr. and constructed in 1956 by Otis W. Sharp and Sons, contractors.

[The Times-Picayune; Date: 03-27-1955]

DOCOMOMO US July 2011 E-News Brief

2011-07-25T13:02:00.000-05:00

JULY 2011

DOCOMOMO US is the working party of Docomomo in the United States. It is a 501(c)3 registered non-profit organization, a union of regional chapters that shares its members' knowledge of and enthusiasm for the Modern Movement, promotes public interest in it through lectures and walking tours, and organizes advocacy efforts to protect endangered sites and buildings.

Join the national community of architects, historians, preservationists, students and modern movement enthusiasts dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of modern architecture and landscapes in the United States. Membership is available online at www.docomomo-us.org or by downloading our membership form.

Go Modern! at www.docomomo-us.org, and follow DOCOMOMO US on Facebook and Twitter

IN THIS EDITION:

- National Tour Day at the Philip Johnson Glass House
- Update: Pittsburgh City Council Votes to Demolish Civic Arena
- Houston's Glenbrook Valley Designated Historic District
- Advocacy Spotlight: Los Angeles Conservancy Modern Committee
- Book Announcement: Tomorrow's Houses
- Save the Date: Tour Day 2011, Second Wave of Modernism II, and more
- Photo Contest

NATIONAL TOUR DAY GOES TO THE PHILIP JOHNSON GLASS HOUSE

Docomomo US is thrilled to announce the Philip Johnson Glass House as a partner for the fifth annual Docomomo US Tour Day. Located in lush New Canaan, Connecticut, the Glass House is a National Trust Historic Site and offers its 47-acre campus as a catalyst for the preservation and interpretation of modern architecture, landscape, and art, as well as a canvas for inspiration and experimentation honoring the legacy of Philip Johnson (1906-2005) and David Whitney (1939-2005).

The Glass House will be extending a special discount on tours during Tour Day Weekend, as well as hosting a special Docomomo US member reception.
Photo: Eirik Johnson
READ MORE >

UPDATE: PITTSBURGH CITY COUNCIL VOTES TO DEMOLISH CIVIC ARENA

Eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, the Civic Arena (Mellon Arena) was rejected by the Pittsburgh Historic Review Commission and Planning Commission. On June 28th, the Pittsburgh City Council voted 6-3 to reject city historic designation, allowing the Sports and Exhibition Authority to move forward with plans to demolish the structure.

Photo: Preservation Pittsburgh

READ MORE >

HOUSTON'S GLENBROOK VALLEY DESIGNATED HISTORIC DISTRICT

Glenbrook Valley, the subject of last year's "Mad About Mod" tour given by friend organization Houston Mod during Tour Day 2010, has been designated a local historic district. The residential neighborhood is made up of 1,255 tracts of post-WW II housing, the largest post-war locally designated historic district in the country, and the first of its kind in Texas.

READ MORE >

ADVOCACY SPOTLIGHT: LOS ANGELES CONSERVANCY'S MODERN COMMITTEE

Docomomo US seeks to elevate awareness of the buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the Modern Movement by profiling like-minded organizations across the country. This month we spotlight the Los Angeles Conservancy's Modern Committee, headed by Regina O'Brien, Chair. Active for over 25 years, the Modern Committee has been instrumental in the preservation of modern architecture in the Los Angeles area including the Capitol Records Building, Century Plaza Hotel and the Golden State Mutual Building, among others.

Photo: Millard Sheets mosaic, by Flickr user panjan2drum
READ MORE >

BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: TOMORROW'S HOUSES

Tomorrow's Houses: New England Modernism
Alexander Gorlin (text) and Geoffrey Gross (photography). Published by Rizzoli, New York 2011.
While the cover of the book sports the ubiquitous photo of Philip Johnson’s Glass House in New Canaan, the inside of the book covers a wide range of mostly modernist houses in New England. An introduction by Alexander Gorlin provides the historic context for residential architecture in New England, and photographer Geoffrey Gross provides stunning color photographs.
READ MORE >

SAVE THE DATE!

DOCOMOMO US TOUR DAY 2011
5th Annual National Event!
October 8-10
Various locations
READ MORE >

Glass House: Conversations In Context
through November 17, 2011
New Canaan, CT
READ MORE >

John Lautner Turns 100
July 16 - November 13, 2011
Los Angeles, CA and Marquette, MI
READ MORE >

Campus Heritage Symposium
November 3 - 4, 2011
Washington, DC
READ MORE >

Second Wave of Modernism II
November 18, 2011
New York, NY
READ MORE >

CONTEST: MEMBER TRIVIA

Our June trivia contest left readers stumped!

No one was able to identify corrugated steel of the Walter and Ruby Behlen House in Columbus, Nebraska, designed in 1958 by architect Jack Savage of the Leo Daly Architectural Firm.

Better luck this month!

JULY PHOTO

Name this building and architect for a chance to win a prize from the DOCOMOMO archives.

Email your responses to info@docomomo-us.org by July 31st.

TALK TO US!

The ongoing strength of DOCOMOMO US lies in the action and communication of our members. Please keep us apprised of your local work, advocacy and other current issues by e-mailing us at info@docomomo-us.org.

AIA Building tour :: Mahalia Jackson Center

2011-07-12T09:49:00.001-05:00

Mahalia Jackson Elementary (under renovation), originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

The McDonogh 36 Elementary School / renamed Mahalia Jackson Elementary (Charles Cobert and Sol Rosenthal, 1954) is the sole survivor of the the thirty modern public schools built in New Orleans in the 1950s.

The school was renovated by architect John C. Williams for a non-profit foundation and re-opened in 2010 as the Mahalia Jackson Early Childhood Family Learning Center. During renovation, the facility was stripped bare to the concrete and steel structure, shedding years of unsympathetic alterations and redundant mechanical systems. The form is a fusion of a ‘finger plan’ school with a double galleried plantation house. Mature live oaks inhabit the courtyards between the wings.

The renovation includes walls of operable windows and maintains the open air circulation gallery. The new program is brilliant and the renovation reminds us how modern school facilities could be retrofitted to serve the community in new ways if only given the chance.

AIA New Orleans is hosting a FREE tour of the Mahalia Jackson Center on Thursday, July 21. Please visit the AIA website to register.

Wheatley Elementary School was a perfectly fine building: Letter to the editor

2011-07-07T08:46:00.001-05:00

Architect Raymond Boudreaux worked with Charles Colbert in the Office of Planning and Construction for Orleans Parish Schools and later in the firm Colbert Lowrey Hess and Boudreaux.
His letter to the editor dated June 24, 2011 was published on July 7, 2011 in the Times-Picayune.

DOCOMOMO-US News Brief

2011-06-19T10:02:00.003-05:00

JUNE 2011

Join the national community of architects, historians, preservationists, students and modern movement enthusiasts dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of modern architecture and landscapes in the United States. Membership is available online atwww.docomomo-us.org or by downloading our membership form.

Go Modern! at www.docomomo-us.org, and follow DOCOMOMO US on Facebook and Twitter

IN THIS EDITION:

- New Orleans: Phillis Wheatley Elementary School Demolished
- Prentice Hospital Update
- National Tour Day 2011
- The Cottages of Horace Gifford
- DOCOMOMO US Annual Board Meeting: John Lautner Tours
- Chapter Update: NOLA Announces iPhone App
- Film Announcement: The Pruitt-Igoe Myth
- Book Announcement: Luigi Moretti
- Docomomo International Journal 43
- Save the Date: Tour Day 2011, John Lautner Turns 100, and more
- Photo Contest

LOST: PHILLIS WHEATLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DEMOLISHED

DOCOMOMO US/Louisiana reports that less than 24 hours after receiving notice from RSD Superintendent John White, demolition of the historic Phillis Wheatley Elementary School(Charles Colbert, 1954) in the Treme-Lafitte neighborhood of New Orleans began late Friday afternoon, June 17.

Photo: Times-Picayune/NOLA.com

PRENTICE HOSPITAL UPDATE

DOCOMOMO US/Chicago-Midwest details the recent events organized to raise public awareness about the importance of Bertrand Goldberg's threatened iconic cloverleaf-shaped building, including last week's "SAVE PRENTICE" rally outside the building in Chicago.

READ MORE >

NATIONAL TOUR DAY 2011: OCTOBER 8 - 10

DOCOMOMO US is excited to announce the fifth annual National Tour Day! Join us Columbus Day weekend, October 8-10, for a variety of exciting tours and exclusive access to sites of the Modern Movement. Events are scheduled all weekend long with tours hosted by DOCOMOMO US regional Chapters, Affiliates and Friend Organizations. Also announced: a special partnership with theSociety of Architectural Historians and the Philip Johnson Glass House, a National Trust Historic Site.

READ MORE >

THE COTTAGES OF HORACE GIFFORD

Horace Gifford designed more than a hundred modern homes, primarily on Fire Island, just off of the Long Island Sound. Late last month DOCOMOMO US/New York/Tri-State hosted an evening with New York-based architect Christopher Rawlins on his upcoming publication entitled Sketches in the Sand: The Beach Houses of Horace Gifford.

DOCOMOMO US ANNUAL BOARD MEETING: JOHN LAUTNER FOUNDATION TOUR

For two days in early April 2011 the DOCOMOMO US Board convened in Los Angeles to both investigate and promote the organization’s national growth. To conclude the weekend the group visited three John Lautner-designed homes, led by Lautner archivist and author Frank Escher.

Photo: DOCOMOMO US is welcomed at the Walstrom House

DOCOMOMO US/LOUISIANA ANNOUNCES IPHONE APP

DOCOMOMO US/Louisiana announces the release of their new mobile application New Orleans Regional Modernism. A project of the chapter and Tulane University, the free location-based app allows users to browse modern buildings in New Orleans by architect, neighborhood, category and status.

FILM ANNOUNCEMENT: THE PRUITT-IGOE MYTH

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth: An Urban History
Documentary, 83min.
Directed by Chad Friedricks

Mid-century architecture, particularly when associated with Le Corbusier’s architectural concepts for urbanity, is today too often viewed as a colossal failure to be remedied only by demolition of all vestiges of that period.Pruitt-Igoe, the infamous 32 building high-rise public housing project on the north side of St. Louis, first occupied in 1954 and demolished between 1972 and 1976, continues to be the poster child for such a myopic bias. The Pruitt-Igoe Myth presents a new perspective on the project.

BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: LUIGI MORETTI

Luigi Moretti: Le ville disegni e modelli
Carmen L. Guererro, Salvatore Santuccio, Nicolo Sardo, Authors. Published by Palombi Editori, 2009.

This book, published in Italian alongside an English translation, shows in its 159 pages through many small photographs of models and thumbnail floor plans the houses and villas in the oeuvre of the Italian architect Luigi Moretti (1907-1973). In the Americas his name is best known as the architect of the Watergate Complex in Washington DC (completed 1971) and, with Pier Luigi Nervi, the Stock Exchange Tower in Montreal (completed 1965).

DOCOMOMO INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL 43

We are pleased to announce Docomomo International Journal 43 Brasilia has been distributed to our international members. Journal 43 includes essays and articles discussing the monumental project that architecturally reshaped Brazil and influenced planning and urban design around the world.

SAVE THE DATE!

DOCOMOMO US TOUR DAY 2011
5th Annual National Event!
October 8-10
Various locations
READ MORE >

Glass House: Conversations In Context
through November 17, 2011
New Canaan, CT
READ MORE >

Knoll Textiles NEW!
through July 18, 2011
New York, NY
READ MORE >

John Lautner Turns 100 NEW!
July 16 - November 13, 2011
Los Angeles, CA and Marquette, MI
READ MORE >

Campus Heritage Symposium
November 3 - 4, 2011
Washington, DC
READ MORE >

Second Wave of Modernism II NEW!
November 18, 2011
New York, NY
READ MORE >

CONTEST: MEMBER TRIVIA

Congratulations to our May trivia contest winner!

Kai Gutschow of Pittsburg, PA correctly identified the exterior passageway of the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, designed by Philip Johnson and dedicated in 1958. The winning entry was selected at random from all correct entries and will receive a prize from the DOCOMOMO archives.

JUNE PHOTO

Name this building and architect for a chance to win a prize from the DOCOMOMO archives.
Email your responses to info@docomomo-us.org by June 30th.

TALK TO US!

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Wheatley Demolition Accelerated

2011-06-17T19:25:00.008-05:00

Dear Friends of DOCOMOMO-US/LA,

We regret to convey that Charles Colbert's lauded Phillis Wheatley Elementary began to be demolished on Friday 17 June 2011. Hannah Miet has covered the story for the Times Picayune. The structure is still standing, although battered by neglect and preliminary demolition work.

In this video clip from nola.com, former Phillis Wheatley Elementary student Phyllis Montana-LeBlanc, an actor and preservationist, witnessed the bulldozing. She has been a powerful advocate for saving the building. As we reported earlier this week, The Roots of Music envisioned renovating Phillis Wheatley School as the new headquarters for its nationally acclaimed youth program. DOCOMOMO-US/LA supported this proposal, canvassing Mayor Mitch Landrieu and new RSD Superintendent John White with pleas to preserve the innovative structure -- the site of historically significant music education programs -- for adaptive reuse. Despite such efforts, on 16 June, DOCOMOMO-US/LA supporters received letters advocating demolition from Mr. White, and bulldozers circled the next day.

While we are greatly saddened by this news, we want to convey our sincere thanks to all of you who lent your support!

DOCOMOMO Tour Day 2011

2011-06-17T17:30:00.002-05:00

For this year's DOCOMOMO-US Tour Day Event, DOCOMOMO-US/LA is planning a special tour of modernist buildings on St. Charles Avenue. For a quick preview of some of the tour sites, check out Regional Modernism on flickr. For other cities' tour destinations, see the DOCOMOMO-US "Tour Day" page here.

A Modern Proposal :: The Roots of Music Center at Phillis Wheatley

2011-06-13T00:40:00.001-05:00

A University of Virginia Proposal for the Renovation and Adaptive Reuse of the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School.

DOCOMOMO US/Louisiana is proud to stand with The Roots of Music and support their vision of the renovation and adaptive re-use of the Phillis Wheatley School as the new headquarters for their nationally acclaimed youth music program. This proposal for the Roots of Music Center at Phillis Wheatley honors the continued legacies of educational innovation and preservation in New Orleans. Join us in supporting this synthesis of visionary architecture and musical education in the heart of the Treme.

Please email your support for this proposal to Recovery School District Superintendent John White and Mayor Mitchell Landrieu. This is our last chance to dance!

john.white@rsdla.net

mayor@nola.gov

Phillis Wheatley and The Roots of Music

2011-06-10T20:49:00.005-05:00

a little background on a big idea...more coming soon ... stay tuned!

For the Roots of Music from Jack Cochran on Vimeo.

from Filmmaker Jack Cochran, University of Virginia, School of Architecture:

The film documents my studio’s trip to New Orleans this past September, where we met with The Roots of Music, a non-profit music education program in need of a larger facility to accommodate the high number of students currently on their waiting list.

Victor Bruno (1921-2011)

2011-06-10T12:34:00.009-05:00

New Orleans modernist Victor Bruno passed away on Sunday 5 June after a prolonged illness. A graduate of Alcée Fortier High School as well as Tulane University (BA Science & Engineering 1943; MA Architecture 1947), Mr. Bruno was especially noted for his residential buildings.

The child of Tunisian immigrants, Bruno apprenticed in his father's cabinet-making shop before pursuing studies in architecture. Frank Lloyd Wright's work proved such a significant inspiration to Bruno that he followed the Prairie School architect's advice that one needed to build to really be an architect. Bruno's earliest post-graduate professional work was as a contractor-builder rather than as architect per se. After working for Blue Plates Foods contractor Lionel J. Favret, Bruno established his own architectural practice. Projects such as the Gallery Apartments (2511 St. Charles Avenue; 1962) garnered regional acclaim.

Recently, DOCOMOMO-US/LA President Francine Stock visited the architect in his Fontainebleau Drive home, where he posed with a series of holiday cards he designed over a sixty-year period [detail shown above]. To see more photographs, consult her Regional Modernism flickr set here; to read John Pope's Times Picayune obituary, click here.

Please email your support NOW!

2011-06-10T11:53:00.000-05:00

The petition to

SAVE PHILLIS WHEATLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN NEW ORLEANS! SAY "NO!" TO DEMOLITION

has over 1900 signatures. I encourage you to sign the petition AND email a letter of support for preservation of Phillis Wheatley Elementary School to the following.

John White, Superintendent of the Recovery School District john.white@rsdla.net
Mayor Mitchell Landrieu mayor@nola.gov
Scott Hutcheson, advisor to the Mayor on the cultural economy cshutcheson@nola.gov

THANK YOU!

And stay posted for an update soon!

Francine Stock

president

DOCOMOMO US/Louisiana

Phyllis Montana-LeBlanc and Wendell Pierce on WVUE

2011-05-24T16:51:00.002-05:00

Watch Liz Reyes of WVUE Fox 8 interview Phyllis Montana-LeBlanc and Wendell Pierce about working on HBO's Treme and the significance of saving the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School.

DOCOMOMO US May 2011 E-News Brief

2011-05-23T09:06:00.000-05:00

MAY 2011

Go Modern! www.docomomo-us.org
Follow DOCOMOMO US on Facebook and Twitter

IN THIS EDITION:

- First Texas MODern Month
- Breuer's Whitney Leased to Metropolitan Museum of Art
- International Views: Docomomo Japan
- Chapter Spotlight: New England
- DOCOMOMO US Annual Board Meeting: Touring Stahl House
- Book Announcement: American Glamour
- Save the Date: Tour Day 2011, Conversations In Context and more
- Photo Contest

FIRST TEXAS MODERN MONTH: EVENT RECAP

April 2011 was the first annual Texas MODern Month, organized to raise awareness of the need to preserve locally, regionally, and nationally significant examples of modern buildings sites and neighborhoods in Texas. Texas MODern Month was organized by Preservation Texas and a number of partner organizations including the North Texas and Mid-Tex Mod chapters of DOCOMOMO US, and HoustonMod, the first Friend Organization of DOCOMOMO US.

Photo: Stuart M. Johnson
READ MORE >

BREUER'S WHITNEY TO BE LEASED TO METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

On Tuesday May 24th the Whitney Museum of American Art will break ground on its new location in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. In light of the Museum’s planned relocation in 2015 to the new Renzo Piano-designed flagship, there has been speculation in recent months as to the fate of the original Marcel Breuer building.

Photo: Edith Bellinghausen

READ MORE >

INTERNATIONAL VIEWS: JAPAN

On March 11, 2011 Japan suffered an earthquake of unprecedented magnitude, followed by a devastating tsunami. Our colleagues at Docomomo Japan - Hiroyuki Suzuki, President and Kenji Watanabe, Secretary - recently shared this update.

READ MORE >

CHAPTER SPOTLIGHT: NEW ENGLAND

On In April 2011, with the input of DOCOMOMO US/New England, the Boston Landmarks Commission declared the Christian Science Center (CSC) a Boston Landmark. The urban complex was joined between 1965 and 1975 by a now world-renowned group of modern buildings designed by Araldo Cossutta of I.M. Pei & Partners, with landscape design by Sasaki, Dawson, DeMay.
Photo: Marie Sorensen

READ MORE >

DOCOMOMO US ANNUAL BOARD MEETING: STAHL HOUSE

For two days in early April 2011 the DOCOMOMO US Board convened in Los Angeles to both investigate and promote the organization’s national growth. Following the open session at Richard Neutra's VDL Research House II, the group visited Case Study House #22, also known as the Stahl House.

Photo: Board members and student interns at the Stahl House
READ MORE >

BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: AMERICAN GLAMOUR

American Glamour and the Evolution of Modern Architecture
Alice T. Friedman, Author. Published by Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2010.
This fascinating book by Alice Friedman provides new insight into the development and acceptance of what we now so often and somewhat erroneously call "mid-century" modernism. She discusses not only different building typologies and some of the "starchitects" of the time but also, more importantly, places them in the social and cultural context of the postwar era. While preservation is not specifically discussed, the "glamour" of the architecture as Friedman presents it may explain why high-style magazines and publications continue to be captivated by the period.

SAVE THE DATE!

DOCOMOMO US TOUR DAY 2011
5th Annual National Event!
October 8
Various locations
READ MORE >

Glass House: Conversations In Context
through November 17, 2011
New Canaan, CT
READ MORE >

9th Annual Docomomo Brazil Conference
June 7 - 10, 2011
Brasília, Brazil
READ MORE >

CAH 20thC Conference NEW!
June 14 - 16, 2011
Madrid, Spain
READ MORE >

Campus Heritage Symposium NEW!
November 3 - 4, 2011
Washington, DC
READ MORE >

CONTEST: MEMBER TRIVIA

Congratulations to our April trivia contest winner!

Ted Cleary of Charlotte, NC correctly identified the angled façade of the Palm Springs residence designed for builder Robert Alexander in 1962 by William Krisel, and also known as the "House of Tomorrow". The winning entry was selected at random from all correct entries, which included an email from Mr. Krisel himself! He writes:

The photo shows the 'ROBERT ALEXANDER RESIDENCE' on Ladera Circle in Palm Springs, CA (later known as the Elvis Presley House). The architect for the residence is: WILLIAM KRISEL, A.I.A. (at that time the firm was known as Palmer & Krisel, A.I.A. Architects). I am that architect and I am still alive at the ripe old age of 86. -- William Krisel

APRIL PHOTO

Name this building and architect for a chance to win a prize from the DOCOMOMO archives.
Email your responses to info@docomomo-us.org by May 31st.

TALK TO US!

DOCOMOMO US

P.O. Box 230977
New York, NY 10023
United States

A Plea for Modernism

2011-05-22T17:46:00.000-05:00

Hand Crafted Films, DOCOMOMO Louisiana and the Tulane School of Architecture present:

A Plea For Modernism from Evan Mather on Vimeo.

The Phillis Wheatley Elementary School has served the historic New Orleans African-American neighborhood of Tremé since it opened in 1955. Celebrated worldwide for its innovative, regionally-expressive modern design – the structure sustained moderate damage during the storms and levee breach of 2005. DOCOMOMO Louisiana is advocating for its restoration via adaptive reuse.

A Plea For Modernism [Evan Mather, Hand Crafted Films, 2011] includes interviews with professor John Klingman of the Tulane School of Architecture, architect Wayne Troyer, John Stubbs, vice-president for field projects for the World Monuments Fund and author/actress Phyllis Montana-Leblanc, a former student of Phillis Wheatley. It was written by Francine Stock and Evan Mather and narrated by actor Wendell Pierce (HBO's The Wire, Treme).

If no action is taken the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School will demolished in Summer 2011. Please take time to sign the petition to save Phillis Wheatley and contact our public officials.

Mayor Mitchell Landrieu, City of New Orleans (504) 658-4900

Superintendent John White, Recovery School District (504) 373-6200

Superintendent Darryl Kilbert, Orleans Parish School Board (504) 304-3520

In taking these steps, we affirm the significance and diversity of our architectural and cultural heritage and our desire to rescue the future from the past.

Francine Stock
president
DOCOMOMO US/Louisiana

New Orleans Regional Modernism is available on the App Store!

2011-05-19T14:47:00.002-05:00

DOCOMOMO Louisiana and Tulane University are pleased to present:

The New Orleans Regional Modernism app is designed to highlight the significant, threatened and lost modern architecture of New Orleans. It is a project of Tulane University and DOCOMOMO US/Louisiana, a regional chapter of an international committee dedicated to the documentation and conservation of the buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the modern movement.

This location-based app allows you to browse modern buildings in New Orleans by architect, neighborhood, category or status (extant, threatened or razed). Three tour routes have been identified: St. Charles Avenue Streetcar, Canal Streetcar, and the 2011 Modernism in New Orleans tour led by Francine Stock and Keli Rylance for the Society of Architectural Historians.

We are grateful to Tulane Libraries' Southeastern Architectural Archive, the Tulane School of Architecture's New Orleans Virtual Archive, the New Orleans Public Library's City Archives, and to many students and friends for providing photos. Descriptions of buildings were written by DOCOMOMO members, students in Francine Stock's Regional Modernism class at Tulane School of Architecture, and Karen Kingsley, author of Modernism in Louisiana.

This software was designed and is supported by the Innovative Learning Center, a division of Tulane Technology Services.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: Compatible with iPhones and iPads running iOS 4.3+. Requires network connectivity. Please note our first update (coming soon!) will include functionality at iOS 4.2 level to extend the app to iPhone 3 and iPod Touch 2.

To contact the local chapter about this app or to submit a building for inclusion, email: docomomo.neworleans@gmail.com

Please join DOCOMOMO in supporting the preservation of modern architecture.

Francine Stock
Visual Resources Curator, Tulane School of Architecture
President, DOCOMOMO US/Louisiana

Follow DOCOMOMO NOLA:

Download the exhibit brochure: DOCOMOMO @ PRC

2011-05-13T14:35:00.000-05:00

DOCOMOMO US/Louisiana and the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans present
SCHOOL'S OUT :: an exhibition of National Register eligible schools facing demolition in New Orleans
Docomomo EXHIBIT Brochure 2011

This exhibition includes contemporary photography by DOCOMOMO members: Emily Ardoin, Anthony Del Rosario, John Klingman and Francine Stock. We are also pleased to present reproductions of architect Charles Colbert's nine presentation boards of the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School.

Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans
923 Tchoupitoulas Street
May 11 - June 15
Monday - Friday
9am - 5pm

Exhibition curated by Francine Stock, Visual Resource Curator at the Tulane School of Architecture and President of DOCOMOMO US/Louisiana
Special thanks to City Blueprint, Florence Jumonville (UNO), Lindsay McCook, Maryann Miller (PRCNO), Keli Rylance and Kevin Williams (SEAA), and Studio Wayne Troyer.

You can download the exhibition guide here.

Download brochure for DOCOMOMO exhibit @ PRCNO

2011-05-12T14:39:00.000-05:00

Docomomo EXHIBIT Brochure 2011

SCHOOL'S OUT :: national register eligible schools face demoltion

2011-05-12T14:31:00.000-05:00

S C H O O L ' S O U T, originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

DOCOMOMO US/ Louisiana and the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans present:

SCHOOL'S OUT: an exhibition of photography and architectural drawings of National Register eligible schools facing demolition in New Orleans

Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans
923 Tchoupitoulas Street.
May 11 - June 15, 2011
Monday - Friday
9am - 5pm

exhibition curated by Francine Stock

Phyllis Montana-LeBlanc, daughter of Phillis Wheatley

2011-04-29T12:33:00.000-05:00

Saving Phyllis Wheatly School from Karran Harper Royal on Vimeo.

Actress, author and poet Phyllis Montana-LeBlanc was educated at the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School in the Treme. In this phone video from the Hands Around Phillis Wheatley rally, PML reads some of her poetry written since Hurricane Katrina and praises PWES with making her who she is today. PML has been an active voice calling for the preservation Phillis Wheatley. I met her when we both spoke at the HDLC hearing in March. Within days she had started the petition to

SAVE PHILLIS WHEATLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN NEW ORLEANS! SAY "NO!" TO DEMOLITION

which now has over 1500 signatures from around the city and across the globe.

Demolition of the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School may indeed be imminent, but her legacy will live on.

Video courtesy of Karran Harper Royal.

DOCOMOMO NOLA :: A Week in the Life

2011-04-20T11:11:00.000-05:00

This past spring the members of DOCOMOMO US/Louisiana have been busy bees. We believe we may have peaked in performance this past week, though there is still more activity planned in the near future. My only regret is that I do not have enough time to write about each individual event properly, but offer you this quick recap.

Tuesday April 12: Exhibition planning meeting at The Columns (our favorite satellite office). We will exhibit New Orleans School Designs from the 1950s at the Preservation Resource Center in May. Details to follow.

Wednesday April 13: Preservation Roundtable meeting at the PRC. National Trust President Stephanie Meeks met with local preservation leaders. Thanks to PRC for hosting this important conversation.

Thursday April 14: Society of Architectural Historians annual meeting. I met with David Fixler, SAH preservation officer and president of DOCOMOMO-US/New England and we test drove the route of the Modernism in New Orleans tour. Many thanks to the board of SAH who voted to support the preservation of Phillis Wheatley Elementary School and wrote a letter to Mayor Landrieu.

Friday April 15: DOCOMOMO Roundtable meeting at SAH. Keli Rylance and I led a discussion of some the challenges the chapter faced in the past years, especially problems with the FEMA 106 process. We discussed recent and currently threatened buildings and neighborhoods and how we are adjusting our agenda for the future to focus more on education. Great turn out and lively discussion.

Saturday April 16: Modernism in New Orleans tour for SAH. Keli Rylance and I led this tour up Canal Street through Mid-City and then over to the Treme to view the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School. We then set out to the Lakefront and walked through one of the garden lanes of Lake Vista to the central park on the levee. The tour culminated with a reception at the house of native architect Albert C. Ledner. We had a fabulous time and hope to lead a similar tour again in the fall.

Sunday April 17: Hands Around Phillis Wheatley. We gathered at noon to express our support for the preservation of this most significant and severely threatened school. Phyllis Montana-Leblanc (a former student, now author and actress) read a powerful poem she wrote for Phillis Wheatley. John Stubbs (Vice President for Field Projects for the World Monuments Fund) reaffirmed the World Monuments Fund support for the cause. John Klingman (architect, author and educator) spoke about the architectural significance of the structure and its relationship to site and climate. Karran Harper Royal (founding member of Parents Across America) suggested we appeal not only to city leaders, but to the state. We will post more information and suggestions for how you can help the cause soon. If you have not already done so, start by signing the petition to

SAVE PHILLIS WHEATLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN NEW ORLEANS! SAY "NO!" TO DEMOLITION!

Monday April 18: Met with David Robinson of Tulane Technology Services to review the penultimate draft of the New Orleans Regional Modernism iphone app - a collaborative project of Tulane University and DOCOMOMO US/Louisiana. This Thursday April 21, Maryann Miller (PRC) and I will we interviewed at the Columns Hotel at 4 pm by Grant Morris host of It's New Orleans. Come join the Happy Hour party /podcast and get your first glimpse of the app in action.

If you would like to support our activities, please consider becoming a DOCOMOMO US member today.

Many thanks!

Francine Stock
president

DOCOMOMO US/Louisiana

Hands Around Phillis Wheatley (photos)

2011-04-19T14:21:00.000-05:00

Photos courtesy of Regional Modernism's flickr set. Video coming soon.

HANDS AROUND PHILLIS WHEATLEY

2011-04-12T07:18:00.001-05:00

HANDS AROUND PHILLIS WHEATLEY2, originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

This Sunday April 17, 2011.

Come together and show your support for the preservation of a unique and severely threatened historic world monument. Let's celebrate the legacy and significance of the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School in Treme.

We stand up at NOON.

Save Phillis Wheatley!

2011-04-07T15:08:00.006-05:00

Sign and share the petition at CHANGE.ORG

Transcript of HDLC hearing on RSD's request to demolish Wheatley

2011-04-07T12:00:00.004-05:00

On March 18, 2011 the New Orleans Historic District Landmarks Commission reviewed the Recovery School District’s proposal to demolish the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School. Below is a transcript of an audio recording of the hearing.

Jesse Leblanc, Chariman, HDLC (JL): Are you here to speak as the applicant?

Lona Hankins, Chief Operating Officer. Director of Capital Projects, RSD (LH): Yes. I’m Lona Edwards Hankins with the Recovery School District.

JL: Yes, ma’am, if you’d state your name and address for the record we’d appreciate it.

LH: Lona Edwards Hankins, Recovery School District, 909 Poydras, Suite 1200.

JL: Thank you very much, Ms. Hankins for coming down. Before the staff begins their presentation, I just want to remind the audience and the commissioners that since this is a city-owned property, the Commission is being asked to review the proposed demolition application but we do not have final say on this; it’s basically – because it’s a city owned property – we can make a recommendation to the city but they do not necessarily need to follow that recommendation. Mr. Perkins, do you care to go into more detail?

Elliott Perkins, Executive Director, HDLC (EP): Yeah, I’d just like to – just so that we’re clear on this – the ordinance there in front of us – the commission serves as an advisory role. Let me get to the section of where it is… It says that ‘any governmental agency other than the city council having responsibility for any building, structure, area, site, public right of way and their adjuncts and impertinences within the district or landmark site, shall seek the advice of the commission prior to the initiation of any substantive change, modification, renovation, restoration, alteration of the structure, or demolition’. So that’s the section of the ordinance under which this application is before you. So that they can seek the advice of the Commission.

JL: I just wanted to add one thing: state law also phrases it under our provised statutes 742, its states the same under state law.

JL: Thank you. So we’re basically an advisory role on this agenda item. Staff?

Sevanne Steiner, Building Plans Examiner, HDLC (SS): This is the proposal – sorry – this is the commission review of the proposal to demolish Phillis Wheately Elementary School located at 2300 Dumaine Street in the Treme partial-control neighborhood. In 2010 the site was listed on the World Monuments Fund Watch List. Launched in 1996 and issued every two years, the World Monuments Watch List calls international attention to cultural heritage around the world that is threatened by neglect, vandalism, conflict or disaster. Their report follows; I’ll let you read it. And then in 2008, the New Orleans Nine recognized mid-century modern public schools, city-wide, early-to-late 1950s, specifically the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School, George Washington Carver Jr./Sr. High School, McDonough No. 39, Avery Alexander Elementary School, Thomy Lafon Elementary School. Modeled on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Most Endangered Program, the Louisiana Landmarks Society implemented its own list of the most endangered historic resources in New Orleans in 2005. The goals for the program include saving historic places, publicity for historic sites, advocacy for historic preservation, preservation education and supporting proactive preservation efforts. Louisiana Landmarks states that a list of endangered places is an excellent tool for drawing attention to historic sites that may be threatened by demolition, blight or … There is a letter in your drawing packet recognizing their opposition to the demolition of this landmark. Also in their report on modern architecture for schools is also in your property summary report. Then in 1955, Phillis Wheatley was awarded a citation for its innovative design by progressive architecture. The Progressive Architecture Awards annually recognized risk-taking practitioners that promote progress … in the field of architecture. Their citation for the award for this property is also listed in your packet.

JL: Thank you very much. Ms. Hankins, do you care to address the commission?

LH: Sure. In 2008, the Recovery School District and the Orleans Parish School Board entered into a master plan. That master plan was jointly adopted by the local board and the state board that governs the Recovery School District, the BESE board. That was as a result of over 200 community meetings. That plan said that the Wheatley School would be rebuilt – would be demolished and rebuilt new. That then triggered the Section 106 of the Federal 106 process. We’re going to be using federal dollars to rebuild this. As part of that process, we studies alternatives to figure out ‘could we save this building?’ We looked at trying to rehabilitate the 23,000 square foot building that is architecturally significant and found that there were several issues that we could not waiver on. First and foremost, life safety issues where we could not waiver on. If we added additionally space on the ground floor it did not meet ABFE requirements and would require additional funds. And lastly, the ceiling heights in this building were too low that we couldn’t put – it would be much more of a challenge to the engineering as well as acoustical environment for kids to put modern air conditioning systems in this building. So, additionally we issued an RFQ to request that someone come and take the building for free if there was another use for it. We got one response that we could use and they only want pieces and parts of that building. So we’re trying to work with the preservationists. Our plan is to build – to relocated that to a different site such that they can use the pieces and parts of the building that they want in some other use – for public use. Our plan is to build a new building that will house minimally 450 students and we are under design right now. We have not approved any of their designs. We are working with the architect to make sure that it is compliant with the neighborhood, historically as well as meet the neighbors’ needs and we’re just sharing with you our proposal. Our plan is to have this building open, to get the demolition underway here shortly so that this building so that this building can be open in Fall of ’13.

JL: Ms. Hankins, a couple of things that you said in your opening remarks: Is was my understanding that the design is finalized. So you’re saying the design is not finalized?

LH: We are in schematics and we have not approved the architect’s schematics of the design.

JL: Because I understand from the review of the design there are some issues with the neighborhood towards the current design. And we can address… So, but you’re saying is that changes to the design can still be made?

LH: Absolutely, we have not approved the schematic design from the architect. We weren’t comfortable with what they proposed.

JL: Because I was told that there are some issues with like the shape of the school and the way the loading docks are, the garbage dumpsters are, and the street face. There’s just various issues with it. As this is a partial control area, even if you were under the jurisdiction of HDLC, one the building is demolished we’d have no control over the design. I think that’s a concern. And then the other thing you said was that there is somebody that would like the pieces of the Wheatley School. If you are given permission, would you still pursue that as far as working with that applicant?

LH: We are working with the PRC right now to see if we can get a Cooperative Endeavor such that we can donate the pieces and parts that someone’s interested in and then the liability’s no longer ours and they can go figure out the public good use for the building.

JL: I’ll let Mr. Perkins address this matter, but I did receive an email from John Klingman who is on the New Orleans HDLC ARC and he’s also a Tulane Architecture Professor. And he said that he and the School of Architecture of Tulane strongly oppose demolition of the Wheatley School. “Wheatley is an internationally recognized work of architecture. In 2010, it was listed to the World Monument’s list of Most Endangered Sites world-wide. In Fall of 2009, NPR did a nationally broadcast interview with me regarding the Wheatley. RSD will say that they the Colbert building is in the way of progress and that people from the neighborhood testify to that effect. The replacement building is not the way of progress. The renovation of the Wheatley School is the way to go.” So that’s from John Klingman who’s on our ARC. Mr. Perkins, I’d like you to address this and we’ll open it up to the commissioners. We have a number of people in the audience who want to address it too.

EP: I think that the staff report accurately indicates, along with the associated materials received by the commission – I think it’s beyond question that this building is a significant building and we’re troubled and saddened by the fact that it’s demolition seems to be forthcoming.

JL: Thank you. Why don’t we hear from the audience and then we’ll open it up to the commissioners.

LH: If I may, I neglected to mention, we have an executed Memorandum of Agreement between, as part of our 106 process, between FEMA, the SHPO, and National Advisory Council. So, they are all in agreement that we have exhausted all of the alternatives and are working in the right process.

JL: As part of the mitigation of the 106, aren’t you supposed to – do you do something on the site to preserve or let people know what was there before that? Isn’t that some kind of mitigation?

LH: Yes, we are working on the design of that mitigation and have started having our first public hearing to get input from community members on this and a few others, is next Thursday, March 23 at the George Washington Carver modular campus cafeteria – I’m sorry: March 24th at 6:30 we are going to be trying to develop how to we mitigate for many of the other buildings you mentioned that were endangered list. How do we appropriately mitigate, what should be told to not only honor the architect but the people who went to the school.

JL: As we all know, the Wheatley School was very progressive for its time and it was basically a very contemporary building to serve a very unique community. You would hate for that history to be lost because it was cutting edge architecture for an area that had never seen that in schools before 1955.

LH: It has an impact on the community. We want to make sure we capture that impact as well.

JL: Thank you. Let’s hear from the community and then we’ll open it up to the commissioners. The first speaker’s card I have is Kenneth Ducote.

Ken Ducote (KD): Good morning. I’m Ken Ducote, retired facility planning director for New Orleans Public Schools and one of the consulting parties to the FEMA 106 process. I’m strongly supporting of the proposal to demolish the building and replace it with a building that meets 21st century standards of excellence. It is my understanding from my friends who are architects that in the mid-Century one of the hallmarks of architecture was that form follows function and in Wheatley’s case, this is case where the function was totally corrupted in order to fit the particular form of the building. There are no corridors in the main building that’s in question. The children have to go outside. There’s no connections, no displayed spaces, there’s no clear entryway or front to the building. The children have to leave their classrooms, go into the weather to go to the restroom. There’s no easy connections between the different buildings and the particular structural truss actually blocks some that connection and the glass provided a lot of glare into the rooms and also a lot of distractions for the children. In addition to that, we’ve got a lot of testimony about over the years, that illicit activity would occur at night from the alcove spaces that would be created by these lack of corridors on the second floor and in the morning the custodians would have to clean up the remnants of the illicit activities. So in terms of form following function that was not the case and in order to preserve this building we, in fact, would be asked to compromise on function. Function of the children getting their 21st century education. Also, I think that we have to look at the context that this building was developed. It was developed at a time where the facility needs of the school district were tremendously taxed by the economic resources available to it. Also the school district was desperately trying to build as many schools as they could with an emphasis on quantity, not quality of classroom throughout the city so that they could avoid court-mandated desegregation because there were so many children, especially African-American children, to handle the platoon within the city at the time. So many of the buildings done in the 1950s were not really the top quality buildings and had major, major compromises as well as being asbestos laden and so on. So this was no necessarily the glory days. It was a day when the architects did use some creativity to try to stretch the resources, but over the time this proved to be not the case. The elevated structure did not really protect the children from the weather because of initially fire codes were interpreted one way after the 1958 disastrous fire at Our Lady of the Angels School in Chicago, in which 95 kids and teachers were killed. The kindergarten and first grade began to have to be back on the 1st floor so the Wheatley School resulted in having to have a lot of wooden portable classrooms on the site. The cafeteria building, or administration building, library are very cheaply made on the first floor. They were also destroyed by the flood. So, as was stated, the RSD is planning to memorialize those things that did result in rewards at the time. But over the many years these elements that were incorporated in the Wheatley School prove not to be appropriate. Just so that you have a complete record, I just would like to leave with you the petition that was signed – 21 pages of signatures – of people from the community supporting the demolition as well as the replacement with a new monument of the school. Also, my own personal report were I discuss from my own experience and review of the building the difficulties that we encountered in trying to preserve the buildings. These 1950s buildings have been stated that they were neglected and not well-maintained. But at the same time, they had the same maintenance budgets as they Christy buildings that were built in the 1920s/30s and earlier than that and the 1950s buildings had a lot more demands upon the maintenance funds, especially with the asbestos problems so with that I’ll be glad to answer any questions that you might have.

JL: Mr. Ducote, are you working on the new design, too?

KD: I’m one of the consulting parties and I’m a member of the St. Peter Claver local organizing ministry so, as a member of the community, I sit in on meetings. I have no formal relationship other than that.

JL: Ok, thank you very much. Does any commissioner have any questions for Mr. Ducote? (pause) Thank you very much, Mr. Ducote. David Schneider?

David Schneider (DS): I don’t think I can follow Mr. Ducote very well so I’m gonna let his record stand.

JL: Thank you Mr. Schneider, but you’re in favor of the demolition?

DS: Yes sir.

JL: Thank you very much. Lona Edwards Hankins? Oh wait… we’ve heard from her. Elena Boucree? Welcome.

Elena Boucree (EB): Good afternoon. I’m Elana Boucree. I’m a member of St. Peter Claver Church a local organizing ministry and we stand here together representing our organization. We represent members who live, work and worship in the Treme-Lafitte neighborhood and we are in need of a quality, high performing school. We are in support of the demolition. We have participated in the FEMA 106 consultation process, since in began in 2008. We have many children in the neighborhood who were underserved pre-Katrina in a failing school; in a poor functioning school. We represent parents, students and teachers who were all educated or educators in that facility, who have shared the difficulties that they experienced. We are neighbors who have witnessed what took place on that school ground. But we stand here with a new hope as members of the former Lafitte Housing Development have moved into the new Faubourg Lafitte in February. Residents are coming back to our area. However, our students of our neighborhood are currently being bused from our neighborhood, in fact from the corner of Dumaine Street, 2300 block, as early as 5:45 AM to other schools across the city. We’re looking for a new 21st century school that can provide high quality education for our students in our community.

JL: Thank you very much, Ms. Boucree. Thank you. Francine Stock?

Francine Stock, President, DOCOMOMO US/Lousiana (FS): My name is Francine Stock and I am the president of DOCOMOMO/Louisiana, which is a regional chapter of an international organization dedicated to the Documentation and Conservation of the site, buildings and neighborhoods of the modern movement. And I have written recently an article for a journal called Mass Context, titled ‘Is There a Future for the Recent Past in New Orleans?’ And I would like to read a couple of excerpts from that, just a few, because significant modernist architectures is disappearing from the urban fabric of New Orleans at a truly alarming rate. Since the enactment of the 2008 School Facilities Plan for Orleans Parish, mid-century modern public schools has become an endangered species in New Orleans. Of the city’s 30 public schools designed and built in the 1950s, today only three are left standing: Phillis Wheatley, Thomy Lafon and the McDonough 36, which is now the Mahalia Jackson Center for Early Childhood and Family Learning, which was also designed by Charles Colbert – and is likely to be the only one left standing, if both Wheatley and Lafon are demolished, which seems to be the intention. DOCOMOMO/LA has advocated for their preservation but to no avail and as mention earlier, one does not normally associate New Orleans with modern architecture. In the ‘50s, New Orleans was experiencing an architectural rebirth and in the 1955 Progressive Architecture Citation, the Phillis Wheatley School was cited for its commitment to sustainable design. In a sense, we had a series of architects here who were reflecting, although it might not have been evident on the surface, but reflecting on our region’s historic significance and designing for climate. This was the citation: ‘Wheatley was cited for its bilateral lighting, cross-ventilation, open corridor, and its elevation off the ground’. These are similar sustainable design strategies that we see in our most historic buildings, like Pitot House, Madame John’s Legacy, but it’s so clear when you look at the Phillis Wheatley School that it’s thoroughly modern in spirits. Architect Charles Colbert considered it his highest accomplishment as an architect and planner. And it is by far one of the most compelling monuments of the era. And it’s a culmination of a series of regional design innovations. You can see it – well you can’t see it anymore: the Hoffman School which he designed at Hoffman Triangle, because that’s already been demolished, but if you go to the Mahalia Jackson Early Childhood Foundation Center, which was recently renovated 2010 and is open now, you can see how those schools were both sort of riffs on the double gallery, finger plan. It’s evident now with these open courtyards how Colbert was working with these regional influences. In Wheatley, he literally took the plan to another level. As mentioned, this school has been awarded, honored, listed. DOCOMOMO/LA participated as a consulting party in several FEMA sponsored 106 consultations, hoping to preserve threatened modern architecture and in doing so, benefit Louisiana’s recovery. However, we believe the process has failed in New Orleans, as none of the modern structures are being saved. We filed objections with FEMA and we have withdrawn from participating in future Section 106 consultations. And if I may, I would like to read from that letter briefly.

JL: Ok, you need to wrap up your comments. Please make it brief.

FS: I will. The process is pro-forma, despite extensive documentation of buildings’ significance, there’s no indication from FEMA that any solution other than demolition needs to be considered by FEMA. Decisions to allow demolition appear to have been made prior to engagement of consulting parties. Mediators and/or consulting parties in the 106 process appear tainted by conflict of interest, some of the representatives from the firms that may stand to gain additional work from demolition and new construction. Some have directly heightened racial tensions as a means of achieving desired outcomes. FEMA has privileged those who live in close proximity to the impacted structures as ‘the public’ and, in fact, there are multiple publics, including the public of which we are representatives that values its historic environments. DOCOMOMO will continue to fight for the documentation of these structures – and their conservation. We just hope to be left with more than just documentation.

JL: Thank you, Ms. Stock. I appreciate your comments. David Gregor?

David Gregor, architect (DG): Yes, my name’s David Gregor. I’m a designer but I’ve also been an architectural educator for going on 30+ years. But I’m also a cynic and the first thing I wrote down today is I believe we shouldn’t reward people for participating in years of institutional demolition by neglect. So several times this morning, I heard ‘demolition by neglect’. I’d only like to remind you that the school board and the school district participated in that for years. Given the condition of the Wheatley School, which was in bad shape before Katrina. I’d also like to echo what Francine just said about the Section 106 process: I was involved in the efforts to preserve St. Francis Cabrini. We also went through the Section 106 procedure, which I would have absolutely nothing good to say about. And I’ll just remind you that the words FEMA are part of that, which we all have our opinions about FEMA. So, the other thing I would like to say is I’m disappointed that I came here thinking that you would have some clout in terms of historic preservation within the city, yet I think you’re probably going to bulldozed by everything that has been done by FEMA and the Section 106 process. So, I would hope at least learning from this that there might be something in the future where you would have more clout, where you would have the ability to bring some fairness into this process so that some of these buildings, which might not be fashionable in a city which values the Pontalba buildings in Jackson Square more than significant contemporary buildings. So the other thing I wrote down this morning was the State Supreme Court – the state office, which there’s a big empty spot over here, where whether you liked it or not was part of an interesting civic plan for the city. Well it’s gone now. I was part of that state procedure. The Longshoreman’s Union Hall, on Claiborne which is gone – it’s an empty lot, which we’ve heard complaints about throughout the morning, on empty lots. St. Francis Cabrini, an amazing building which I’m sure most of you visited. The River Gate was another significant building that was demolished. So we’re about ready to lose one more through a flawed process, which I think is unfair to citizens. I’m not opposed to 21st century schools in New Orleans – I’d like to see one – but what I am opposed is to stating that there’s no future for this building because of low ceiling heights or ADA requirements. I think it’s just a sham. I’m just here simply as an advocate for a really wonderful building that I’ve taken a lot of architectural visitors to this town to see. Without a doubt, anyone who sees the Wheatley School is impressed with its architecture. It has one of the most amazing cantilevers that an architect could ever hope to design. I’m sorry that it’s gonna end up in a land fill. Thank you.

JL: Phyllis Montana-Leblanc? Can you state your name and address please?

Phyllis Montana LeBlanc (PML): Phyllis Montana-LeBblanc I am a previous student of Phillis Wheatley. I was gonna get up here and sing the song “Oh Phillis Wheatley, We Love You”, but I don’t remember the rest of it so I won’t go through that. But I’m listening to people say the structure of the school and the outdoors – I never had one cold when I attended Phillis Wheatley. When we would leave the classrooms from the top floors and use the restrooms downstairs, we never got sick… I mean, I’m just saying. The structure didn’t do us any harm. But I did write something really quick, again very passionate about Phillis Wheatley Elementary School. I attended there. My principal was Ms. Baker, my first grade-second grade teacher was Ms. Prigmore, second grade teacher was Ms. Jason, my third grade teacher was Ms. Davis. And I’m emotional about it because when I look at it and see it’s not gonna be here any longer, then that’s a part of me that’s gonna die. That’s the part of me that taught me that, when I was with the Brownie troop, to go and help the elderly people, and learn to share and help the neighborhood with the kids and learn that we didn’t have bullies back then, because if there was a bully our teachers taught us that we had meetings and we sat down and we talked about why we shouldn’t hurt each other but we should get long together. So I wrote something, all of these things are coming to me and I’m doing my research and I’m thinking and I’m coming up on Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954, the Plessy vs. Ferguson decision in 1896, and then I come to the genocide thought because what I’m speaking to you is what I’ve seen with my own eyes in my neighborhoods and my areas. And that’s the genocide, the deliberate and systematic destruction of racial, political or cultural group. Gentrification: the process of renewal accompanying the influx of middle class people into deteriorating areas, that often displaces earlier and usually poorer residents. I may not be able to articulate as well as most of you on the board, but I have passion to try and that stands strongly enough for me. My standing is the demolition of Phillis Wheatley Elementary School is not for, or just for sentimental reasons, nor is it for a popularity contest. I stand before you to say that in the majority of our black neighborhoods, they’re being systematically destroyed and removed from not only our city, but our culture as African Americans. Every area that I’ve driven to, or had my husband drive me to, for the schools that I attended in New Orleans in the predominantly black neighborhoods are either now just concrete slates or their slated for demolition. So, I’m thinking of the history of it in the black community being in the danger of being removed from the City’s master plan and at one point I was very angry about it, but now it mostly saddens me that all of these schools are being torn down and specifically Phillis Wheatley that taught me so much that I’ve taken and I’ve shared with other children. The things that we learned in that structure over there, again, the qualities of life that they taught us is now getting ready to be removed. And to me, it just seems a lot of greed has run amuck in this city and a lot of things are becoming expendable since Katrina. A lot of things have already been slated to just be removed so we have nothing to go back to. And I just want to wrap up with just a few quotes from Frederick Douglass, where he says, “Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel society is an organized conspirator to oppress, rob, and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.” That’s by Frederick Douglass. “The thing worst in rebellion is the thing that causes rebellion” by Frederick Douglass. And finally, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” And when I look at all the schools being torn down in the predominantly black neighborhoods, when I look at the high rate of crime in the neighborhoods because kids don’t have anywhere to go to learn quality education, these are the things that I think of. But then we’re building bigger jails. So I am pleading with every part of my being that they do not destroy and remove this school and demolish it. Taking bit and pieces – when I heard the lady saying ‘we’re going to take bits and pieces of it and if people want to buy it’ or however she phrased it, that’s bits and pieces of history, our culture. Phillis Wheatley should be preserved. I mean, we’re in a state of Louisiana where we preserve plantations, slave plantations, so I think that this deserves to be preserved.

JL: Thank you Ms. Leblanc. Thank you for your comments. Irvin Johnson? (pause) Michelle Kimball.

Michelle Kimball, Senior Advocate, Preservation Resource Center (MK) : Michelle Kimball with the Preservation Resource Center, located at 923 Tchoupitoulas Street. We participated in the Section 106 process of Phillis Wheatley School and it was very disappointing the way process panned out. We felt like there was a legitimate option for the reuse of this building. It might not have met every one of the EdSpecs that were in place, but it certainly would have been a wonderful school for kids to go to. We remain committed to our former position that we feel that this building can and should be incorporated into a new campus and I hope that today you will send that message even though you don’t have any teeth, your role does not have teeth, let everyone know that the preservation community stands behind its modern architecture and want to continue to see it saved. Thank you.

JL: Thank you, Ms. Kimball. Is there anybody else in the audience here to address the Wheatley School? (pause). I have a few comments, I agree with one of the previous speakers, I believe the FEMA process is flawed and I’ve dealt with it on several things and of course we dealt with it on the church and I’ve dealt with it in my neighborhood on other issues and it is a flawed process. I feel like they go into the process with their minds made up with what they’re gonna do and the mitigation that’s being offered is always minor. It’s like a handoff to it and I agree with the gentlemen. The decision is always to tear down things instead of trying to figure out how to incorporate things and preserve things. Whether they’re 18th Century buildings or 20th century buildings it always, for everything that come before us, ‘Let’s demolish it and build something’ and every time we lose a building, whether it’s a 19th century building or a 20th century building. A replacement building will never be the same – it’s going to be a different building. And you’re talking about this building, built in 1955, well we’re in the year 2011. The building has already…been around for a long, long time. I would want to think that creative architects could come up with a way of building a new campus for Wheatley and still incorporate this one existing building into that campus and come up with something that serves in Treme and serves the students of Treme and still provides some respect for the architecture of the past and, as Ms. Leblanc said, this building has a history; it’s a living history – it’s not just a building. All those hundred and hundreds of students that attended Wheatley have a love for that building. I’ve had people on the streets come up to me and say exactly what Ms. Leblanc said, that it worked. So, it did work for the students at that time. I’m totally opposed to the demolition of the Wheatley School. Of course, as everyone knows, we have no teeth in the matter. I recognized, the need for the community; I recognize the need for Treme; I recognized what the speakers said about our students having a 21st century building; I just think that you could have both. I think you could preserve that building we see on the screen and still have a 21st century building and have the best of both worlds. But that doesn’t seem the way that the process is going. I’ll open up the floor to the other commissioners. Commissioner Cole.

Frank T. Cole, Commissioner, HDLC (FC): Pardon me, I have a question for the applicant: Considering the significance and how well it’s received among architects, I know that the City of New Orleans is getting ready to have a national AIA meeting here within just a couple of weeks – either the first or second week of April. Have you reached out to them as far as, they have the expertise and also they may actually have some financial backing that may help defer some of these costs?

LH: In 2008, when the Master Plan was announced, we met with DOCOMOMO and they said they were going to bring resources to bare to help us figure this out and that never came. So we had to come up with funds out of our pocket to spend money on the feasibility study because the challenge we had at that time was if we spent money to study this than that’s a roof I can’t replace on an active building. We didn’t have any of the funds. So the time has passed as far as I’m concerned. My concern is about buildings for children to get them off the buses and reduce our operating costs. So, I don’t believe we can delay this process any more.

JL: Thank you. Commissioner Peychaud.

SP: Yes ma’am, if you can come back up to the podium. I have several questions: just for the record for people watching, did you all have community meetings?

LH: Yes. We’ve had on Wheatley alone, I know we’ve had… let me back up. For the design of every building we have at least 5 community engagement meetings. For every building, regardless of what neighborhood we’re in, for the design of it, we have at least 5. Specifically for the demolition and the hearings, I know we’ve had at least 2-3 community meetings.

Stephen Peychaud, Vice Chairman, HDLC (SP): So, take me through this process. We had the master planning that Concordia did.

LH: Yes, and that Master Plan alone had over 200 community meetings.

SP: And, particularly in this neighborhood, there may have been 5 because I remember going to at least two of them.

LH: Yes.

SP: For your demolition – no, I’m sorry – for your next set of meetings, you had how many meetings in the community?

LH: For the demolition and the hearings on Wheatley, FEMA sponsored at least 1 public hearing and then we have had at least 1 to 2 public meeting to present the findings of our study to the community so that they could hear what the study’s results were.

SP: And those were the meetings that I attended at Sojourner Truth.

LH: Yes.

SP: Back to one of the comments about form over function: what’s the new learning… at the community meeting, your architect or someone from RSD mentioned the new model that they were going to, like K-8. In the old days, because my mother was an OPSB teacher for 25 years that worked in horrible conditions in terms of the buildings, the quality of the buildings, and after the storm we said ‘at least we’ll get some renovated or new buildings’. But, the learning model now shifted. It’s not K-6, it’s maybe K-8, correct?

LH: That’s correct. We’re doing K-8.

SP: That’s the mandate, right?

LH: That’s the current model, yes.

SP: From the BESE board or whoever?

LH: Yes. And with that, as you can imagine, it creates some dynamics in the building that you want to make sure that you keep the pre-K -2nd graders essentially in their own, isolated community. You have the small learning community so that the teenagers who are bigger and sometimes their hormones are raging, can be kept away from the little ones and you manage those buildings as they relate to small learning communities. So you try to do Pre-K – 2nd and maybe 2nd – 5th together and then-

SP: And that’s the standard across all RSD schools now?

LH: That’s the goal for all of our buildings. That’s how we’re going to construct all of our buildings.

SP: Is that how Mahalia Jackson is set up?

LH: Mahalia Jackson is a completely different building. It is only focused on early childhood. 0-5 population.

SP: So the new model is K-8.

LH: Yes.

SP: The existing building, as it stands today. How does that model fit into the existing building?

LH: I believe the existing building was built as a Pre-K through 5 or Pre-K through 6.

SP: How would the new learning model fit in the existing building? Would it work or would it not?

LH: In our study of saving the existing building and adding the new footprint to make sure there was equity across the board we found that you could not isolate and kids would have to travel through other kids’ learning communities so a 5th grader would have to walk all the way across to the second graders’ hallway in order to exit the building. It made the transitions a bit more challenging in that you could not isolate. One community would have to go through another community’s space in order to get to the common spaces like the gymnasium and cafeteria. We evaluated that.

SP: And the recommendation was that it would not work in the new facility?

LH: That’s correct.

SP: And then I had a couple of questions for Ms. Boucree. Thank you for coming back up. I made some notes about your comments. You attended the school? Because at several of the community meetings that I attended, several of the names, I guess 200+ petition that I just saw. They expressed some of their concerns about the way the school was set up. Can you elaborate on any of those?

EB: Right, well a number of the people in our community both have attended or taught in the school and we heard from two of the teachers who were part of the FEMA consultation process.

SP: And that’s, not to cut you off, but Stella…

EB: Stella Reese.

SP: I saw her name on there.

EB: Yes, Stella Reese as well as Ms. Diane Blanks. They both taught in the school and they both shared the challenges that they faced. One, keeping the students’ attentions because of the windows and the glare they brought into the classroom as well as the movement from the classroom to the cafeteria, using the outdoor corridors. That that was a major challenge for them. And also that there was not a an auditorium space where the students could gather together. The condition of using the play yard underneath the building, because of the rain, was never conducive to them because of blowing rain. It never kept the students dry because it just was not functional. So that there were many challenges that they were faced with. But they were faced with the task of educating their students and they did the very best that they could with that space. So they shared that those were some of the challenge that they face and felt that at this point, we were at an opportunity to be able to give our students the very best. The best that many students across our city are afforded and that we needed to make sure that our students not only have the brick and mortar where they can be comfortable, where they can have access to equipment, but that they also have teachers who are prepared and read to teach them in an environment where they’re comfortable as well.

SP: Thank you.

JL: Commissioners, if there are no problems, somebody in the audience wanted to make a rebuttal comment. Ms. Stock? Oh wait, go ahead, since you’re at the microphone.

Emelda Paul (EP): My name is Emelda Paul. I have my daughters and my grandchildren that went to Phillis Wheatley. Also I was a teacher assistant for 6 years over there and in the cafeteria they had one of these big large fans, which helped keep the place cool for the kids. Not only that, but when the kids had to go to the cafeteria, they had to come downstairs and there was no partition for them and all kind of weather. Also, my granddaughter, she would sit by the window many times and cry to go home and many times my daughter would ask the teacher, ‘please remove her away from the window’. It was a lot of things that should not have been happening. Also, when the kids had to go to the restroom, we had to sit there by the restroom to make sure that they were safe. Thank you.

JL: Thank you. Ms. Stock?

FS: Thank you. A couple of notes: One, regarding the windows, I’ve seen vintage photographs at the Historic New Orleans Collection of the Wheatley School which I don’t believe have ever been published – I only found them recently – by Clarence John Laughlin and they show the school with these wonderful curtains and window shades and I think this was the type of thing that perhaps wasn’t replaced over the years. And so, yes, you might have a problem with glare or children getting distracted if there are no windows or curtain shades. This second is that in this past summer, when the feasibility study was finally released, DOCOMOMO joined up with WMF, NTHP, AIA New Orleans, DOCOMOMO/US, as a consulting party, to present a proposal for a design charrette to address the issues that were still leading and these problems in the feasibility study. Which was primarily not a design study, it was a feasibility study – it was massing. We felt that the considerations were really design considerations that could be fixed as far as the way children are circulating, that could be addressed more efficiently and quickly in a design charrette which we would fund and said we would run it in three weeks’ time. This was rejected before we entered the room by FEMA who said RSD had exercised due diligence in ordering the feasibility study, so it was over. And then after that meeting is when we began the process of starting to withdraw from FEMA. We saw that there really wasn’t any – you can state a desire that you don’t want to demolish it, and that you’re looking at options, but it was only talk.

JL: Thank you. Commissioner Shields.

Lloyd Shields, HDLC (LS): May I ask a question please? When you were up at the podium earlier, did you mention something about a conflict of interest?

FS: Yes we did.

LS: What is that?

FS: Well, we thought there were questions about whether some of the consultants for the RSD were acting in…who they were working for.

LS: Without naming any names, would you please state what you’re talking about? If you feel comfortable. If you don’t, don’t worry about it.

FS: Yeah, I’d prefer not to.

LS: Alright, fine. Thank you very much. I have a question for the applicant please. Who are the architects who did the schematic design of which you spoke earlier?

LH: Holly and Smith was commissioned. They are Jeffrey Smith was the former president of the Louisiana chapter of the AIA.

LS: So they’re doing the new school

LH: That’s correct.

LS: Well I read here, in my report, that they’re also the ones who determined that the existing school had to be demolished.

LH: They provided the feasibility study, yes. They gave the RSD the data, the study. When we hired him, we asked him, could he do an objective study?

LS: So you go the same person who gets the job for the new school, and you’re gonna ask them, ‘can you adaptively reuse this’ as RSD says? You asked the person who gets the new school whether the old school can be adaptively reused? And if they say yes, it can, they don’t get to design the new school?

LH: They gave a study that said it could be reused. We said, the RSD said, for financial reasons, for the waivers they were trying to get us to do, things like the fire, life safety issues, things like HVAC and acoustics. We said that was practicable or feasible. That was our determination. They provided a study of two option and the RSD then made the recommendation and said we don’t want to spend the additional money and the additional learning environment issues.

LS: Do you see any conflict of interest? Or perhaps that’s too strong a term. Do you see an issue that some might raise where you have the same firm doing the feasibility study, adaptive reuse or new, as the same firm whose going to get the work either way?

LH: We do feasibility studies and if an architect is gonna be conflicted out, I guess we rely on the judgement of that architect to say ‘I can’t do that’. I don’t see a problem. I guess, let me rephrase that:

LS: Please

LH: I don’t a see where this is an issue to hire a firm to study something and if they come back with the two options and we make a decision to then hire the firm to continue the design, that’s, in my opinion, that’s not different than what we’ve done in some of our other projects when we’ve found problems as we’ve done feasibility studies – found problems with mortar and brick, such as the Colton School, and they gave us a design to solve that problem.

LS: Well that’s how the RSD thinks, is what you’re saying? It is ok for the same firm to make the feasibility study as is the same firm who’s going to do the work, ultimately?

LH: I didn’t see a problem with it.

LS: I take it that this feasibility study was done in detail. I mean, I read here what must be what some would call an executive summary. It just gives conclusions. I take it that there was detailed study which included the cost of adaptive reuse for whatever your needs are versus the cost of the new facility for those same needs.

LH: Yes.

LS: And that’s available? It must be a public document?

LH: Yes. That has been provided to FEMA and I believe the consulting parties all had copies of it.

LS: Is that online somewhere?

LH: It’s not online, but we can provide it to whomever needs it.

LS: So DOCOMOMO got a copy of that?

LH: Yes.

LS: Ok, thank you very much.

JL: Ms. Hankins? I’m just curious from something you just said. So this feasibility study that was done – the people who did the study said ‘Option A was saving the Wheatley School or portions thereof and making it work into a new plan and Option B was tear down the Wheatley School and building a whole new school?’ And the RSD selected basically Option 2.

LH: That’s correct.

JL: And based on cost considerations, you felt that it wasn’t-

LH: Cost and educational adequacy. And education adequacy was all the other things that I sited: the health safety issue around the width of the corridor. In order to make this building viable such that children don’t have to walk outside, you have to enclose the corridor. I think then folks would start challenging the architectural – are we keeping and maintaining the architectural integrity of the building at that point? Because then you’d have to start adding additional egresses, you have to close in the corridor in order to make it a dry place for kids to function and then you’d have the corridor width which we’d have to be required to either get a variance from the fire marshal on fire life safety issues and I don’t think anybody wants to put children in jeopardy. The other issue is, as it relates to the HVAC in lower ceilings, we are striving for a lower decibel rating in the classrooms so that the teachers do not have to yell and the children can pay attention. By putting air conditioning inside the classrooms in a way in order to accommodate the lower ceiling height. Ceiling height, I believe in this building’s only like 7’3”. It’s not the cavernous ceiling heights that you have in other schools. My young son today to me that Magic Johnson was 6’3” in the 8th grade. I don’t think he could function in this building. Now, do we have a lot of Magic Johnsons running around? Maybe not, but we have some. So, what does that do for that child? And then when you’re talking about part of their feasibility study they said you can bring some of the building down to the first floor, close in the open air breezeway and make it wider. If I do that, it doesn’t meet ABFE, so now I have to spend more money to try to flood-proof this building. And while everybody’s excited that the RSD has a lot of money right now, that lot of money has to go a lot of different places. And so from a district’s perspective, to spend more money in this particular neighborhood, may mean another neighborhood doesn’t get a school. And that’s the predicament we’re in, in looking at the city as a whole and trying to recover the entire city.

JL: Thank you. Commissioner French.

Elizabeth Shane French, HDLC (ESF): Always, the amount of money that you have is an issue. Did y’all put this new building out to bid or was it just given to the person that made the …

LH: So the architects, and that’s where we are right now, with the architectural design. We selected architects back in 2008, and we have several pools of architects for different categories. New schools, historic buildings built before 1940s and historic building built after 1940s because we understand and recognize that those are two different types of buildings and you may need a different type of skill set. And so we rotate through the pool list of available architects and that’s how this architect was selected.

ESF: Was it put out to bid?

LH: Yes, through an RFP process. But we have not put anything out to bid yet because you bid construction. An RFQ process to create our pool was publicly done.

ESF: So the building will be put out to bid as well?

LH: We’re required by state law to bid everything.

JL: Do we have any questions by any commissioners or anyone in the audience?

SP: Just an overall comment: I’ve attended meetings as well as, I remember some of the DOCOMOMO members being in the audience at the Sojourner Truth meetings. Tough decisions, I know that you all make them all the time. I’m looking at this building, I pass it every day. I actually have seen people go in the building with the fence locked. So it wasn’t an issue of me calling RSD security and going ‘you know what?’ and won’t even mention some of the people I was with, they were like ‘how could that happen?’ 6 years later, we have an empty building; you have kids being bused at 5:45 in the morning; we got a new development coming up two blocks away, Faubourg Lafitte; we have new residents, our Latin friends are moving in; and we have new residents from other parts of the country moving in. I think we should have a world-class facility for these people moving in, whether they’re white, black, green, whatever, it doesn’t matter. Versus a building that is very significant, but when you mention the facts of how it was built, when it was built, Mr. Ducote, during the separate but equal time, which meant to me, in my opinion, wasn’t even built equal at that point, I have a hard time voting to keep a building that doesn’t even fit the new learning model that the RSD, the BESE board, whoever governs all these models, deems not sufficient. If you’re gonna make that kind of investment in the community… you were here earlier. You heard some of my comments I’ve made. I don’t take these demolitions lightly because you can have a whole footprint gone. My concern, again, I’m in support of the demolition, but my concern is the design. And I’ve heard several comments, or seen several comments from the ARC about the design. We don’t have much teeth in terms of what we can advice you, but what I would like, if it is passed today, which I don’t know but probably not, is that you all make a commitment to continue to work with the staff to design something that’s appropriate.

LH: Absolutely, and I was excited to hear that you guys have design guidelines that have been adopted so I told my staff-

SP: Well a building like this would go beyond… a building like this, it would be on another level, but you know, you all have reached out to the community because I remember some of the meetings, you all were beyond the demolition, you all had schematics of Plan A, Plan B and the dumpsters being placed here and there, so you all are taking it to another level but the in-house architecture review, they had some issues. So again, I don’t know how this is going to play out today, I in favor of demolition. I’ve been in your meetings, I’ve listened to both sides. I’ve listened to the community. And I’ve listened to former problems that some of the teachers, former students have had there. And I don’t want to see kids go, quite frankly, if you’re telling me the ceiling’s are 7’ something and you’ve got to drop it to put in air conditioning, I don’t want them going to a cage, because that reminds me of an incarcerated cage. So, you know, I’m just one person. I wish you all the best of luck. I do applaud you all for at least – I know you weren’t required to do it, but going through master plan and 106 – but to continue not only in this neighborhood but in other neighborhoods to continue to work with the residents and find out what the residents want. Because at the end of the day, those are the people that go to these schools and have knowledge of how these schools work in the communities. Just always keep in mind, go to them. And don’t just do it to have 5 meetings, actually include their recommendations. And then whatever board you have to go to, they decide whether or not it gets approved or not, but at least the residents have had a chance, a sincere change to voice their opinions.

LH: We have found the community engagement piece one of the most wonderful pieces of this process because it give me, the owner, some level of context to go and advocate on behalf of when the architect the architect is bringing me a wonderful design, because sometimes that wonderful design doesn’t fit in with their visions. So that gives me that ammunition to push back on the architect. Because I’m not the architect, I’m not the artist – I don’t understand that. But it gives me that knowledge to say, ‘Well, no, no, no, the community wants round windows, not the new modern ones you gave me.’

JL: You mentioned our design guidelines and we do have design guidelines. We also have an Architectural Review Committee, composed of 5 very talented architects and although they don’t have final say on your new building, I think if you at least involve them in the process, I’ve learned in the many years I’ve been on this commission that a lot of times, they come up with some suggestions and since their services are free, they’re not going to cost RSD any money and sometimes they’re looking at the building from a different perspective than architects that have the building or designed the building and some of their suggestions may make the building blend better with the community and fit in more with the historic context where it sits. And I would strongly encourage RSD to take advantage of the HDLC’s ARC and get some design input from us and I think you’ll find that you’ll end up with a building that will be more integrated with the community.

LH: Yes, and if we can do that quickly, we’d love to do that.

JL: It can be done quickly. The other question I have: what is the budget for this new school?

LH: The budgets for our new schools run about $21 million.

JL: Thank you. Commissioners, I think we’ve had all the comments- Commissioner Jaffe?

Marlene Jaffe, HDLC (MJ): One more: if this building does get demolished, has there been any discussion about keeping any documentation either physical or on paper?

LH: Yes, we are required to do HABS drawing and photo for the history. That level of documentation for this building.

JL: Commissioner Shields

LS: Just another question ma’am: Was the architect and person who did the feasibility study aware of that budget at the time they did the feasibility study?

LH: We gave them a cost per square foot, yes.

LS: Ok, so it just came out by sheer coincidence that replacement and new build was $21 million and the adaptive reuse was $22 million?

LH: I didn’t do the study. I’m assuming he’s a professional and he did the analysis in the appropriate way.

LS: Thank you.

JL: Commissioners, we’ve been asked to give our advice on this demolition. We can offer a motion that we’re in support of the demolition of the Wheatley School or we can offer a motion that we’re not in support of the demolition of the Wheatley School. Do I have a motion either way? Commissioner Peychaud.

SP: I’ll make a motion in support.

JL: Is there a second to Comm. Peychaud’s motion in support of the demolition of the Wheatley School? Mr. Dupree. We have a motion on the floor and a second to offer that we are in support of the demolition of the Wheatley School. All those in favor of the motion? (pause). Three in support, so the motion fails. Is there an alternative motion? There does not have to be one, just is there one? (pause). The motion fails, so basically the HDLC is not making a recommendation one way or the other on the building, but I think you heard the committee input and our input and, you know, we wish you success with the project and good luck. And we appreciate everyone in the audience who came down. Commissioner Shields?

SS: Yes sir, I don’t think it’s fair to say the commission doesn’t make a recommendation, because there was a motion to support the demolition and the commission did not carry that motion, so I think that speaks for itself.

EP: That’s correct. I stand corrected.

Comments on the Petition to Save Phillis Wheatley Elementary School

2011-04-03T10:02:00.000-05:00

Please sign the petition today! Currently signatures are above 1300 and include members of the Treme community and the greater New Orleans area, displaced New Orleanians, architects, educators, preservationists and fans of New Orleans culture and architecture from around the world. Thanks to all who have already written in.

maggie dawes
It is time to stop degrading the
African American/Carribean heritage of New Orleans. Stop the destruction of this landmark.

Tamara Prosper
I'm tired of excuses for refusing to rebuild our schools. The people who are so eager to destroy the places where children can learn are the same ones complaining about the crime rate which wouldn't be so high if young people felt like they had a decent future to look forward to. Please save this school. Please help this community. Please do this for the city of New Orleans.

Gloria DeCuir-Robert
Stop demolishing and changing the names of schools named after African American heroes!

Wessel De Jonge
Architect and Co-founder of DOCOMOMO International

Loretta Yoiung-Williams
There is no legitimate reason for demolishing this building. Probably the first modern school facility built in New Orleans. Some of the landmarks in that area still stand and have been restored since Katrina......Willie Mae's Scotchhouse & Restaurant and Dooky Chase Restaurant.......Phyllis Wheatley is also one of this area's landmarks and should continue to be a school to serve this community......I want to be able to bring my grandchildren to this area and let them see some of the same things in this neighborhood that were there when I grew up in it. Save Phyliis Wheatley....restore it!

Robert A. Svetz
Hasn't New Orleans lost enough buildings, let alone one that - standing a full story above ground - looks like it is sufficiently flood protected to be designated as a rescue station in emergencies?
Sustainability's champions need more than ever to support 'Reuse' among its 4 R's - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Regenerate - if for no other reason than there's a lot more serious and creatively demanding Reuse design work to be done in the US than new design work.
Get over your glossy emergent cnc-milled 'newgasms' and support this sensible petition.

Melissa Woods
I attended Wheatley Elementary school from kindergarten to 6th grade. I have so many happy memories of my school years. Wheatley is where my journey of life began. I was blessed and shaped by so many teachers and faculty members at the school. I was taught to be proud of who I am and was given the needed education which lead me to strive for excellence. Wheatley has always been etched in my mind and I constantly think of all the beautiful people at Wheatley who had a hand in shaping the person I am today. By destroying Wheatley, you will destroy a part of our lives. We have already lost most of our homes and many of us have not been able to return. When ever I visit New Orleans, I always stop by Wheatley. Just seeing the school, gives me the strength and encouragement to continue what was started in me by the school. For most of us, it's pretty much all we have to look back on after the destruction of hurricane katrina.

Mark Smith
The societal norm propagates bias against architect that is constructed in our own generation. There is a time shift of what is deemed important, Victorians from the 1890’s, bungalows from the 1920’s are now valued and protected. Buildings of our generation are not yet old enough to be nostalgic and discussed at the local PTA as worth saving. Modernism looses buildings ever day that we will never even know the significance of what we are losing until it is too late. The Phillis Wheatley Elementary School should not be demolished.

Lucie Faulknor
As a former resident of New Orleans and the producer of a documentary on Treme, I know the importance of preserving the past. Do not demolish the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School. If it is not to be used as a school, certainly it can be re-purposed for some other community use. Environmentally and historically, saving it is the right thing to do.

Jeffrey Scanlan
MODERN architecture is a part of our history too!

David Davies
Please try and think about the value of architecture to your environment. The school building looks stunning and alternate uses would find a superb functioning space. Once demolished, you can never go back. N'Orleans needs to maintain as much of its historical integrity as possible. Please think again before its too late.Thank you for taking the time to read this message.

Tabi Katouzi
I alway listen to my best Friend Mary Ali.

Frits van Dongen
The Philis Wheatley Elementary School building should never be demolished!

Christopher Tavener
Although I am not a student of the school, as and architect and preservationist, I urge you to abandon demolition and consider adaptive reuse of this fine building whose design has proved extraordinarily well attuned to its use and the environment of New Orleans, and whose reuse would also reduce waste of energy embodied in its construction..

Jayme Spencer
As a former resident of New Orleans, I regret that the school will be demolished without a hearing at the very least.

Lucian Fulger SANDULESCU
It's a pity to destroy the past....the history of the town.
It's a great mistake to destroy a good architectural object.
As an ICOMOS-Ro director comitee member i strongly support this petition.

Loreen Silvarahawk
In order for our children to remember history, they need to have visible reminders not plaques.

Jason Ryan
Just got back from service trip to NOLA where we sadly helped close down the Lower 9th Health Clinic. It's time to fix not tear down New Orleans!

Margaret Zeidler
As a lover of beautiful buildings and a frequent visitor to your extraordinary city - PLEASE reconsider this decision!

Dierdre Miano
Thank you for listening to the people--the "suburbanization" of New Orleans must cease!!!
Rich, cultural heritage! Remember--it's good for tourists, it's good for locals.
Thank you for listening to your heart.

Kubičková Klára
DOCOMOMO member

Dorothy McHattie
What a wonderful piece of mid-20th century architecture, which certainly deserves to be restored as part of New Orleans, US and world heritage. It is particularly fine as a school, being designed to allow daylight to flood into the building, just a teaching allows light to flood into the lives of children. It would be a tragedy for it to be demolished.

Robert Pfaffmann
America is facing a great challenge in saving mid century modern culture. Thank you for alerting us!

Fernando Vázquez
It will be a pity if the authorities of the city leave this beautiful and very well planned building from the 1950s to be destroyed and worse still if we think that it is so rare to fine modern heritage in a place that has few examples, as it is New Orleans.

Dabne Whitemore
This is an absolutely fabulous building that is very close proximity to the new Lafitte development. The renovated school building would add a new dimension to the street grid by having a renovated area one block off the new development, which would hopefully spur more renovations. Also, the building drainage is severely compromised under the building and would need to be addressed - it would be good to have an entire landscaping plan associated with the renovation.

Toby Branden
Save our schools! Save our children!!

Christopher Bernhardt
This school is an important part of New Orleans' great architecture. So many wonderful buildings have recently been destroyed or abandoned. Don't add this school to the list.

Jose Cervino
Architecture such as this should not be demolished, but taken as an example that even he most practical of buildings can be beautiful yet safe.

Crystal Kile
This school is a modern architectural gem, and should be preserved, perhaps as a civil rights museum or community center. It should have been salvaged and re-opened as a neighborhood school, but that is a whole other discussion.
PRESERVE PHILLIS WHEATLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL!

Lina Moses
New Orleans must support diversity of all kinds, including it's architecture. What an amazing piece of history and a tremendous resource potentially for the community. Phillis Wheatley was ahead of her time when she lived, yet her poetry is timeless, as is the building named for her.

Frederick Lee Lawson
The modernism of the recent past will someday be the "old" fabric of the future. N.O. is a preservation city which treasures its history & traditions. The demolition of the Rivergate for replacement with the "Vegas-Style" casino is done & was a huge loss to the city. Any decent modernist structures which we can save are important, maybe not to us immediately but to the future. Save this one.

Andrealouise Jackson-Richard
This school made national history as a winner.

Julie Lord
Demolition would be a pointless act of council-initiated vandalism. Fight the good fight!

Stan Teng
New Orleans has a rich architectural history that is not limited to Creole cottages, shotguns, Victorian and Garden District Buildings. The architectural history includes modernist buildings of 1950's that responded to new methods of construction and contemporary ways of relating to the New Orleans climate. To lose a building like Phiillis Wheatley Elementary School would create a gap in the continuum of New Orleans history.

robin grow
members of the Art Deco & Modernism Society in Australia are opposed to the demolition of this wonderful school building

Gary Wolf, AIA
I am supporting this petition because of the apparent quality and importance of this building as a work of modern architecture. That such a structure served a black neighborhood in New Orleans makes it an expression of the city's commitment and optimism at the time. A decision now to save it would be an equally strong statement.

Martin Schwartz
New Orleans is the only city in this country that we value solely for its culture: its food, its music, and its architecture. Destroying part of the architectural culture is no different from closing an important restaurant or disbanding one of the renowned jazz ensembles. Any of these acts represents the loss of what makes New Orleans valuable, wonderful, and viable. Katrina destroyed enough of our culture; we needn't do the rest ourselves.

Su Tamsett
It would be a tragedy to demolish this building. The design of this building was so ahead of it's time that, once restored, the school could easily pass as a beautifully realized contemporary building. If it is structurally sound, as reported, it should also be a significant cost savings to restore rather than replace.

Stan Field
Architecture like this is an expression of our society. Let us not self destruct.

Joseph Newland
Please do not destroy a landmark building in a neighborhood that has already lost so much.
It is a classic example from a golden era of American architecture, one whose buildings are often subject to remodeling and/or replacement.
The World Monuments Fund endorses saving it as an important part of N.O. and U.S. heritage--and preserving the many layers of history in a storied town like the Crescent City makes it and all of us a little bit richer.
Please save the school!

Jennifer Levy
My family originates from New Orleans, so this is dear to my heart please save this architectural gem.

Wellington Reiter
I know New Orleans very well. I have personally toured the Wheatley School. Even in its current state, it is a remarkable structure and one that could easily be renewed.

Mary Ruffin Hanbury
About 10 years ago, the Oxford American magazine published an interview with Sam Mockbee the great architect and he listed his 10 favorite works of southern architecture. The Phillis Wheatley School was one of the 10. Based on that recommendation, the next time I visited the city for my work with the National Trust for Historic Preservation I asked my hostess to take me there. She, a native New Orleanean, did not know the building and it took us a while to find it. But when we did, we were dumbstruck. I am not a huge fan of modern architecture but even I could see that this was an amazing piece of architecture. Please do not allow it to be demolished. I realize that as I am not a resident or a constituent, my voice may not "count" as much. But I love your city and I spent Oct-Dec 2005 there coordinating volunteers post Katrina. Do not lose this landmark. It will be a huge loss for you and for all of us who love New Orlenas and love architecture.
Mary Ruffin Hanbury

Alan Karchmer
The presence of buildings from all periods of design is essential to maintain the continuum of history in a living city. New Orleans is distinguished as a city by its rich fabric of urban design. It is essential that this example of 20th Century design remain as part of this whole.

Carolyn Bennett
The building and its name are important to our heritage. Please call off the wrecking balls.

Cleary Larkin
Adaptive re-use of existing architecture is the most economic and environmentally friendly manner of construction. This building is historically and architecturally significant and more effort should be put into the feasibilty study of re-using the structure for a new school. Protect New Orleans heritage and culture; demolition is not the answer.

Karen Campbell
It is a shame what has happened to this building over the years. It is now hideous! Who allowed this to happen? But it would be an even greater shame to demolish it. Return it to its former glory so that it can be an asset to the community instead of an eyesore.

Mary Beth Robinson
Dear Mayor Landrieu,
I am an educator with the College of Architecture and Design in Tennessee and ask that you support the heritage of the Black Neighborhoods in New Orleans and not demolish the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School. This structure is not just architecturally significant, but a significant part of your community's heritage that can't be lost. You will benefit your community more to restore this historical landmark than if you destroy it. Support the amazing heritage of your community and save the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School.
Thank you,
Mary Beth Robinson

David Fixler
This is one of the most important modern buildings in the southern US, with an architectural significance that is nationally recognized. It is testimony to fact that a culture of architectural quality continued to have a strong presence in 20th century New Orleans, and its loss would clearly diminish this culture.

Carl Stein
We have an unfortunate record of carelessness regarding the preservation of the touchstone places that would prompt future generations to consider the social and cultural events that shaped their lives. Once an authentic artifact is gone, it can never be replaced. I urge you to consider the historic implications of destroying a landmark of such significance.

Lucretia Giese
Buildings with historic significance are an essential part of United States culture and warrant preservation I urge that this care be given the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School in New Orleans

Donald McLarty
Of all cities in the US that should be sensitive to historic preservation it is New Orleans, a city steeped in history where architecture serves as the basis for tourism and the economy.
Please respect modern historic structures in your city. It is simply another step in the evolution of the architectural history in New Orleans.

Lisa Ryan
I first saw this school on a walk that my husband and I took to Willie Mae's Scotch House. I was stunned by its beauty, unique character and amazing design. I was also stunned that only a few blocks away, a major urban renewal project resulted in the demolition of thousands of historic buildings and realized the immediate threat to this neighborhood, these properties and to the history of this amazing city. Please stop, think and realize that difficult or challenging social issues that impact a neighborhood or community are not equivalent to bad buildings. Beyond being historically significant, this building served as a vital community resource. Stop the destruction of New Orleans modern architecture....please!

Michael Stanton
I am a New Orleans resident, working in Maryland. I am an architect and Professor of Architecture and write on architectural/urban history. I taught at Tulane for many years.
Charles Colbert's buildings are a living heritage in Louisiana and this one, located in Treme, has its African-American history in addition. The school is simply one of the city's most important structures. Its destruction, like that of so many other crucial New Orleans buildings, will contribute again to the diminishment of our city. It is a monument and should be treated that way. Shame on those who will its destruction.

Joseph Masheck
What a beautiful building! Why do all the illiterate yuppie businessmen now hate Modern Architecture? Well, I guess I'm answering my own question.

anthony pleskow
Certain buildings become a critical part of our collective cultural heritage for a number of reasons. The memories of those that have shared experiences within the framework of the structure and the historical value these buildings have as quality representations of a particular artistic canon.This building qualifies on these fronts and more.

Ian MacRae
I love Nola and visit often. I think this building represents an important chapter in the citys history and would be interetes in visiting it one day. Ian

ken hedrick
Please recognize what this building means to those who have used it, seen it on a daily basis thruout their life, and who might grow to understand and appreciate it in the future. Where would we be if all the arts and crafts homes had been torn down when they were no longer in fashion???

Michelle McCarthy
Dear Mayor Landrieu and City Council Members,
There is no reason to demolish a sound building, and fine example of modern architecture. Please maintain this cultural and educational building.
M. McCarthy

martha Kohen
We have lost Riverview High in Sarasota. This cannot continue. We must educate the School Boards!

bonnie slaughter
As an artist and a resident of New Orleans, I feel it would be a travesty to demolish such a fine example of modern architecture. Are all we going to be left is the bad examples?

Alan Higgins
I am signing on behalf of the Recent Past Preservation Network, a national non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the preservation of our modern built environment.
Alan Higgins
Interim President
Recent Past Preservation Network
www.recentpast.org

Lynnette Widder
There must be a better way of accomplishing what is desired besides relegating a part of La.'s cultural heritage to the landfill. Too little remains of the highpoint of American modern architecture.

Dwayne Howard
Dear Mayor Landrieu,
Please do the right thing in preserving an irreplaceable part of New Orlean's built environment and architectural history.
Sincerely,
Dwayne Howard

Danilo Macedo
signing on behalf of docomomo brasilia chapter.

Paul Adamson, FAIA
I am a Board member of docomomo_northern california and a former National Board Member of Docomomo_us, branches of the international organization devoted to the documentation and conservation of buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the modern movement. The period between 1920 ad 1970 was witness to the extraordinary advances in Science, Culture and Art that have dome to define our contemporary society. The PHILLIS WHEATLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN NEW ORLEANS is one of this region's most notable architectural achievements from this particulary creative times in American history. Many significant works of the high modern period are threatened around the world, and it is the obligation of those who value our cultural legacies to look after these still vital elements of our built environment.

John Dixon
In additiion to its significance to the African-American community, this building is an outstanding example of Modern Architecture in America. It was completed in 1954 to an innovative design by the internationally known New Orleans architect Charles Colbert, and it remains a fine work of architecture.

howard mock
be sustainable, be green, be prudent, be wise. there is nothing more wasteful than destroying perfectly useful structures; especially those that have withstood the test and rigors of time and natural disasters.

Abby Inpanbutr
Please reconsider, this is a singular and beautiful building!

John klingman
This is a tragedy that does not need to occur. Has anyone ever heard of adaptive reuse?
This is an internationally recognized historic structure. When will we stop destroying our heritage?
Where are our public officials?

Julian Mutter
We have already lost so much. Let's not add to the disaster!

Roxanne Oliver
The primary school building did not flood after Hurricane Katrina, but remains closed ... so, why tear it down?

John Burgess
Nuff' Respect For African-American Cultural & Heritage Landmarks!!!!

Stevan Caronia, AIA
Please SAVE this rare example of Mid-Century Modern Architecture in the city so rich with a diversity of architecture.

Nancyann Toth
There isn't any reason an institution of learning should be destroyed, especially our young children.

Edward Brown
This building is a true realization of the gumbo that is New Orleans!
If the RSD would prefer not to use this building as a school / amidst a changing demographic, surely an appropriate and beneficial use could be determined. Look at what has been done at Mahalia Jackson Elementry:
http://www.mahaliajacksoncenter.org/Community.php

Cassandra Howard
Save Phillis Wheatley!

Andrew Sternad
Diverse buildings from all eras make New Orleans great! Our history is our legacy!

Sarah Adkins
Please preserve New Orleans architectural and cultural heritage. The arguments for demolition do not begin outweigh the arguments for preservation.

Edward Hall
This isn't a only a demolition New Orleans will regret 50 years from now, but one New Orleans will regret tomorrow. Save Wheatley!

Steven Montgomery
During our recent visit to New Orleans at Mardi Gras, our group of five architects took time out of the revelry to visit the Wheatley school (our second such visit) and a number of other examples of modern architecture, and would strongly encourage its restoration and reuse (which also happens to be a more sustainable strategy). We first became aware of the school at an exhibit at the Ogden museum on the work of Arthur Davis, and subsequently at a student exhibition at the School of Architecture at Tulane. New Orleans has a strong history of preservation; and its prime examples of regional modernism should fall under that same umbrella of protection. As the new mayor, the city looks to you for enlightened leadership. Please consider saving this structure for future generations. Thank you.

John Klingman
This petition reflects the heartfelt sentiments of a broad range of New Orleanians.
The RSD and FEMA have cynically pitted "progress' against the adaptive reuse of this important historic building.
I could not say it more eloquently than Ms. Montana-LeBlanc.
Let's stop demolishing our history!

Don Gatzke
Cultural preservation requires that the physical record of all ages is preserved and used by successive generations and inhabitants. The genius of New Orleans is the great gumbo of really old, old, sorta old, and new--which will very quickly become the old. Save all of it.
Don Gatzke, former New Orleanian, former dean of Architecture, Tulane University.

Janice Liddell
Good schools that provide nurturing teaching/learning environments for our children are at a premium. They are needed in all areas and fortunately, Phillis Wheatley Elementary School has been able to provide this for our youth for many years. It is an abomination to demolish such a school that has had so many successes, has contributed to the culture and history of our youth and of our community. Indeed such a decision must be rescinded.

Sarah Cloonan
The Phillis Wheatley Elementary School is extremely near and dear to my heart. Designed by legendary New Orleans Architect Charles Colbert its functional and beautiful structure was incredibly forward thinking - allowing a protected shaded space for play while raising the classrooms of the ground plane. Preserving New Orleans' history isn't just about the French Quarter, it encompasses the entire environment that makes this city such an amazing place to live, work and learn.

Lynn Josse
I wish we had Modern structures like this in St. Louis. It would be a shame to demolish something so historically important.

Ellen Weiss
New Orleans has some of the finest, most inventive modern schools in the nation. We must not allow the richness of our nineteenth century heritage, with its unique shotgun-formed city texture, blind us to our splendid twentieth century heritage.

DoCoMoMo Venezuela
SAVE PHILLIS WHEATLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN NEW ORLEANS!

Josh Mings
It is time to stop the destruction of mid-century modern architecture in New Orleans. We have already lost several gems, we don't need to lose any more.

Craig Hunt
Building re-use is true sustainability. We can stop the landfill contribution that is building demolition. Let us also reduce our contribution to greenhouse gases and toxins produced by construction processes by making use of what is already there.

SAVE WHEATLEY SCHOOL! sign and share this petition

2011-03-24T09:04:00.002-05:00

Dear friends,

On behalf of DOCOMOMO US/ Louisiana I ask you to consider signing an online petition to save the historic modern Phillis Wheatley Elementary School which is threatened with demolition. This petition was started by Phyllis Montana-Leblanc. PML spoke passionately at Friday's hearing before the Historic District Landmarks Commission in defense of her alma mater, "If you tear down my school, a part of me dies with it."

Unfortunately we have learned that there will NOT be a review before the City Council and an RFP has been issued for the demolition. Apparently since this is a city-initiated (Orleans Parish School Board via Recovery School District) demolition of a city-owned building, the City Council is not required to review the demolition request. Still, we remain dedicated to the call to preserve the Wheatley School which was listed on the World Monuments Fund Watch in 2010.

We hope to gather more than 2000 signatures and present the petition to Mayor Landrieu and the City Council.

I'm so very grateful to Phyllis for coming forward and reminding me that there is still Hope.
This is truly our midnight hour.

SAVE PHILLIS WHEATLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN NEW ORLEANS! SAY "NO!" TO DEMOLITION(AUGUST 2011)

If you have already signed and shared the petition with your friends, I extend my heartfelt gratitude. Please consider joining DOCOMOMO US to help support the documentation and conservation of the building, sites and neighborhoods of the modern movement.

Sincerely yours,

Francine Stock

President

DOCOMOMO US/Louisiana

Oubre and Wagner's South Branch Bank

2011-03-23T15:47:00.005-05:00

In December 1962, New Orleans Architect magazine published Oubre & Wagner's new South Branch Bank for the Bank of Slidell, Louisiana. Photographer Frank Lotz Miller's image (above) accompanied the project synopsis. The 260 sq. ft. drive-in occupied a 1.1.-acre suburban lot at the intersection of Highway 11 and Broad Street. Oubre and Wagner Architects developed a two-sided scheme for access to teller windows, with two adjacent walls separating the automotive paths:

"Since most of the site was to be occupied by a flat circulation pattern and the building was to accommodate fast business within a brick and glass enclosure, and consequently, small in volume, it was decided that an umbrella development over the building would be effective for weather-proofing the motorist and for visual effect. . . The low masonry screen walls are to shield on-coming traffic and for a horizontal dimension to the building."

The building has been razed.

Rufus Alldredge Medical Clinic (1964)

2011-03-22T11:02:00.002-05:00

Facade detail 2, originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

In 1963 architect Charles Colbert designed this medical clinic building for Dr. Rufus Alldredge as an elevated structure consisting of two units bridged in the rear by a glass enclosed ramp. A rusty pipe grillage creates subtly changing shades and shadows on the front facade. Today the building sits next to an empty lot that once was an Exxon station at the major intersection of Louisiana Avenue and St. Charles Avenue.

[Anthony DelRosario, DOCOMOMO NOLA; photo: Stephanie Day, New Orleans Virtual Archive, Tulane School of Architecture]

Petition to Save Phillis Wheatley School

2011-03-19T17:57:00.012-05:00

After an hour of reviewing the school's architectural and historic significance, the Recovery School District's defense of their desire to demolish, and public comments, the commissioners moved to a vote. Commissioner Stephen Peychaud made a motion in support of demolition, which was seconded by Commissioner Emilio Dupre. The motion only received three votes and did not pass. The City Council will review the RSD's request to demolish the Wheatley School soon.

We hope to gather more than 2000 signatures and present the petition to Mayor Landrieu before the City Council review.

I'm so very grateful to Phyllis for coming forward and reminding me that there is still Hope.
This is truly our midnight hour. Please sign the petition and forward to your friends.

SAVE PHILLIS WHEATLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN NEW ORLEANS! SAY "NO!" TO DEMOLITION(AUGUST 2011)

Sincerely yours,

Francine Stock

President

DOCOMOMO US/Louisiana

HDLC to review RSD's request to demolish the Wheatley School

2011-03-15T10:24:00.000-05:00

In 2010 the World Monuments Fund listed the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School to its Watch list.

Today the school is on a demolition list.

THE NEW ORLEANS HISTORIC DISTRICT LANDMARKS COMMISSION WILL HOLD ITS NEXT REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING ON FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2011 AT 9:30AM IN CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS AT 1300 PERDIDO STREET. THE PUBLIC IS WELCOME.
MEETING STARTING TIME IS 9:30 A.M.

The meeting agenda of the New Orleans Historic District Landmark Commission includes

C. City Initiated Demolitions
1. 2300 Dumaine Street: Orleans Parish School Board, owner; Recovery School District, applicant.
Commission review of the proposal to demolish Wheatley Elementary School

Let your voice be heard.

First Guaranty Bank (1960)

2011-03-14T10:23:00.002-05:00

First Guaranty Bank (1960), originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

In 1960 architect John Desmond (1922-2008) designed the First Guaranty Bank In Ponchatoula, Louisiana. Today the building is threatened with imminent demolition. First Guaranty plans to demolish the structure and replace it with a new building.

Lustron House on the auction block

2011-03-11T21:38:00.002-06:00

4940 St Roch Avenue, originally uploaded by katrinaevacuee200.

This Lustron House at 4940 St Roch Avenue in Gentilly Terrace is on the list of Louisiana Land Trust properties to be auctioned April 2. Bidding starts at $1000.

To learn more visit the PRC blog: Preservation in the Present.

Join or renew your DOCOMOMO US membership for 2011

2011-03-10T09:27:00.000-06:00

For fifteen years, DOCOMOMO US has been at the forefront of the modern architecture preservation movement, and continues today as the resource for advancing education and advocacy about its importance. To maintain this leadership, we rely on the participation of our supporters, members, and advocates from across the nation.

Thank you for your generosity in 2010. To better manage member benefits and communications with our international counterparts, we are moving towards annual memberships based on calendar year. Please consider renewing your 2011 membership now to join the national community of architects, historians, designers, planners, preservationists, students, and modern movement enthusiasts dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of modern architecture and landscapes in the United States.
Your membership renewal will apply towards the entire 2011 calendar year.

RENEW ONLINE:
DOCOMOMO US Individual members receive the DOCOMOMO US e-news briefs, discounts to US and regional tours, lectures and events, including the International Conference, discounts on DOCOMOMO US publications, and membership in a regional chapter.
Individual membership: USD 55.00 (via PayPal)

DOCOMOMO US + DOCOMOMO International Individual members receive all DOCOMOMO US benefits in addition to the bi-annual DOCOMOMO International Journal and discounts on all DOCOMOMO International publications. It is not possible to be only an International Member.
Individual membership: USD 140.00 (via PayPal)

See the full list of membership options here: http://bit.ly/joindoco

RENEW BY MAIL: http://bit.ly/joindocoPDF

DOCOMOMO US is increasing its impact!

+Regional working groups and affiliated partners offer tours, lectures, events and opportunities for advocacy across the country

+Local chapters are active throughout New England in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Massachusetts, and in Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, Illinois, Texas, California, Washington, and Minnesota. This spring, DOCOMOMO US is happy to welcome Philadelphia to the growing list of national chapters.

+In October 2010, the fourth annual DOCOMOMO US Tour Day reached over 1,000 participants and included twenty three modern architecture tours in fifteen cities across the United States. Planning for Tour Day 2011 is underway!

+DOCOMOMO US produces a monthly e-news brief highlighting current national issues, technical advances, and local efforts related to understanding and preserving the buildings, landscapes, and neighborhoods of the modern movement.

+The DOCOMOMO US website, which includes the DOCOMOMO US Register database of Modern Buildings, is being enhanced and expanded to better serve as an educational resource for our constituents.

Thanks to supporters like you, DOCOMOMO US continues to lead the modern architecture preservation movement in the United States. Thank you for your support, and we hope you will join us to advance the important work of DOCOMOMO US.

Sincerely yours,

Theodore Prudon
President, DOCOMOMO US

P.S. Help us make your membership of DOCOMOMO US as useful and enjoyable as possible by providing us with feedback on your experience. We kindly request you to take a few moments to fill out this short survey. Your answers are very valuable to the organization and our ever-expanding work to preserve of the Modern Movement!

DOCOMOMO US is the working party of DOCOMOMO in the United States. It is a 501(c)3 registered non-profit
organization, a union of regional chapters that share its members’ knowledge of and enthusiasm for the Modern
Movement, promote public interest in it through lectures and walking tours, and organize advocacy efforts to protect
endangered sites and buildings.

DOCOMOMO-US

P.O. Box 230977
New York, NY 10023
United States

1950's Lee Circle

2011-02-25T13:55:00.003-06:00

From the AIA - New Orleans Chapter Office Records, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

DOCOMOMO US February 2011 E-News Brief

2011-02-21T11:53:00.002-06:00

FEBRUARY 2011

Go Modern! www.docomomo-us.org

Follow DOCOMOMO US on Facebook and Twitter

IN THIS EDITION:

- Update: Lloyd Wright's Moore House
- Modernist Anthology: Caracas, Venezuela
- Docomomo International: Marine Biology Station at Montemar, Chile
- Advocacy Spotlight: Triangle Modernist
- Book Announcement: Greening Modernism
- Save the Date: MiMo in Miami, Texas MODern Month and more
- Photo Contest

UPDATE: Lloyd Wright's Moore House

As reported in the DOCOMOMO US December 2010 E-News Brief, the Los Angeles Conservancy is leading the cause to advocate for the preservation of the 1959 Moore House designed by noted architect Lloyd Wright - the son of Frank Lloyd Wright - in Palos Verdes Estates. The deadline to comment on the environmental impact report (EIR) was December 10, 2010, and the Palos Verdes Estates City Council received over 500 letters from area residents, design professionals, architectural historians, historic preservation organizations and concerned individuals across the country. Release of the final EIR is expected shortly, followed by a vote by the Palos Verdes Estates Planning Commission at a public hearing.
(Photo, right: Jennifer Clark)

READ MORE >

Docomomo International: A Caracas Anthology

Much of the American architecture and the urban and landscaping projects built in the 20th Century in Caracas, Venezuela are now Modern Heritage at Risk -- some more acutely than others -- and therefore an important concern to conservationists. To document these structures, Docomomo Venezuela presents American Architects and Planners in Modern Caracas. A work in progress, this comprehensive photo anthology was assembled by Hannia Gomez of Docomomo Venezuela and features stunning then and now images of the city's most significant Modern structures.
(Photo, left: Planchart & Co. building, f. Archives of Fundacion de la Memoria Urbana, Caracas)

READ MORE >

INTERNATIONAL NEWS: Marine Biology Station at Montemar, Chile

Maximiano Atria, secretario general of Docomomo Chile reports on a recent success: news of the final demolition of the ongoing but suspended addition to the marine biology station at Montemar, Chile. The building, designed in 1941 by Chilean architect Enrique Gebhard (1909-1978) and built in two phases between 1941 and 1959, is one of the country's most interesting modern structures.

READ MORE >

ADVOCACY SPOTLIGHT: Triangle Modernist

The Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill "Triangle" region of North Carolina has the third largest concentration of Modernist houses in America -- more than anywhere else except Los Angeles and Chicago. Triangle Modernist Houses is an award-winning 501(c)3 registered nonprofit historical archive dedicated to documenting, preserving and promoting Modernist residential design, and considered one of the largest single archives for residential modern in the United States.

READ MORE >

BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: Greening Modernism

Greening Modernism
Preservation, Sustainability & The Modern Movement
Carl Stein, Author. Published by W.W. Norton & Company, 2010.
With much of our interest in design and construction focused on sustainability, the preservation of modern architecture has become a subject of much discussion. Buildings created in what author Carl Stein refers to as the "petroleum" era are coming particularly under much scrutiny and in turn becoming the victim of negative perceptions and opinions.

READ MORE >

Member News: Docomomo International Journal 42 & Journal 43

We have received word from our international colleagues that Journal 43, Brasilia, has gone to press and is expected to be distributed to members shortly. 2010 international members (membership dues received prior to October 2010) are entitled to receive Journal 42, Art & Architecture and Journal 43, Brasilia. Journal 42 was distributed in December 2010.

New and renewing members for 2011 (membership dues received in October 2010 or later) will receive Journal 44, expected in late Spring 2011, and Journal 45, to be distributed in late 2011.

SAVE THE DATE!

Preserving Post-War Britain
March 2, 2011
American Institute of Architects New York Chapter
Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place, New York, NY
READ MORE >

MiMo in Miami: An International Conference on Mid-Century Modern Architecture
March 11-12, 2011
Miami, FL
READ MORE >

Lecture Series: Texas MODern Month
April 11-13, 2011
Various cities, Texas
READ MORE >

Society of Architectural Historians 64th Annual Meeting
April 13-17, 2011
New Orleans, LA
READ MORE >

CONTEST: MEMBER TRIVIA

Congratulations to our January trivia contest winner!

Andrew Danish correctly identified the signature corrugated aluminum used by Albert Frey at the North Shore Yacht Club in Mecca, California, on the North Shore of the Salton Sea. In 2010 the building received new life as the Salton Sea History Museum.

FEBRUARY PHOTO:

Name this architect and building for a chance to win a prize from the Docomomo archives.

Email your responses to info@docomomo-us.org by February 28.

TALK TO US!

Early Lake Vista

2011-02-15T12:04:00.005-06:00

In the late 1930s, New Orleans architect Douglass V. Freret was commissioned to design a series of homes for the new Lake Vista subdivision. These modest residences were clustered along Egret Street/Hydrangea & Nasturtium Lanes and were "modern interepretations of the Colonial Cottage."

The ten homes were constructed simultaneously, with reinforced concrete foundations, southern yellow pine framing, asbestos shingle roofs and cypress weatherboarding. Exterior paint was comprised of lead and oil, interior finishes were woodwork and enamel.

Images above: "Lake Vista: New Orleans' Famous Lakefront Subdivision Proudly Presents Four Outstanding Examples of Better Living Homes in Ten Splendid New Units." Brochure & Photograph. c. 1940-41. Freret & Wolf Collection, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

H.T. Shalett Residence (1955)

2011-02-06T10:22:00.001-06:00

In 1994 Tulane School of Architecture sponsored a tour, "The International Style in New Orleans" which featured six modern buildings designed by alumni and faculty in New Orleans: Nathaniel C. Curtis, Jr., Arthur Q. Davis, John Lawrence, James Lamantia, Albert C. Ledner, and August Perez, Jr. This is the last of six posts in a series.

H.T. (Monte) Shalett House
15 Tern Street
Architectural Firm: Lawrence, Saunders and Calongne
Principal Architect: George Saunders

Built on a double lot in 1955-56, this spacious home was planned to provide light, privacy, and serenity for the Shaletts and their two active boys. Now one of the sons occupies it with his wife and their two sons. Before the levee was raised in 1987, all rooms on the north side enjoyed a view of the lake.

Of brick and cypress, the fence dividing the house from the street was placed well inside the property line to leave room for magnolia trees outside. The architect’s goal was to create a “controlled environment house”; this is particularly evident in the pool area, which originally had an Oriental look, including a manicured rock garden and sculptured ornamental bushes and trees. Since the original owner was active in civil aviation, the second floor roof can accommodate a helicopter landing pad. A full-sized elevator shaft is besides the “Poodle Tree”. The outside sculpture is by Joe Carmichael, and the Shaletts added the cabana bath house in 1964. The right wing of the home is the adults’ retreat.

Here the shower area and the lighting systems have been modernized by the younger generation, but the chaises longues are original. Now almost forty years old, the carpet, the drapes and all the furniture except the cantilevered glass table were in the house when the Shaletts moved in. The turquoise wall is a composite stone material. The use of structural steel permitted a large ceiling that rises two stories in the living room.

In the boys’ room the exterior brick wall continues, adding a rugged feel. The bathrooms are scaled for children. Because the architect was intrigued by the relationship of exterior and interior spaces, patios framed the family room on two sides. The smaller patio has been converted to a small library. A hidden doorway allowed access to the housekeeper’s suite ( now an office). The dining room furniture is also original. Over the table is a dome intended to increase the feeling of openness. It let in too much heat, however, and was painted over. The rice paper screen fits well with the Oriental style garden outside. Planned for an era when the kitchen was the maid’s domain, the last room on the tour has seen much modernization. Changes, supervised by Albert Ledner, included the removal of a pantry and the introduction of bright colors in the laminated cabinet doors and tiles.

________________________________________________

The International Style in New Orleans, Tulane School of Architecture, 1994, copy by Patty Andrews

photo: Lauren Polhamus

docomomo_nola

Arthur Q. Davis, FAIA (1920-2011)

Arthur Q. Davis (1920-2011)

Shaw, Metz & Associates, 1963

Modernism Along the Avenue: A Bicycle Tour

Schadler Building (threatened)

DOCOMOMO US July 2011 E-News Brief

NATIONAL TOUR DAY GOES TO THE PHILIP JOHNSON GLASS HOUSE

UPDATE: PITTSBURGH CITY COUNCIL VOTES TO DEMOLISH CIVIC ARENA

HOUSTON'S GLENBROOK VALLEY DESIGNATED HISTORIC DISTRICT

ADVOCACY SPOTLIGHT: LOS ANGELES CONSERVANCY'S MODERN COMMITTEE

BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: TOMORROW'S HOUSES

SAVE THE DATE!

CONTEST: MEMBER TRIVIA

JULY PHOTO

Name this building and architect for a chance to win a prize from the DOCOMOMO archives.

Email your responses to info@docomomo-us.org by July 31st.

TALK TO US!

AIA Building tour :: Mahalia Jackson Center

Wheatley Elementary School was a perfectly fine building: Letter to the editor

DOCOMOMO-US News Brief

LOST: PHILLIS WHEATLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DEMOLISHED

PRENTICE HOSPITAL UPDATE

NATIONAL TOUR DAY 2011: OCTOBER 8 - 10

THE COTTAGES OF HORACE GIFFORD

DOCOMOMO US ANNUAL BOARD MEETING: JOHN LAUTNER FOUNDATION TOUR

DOCOMOMO US/LOUISIANA ANNOUNCES IPHONE APP

FILM ANNOUNCEMENT: THE PRUITT-IGOE MYTH

BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: LUIGI MORETTI

DOCOMOMO INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL 43

SAVE THE DATE!

CONTEST: MEMBER TRIVIA

JUNE PHOTO

Name this building and architect for a chance to win a prize from the DOCOMOMO archives.Email your responses to info@docomomo-us.org by June 30th.

TALK TO US!

Wheatley Demolition Accelerated

DOCOMOMO Tour Day 2011

A Modern Proposal :: The Roots of Music Center at Phillis Wheatley

Phillis Wheatley and The Roots of Music

Victor Bruno (1921-2011)

Please email your support NOW!

SAVE PHILLIS WHEATLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN NEW ORLEANS! SAY "NO!" TO DEMOLITION

Phyllis Montana-LeBlanc and Wendell Pierce on WVUE

DOCOMOMO US May 2011 E-News Brief

FIRST TEXAS MODERN MONTH: EVENT RECAP

BREUER'S WHITNEY TO BE LEASED TO METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

INTERNATIONAL VIEWS: JAPAN

CHAPTER SPOTLIGHT: NEW ENGLAND

DOCOMOMO US ANNUAL BOARD MEETING: STAHL HOUSE

BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: AMERICAN GLAMOUR

SAVE THE DATE!

CONTEST: MEMBER TRIVIA

APRIL PHOTO

Name this building and architect for a chance to win a prize from the DOCOMOMO archives. Email your responses to info@docomomo-us.org by May 31st.

TALK TO US!

A Plea for Modernism

New Orleans Regional Modernism is available on the App Store!

Download the exhibit brochure: DOCOMOMO @ PRC

Download brochure for DOCOMOMO exhibit @ PRCNO

SCHOOL'S OUT :: national register eligible schools face demoltion

Phyllis Montana-LeBlanc, daughter of Phillis Wheatley

SAVE PHILLIS WHEATLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN NEW ORLEANS! SAY "NO!" TO DEMOLITION

DOCOMOMO NOLA :: A Week in the Life

SAVE PHILLIS WHEATLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN NEW ORLEANS! SAY "NO!" TO DEMOLITION!

Hands Around Phillis Wheatley (photos)

HANDS AROUND PHILLIS WHEATLEY

Save Phillis Wheatley!

Transcript of HDLC hearing on RSD's request to demolish Wheatley

Comments on the Petition to Save Phillis Wheatley Elementary School

SAVE WHEATLEY SCHOOL! sign and share this petition

SAVE PHILLIS WHEATLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN NEW ORLEANS! SAY "NO!" TO DEMOLITION(AUGUST 2011)

Oubre and Wagner's South Branch Bank

Rufus Alldredge Medical Clinic (1964)

Petition to Save Phillis Wheatley School

SAVE PHILLIS WHEATLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN NEW ORLEANS! SAY "NO!" TO DEMOLITION(AUGUST 2011)

HDLC to review RSD's request to demolish the Wheatley School

First Guaranty Bank (1960)

Lustron House on the auction block

Join or renew your DOCOMOMO US membership for 2011

1950's Lee Circle

Name this building and architect for a chance to win a prize from the DOCOMOMO archives.
Email your responses to info@docomomo-us.org by June 30th.

Name this building and architect for a chance to win a prize from the DOCOMOMO archives.
Email your responses to info@docomomo-us.org by May 31st.