Petition to Save Phillis Wheatley School

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."

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

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)

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

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

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!

 

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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

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

DOCOMOMO US February 2011 E-News Brief

FEBRUARY 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! 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! 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.