The Pitot House was recently featured in the article “Furniture Collecting in Louisiana” in Antiques and Fine Art magazine, Summer/Autumn edition. Written by Louisiana furniture scholar Cybèle Gontar, the article was published contemporaneously with the start of the Antiques Forum at the Historic New Orleans Collection (August 5-8, 2010). Cybèle visited the Pitot House several times during the summer with Mercedes Whitecloud, a skilled cabinetmaker, and a professional photographer to gather information for her article. We thank Cybèle for her interest and her courtesy!

Click the link to read the article, pages 206-213, online at http://www.antiquesandfineart.com/

A special thanks goes out to our loyal returning members for the month of July: (from New Orleans unless otherwise noted)

Mrs. Florence Brown
Dr. and Mrs. Henry J. Folse, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. William J. Furlong
Mr. and Mrs. Hervin Guidry
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Holly, Hammond, LA
Mr. and Mrs. Edward N. Lennox
Mr. and Mrs. Larry Manguno, River Ridge, LA
Ms. Elsie B. Martinez
Ms. Ann Mentz
Ms. Gwendolyn D. Redus
Mrs. Marilyn P. Zackin, Mandeville, LA

Modernism in New Orleans

Many of the Big Easy's Midcentury Buildings Face Demolition.
By Jennifer Farwell | Online Only | Aug. 2, 2010

The year is 1955; the place, New Orleans. Progressive Architecture magazine has just held its second annual Design Awards, juried by Bauhaus School founder Walter Gropius. The list of winners brings a surprise: New Orleans and Louisiana capture six of the awards—more than any other city and state in the nation. The awards recognize the work of five different architectural teams, including the noted firm Curtis and Davis, whose later work will include the 1975 Superdome.

Orleans Parish School Board holds property auction over mayor's objections
Published: Thursday, July 29, 2010, 9:15 PM Updated: Thursday, July 29, 2010, 9:18 PM
Cindy Chang, The Times-Picayune

Over the objections of Mayor Mitch Landrieu, the Orleans Parish School Board went forward with a surplus property auction Thursday, netting almost $2.8 million.

In a telling signpost of the board's diminished role in a newly decentralized educational landscape dominated by charter schools, the board's former headquarters was the biggest sale of the day. Businessman Brian Albrecht paid $2.3 million for the complex on Gen. de Gaulle Drive in Algiers.

Where Was the Dew Drop Inn?
from the Gambit website: gambitweekly.com
POSTED ON JULY 12, 2010:

Where was the Dew Drop Inn?

Blake Pontchartrain

Hey Blake,

Where was the Dew Drop Inn?

Charming Darling

Dear Charming,

Orpheum Theater has a new owner
Published: Tuesday, July 13, 2010, 8:00 AM
Frank Donze, The Times-Picayune

The shuttered, debt-ridden Orpheum Theater has a new owner who says he is in the early stages of transforming the 1921 beaux-arts vaudeville house into a music venue to showcase local talent and host big-name, touring performers.

Businessman Andrew Reid said Monday that he acquired the historic theater from a pair of Texas financiers for $675,000 -- the same fire-sale price they paid in 2006 for the building at 129 University Place that has been vacant since it was flooded in Hurricane Katrina.

From the Times-Picayune:

"Moving homes makes sense"

Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Re: "Mayor seeks to pause home razing," Metro, June 24.

Kudos to Mayor Mitch Landrieu for stopping the demolition of the Mid-City neighborhood and redirecting money ($3.2 million) to relocate up to 100 historic homes that lie within the VA hospital's footprint.

Many of these homes were built in the early 20th century and fully renovated since Hurricane Katrina. They will blend into the neighborhood seamlessly when deposited onto empty Mid-City lots, making the American dream of home ownership a reality for eligible families.

From the Times-Picayune:

"Mayor seeks to pause home razing"

Historic properties in hospital footprint
Thursday, June 24, 2010
By Bill Barrow
Staff writer

Under pressure from historical preservation groups, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu on Wednesday asked the state to block its contractors from razing scores of architecturally significant Mid-City homes while the city explores options to move the structures to make way for a new U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospital.

Download full PDF of newsletter here

This issue of Préservation includes full color photos and descriptions of the 2010 New Orleans' Nine Most Endangered Sites list, just released in May, which is also National Preservation Month. Special thanks to Betsy J. Stout, Chair of this year's New Orleans' Nine Committee.

On display in various forms are the New Orleans' Nine Most Endangered Sites lists from 2005-2010. The New Orleans' Nine Reception, held Friday May 28th, celebrating the publication of this year's list was the debut of the new exhibit, which encompasses two rooms of the Pitot House ground floor. The New Orleans' Nine exhibit will be on display at the Pitot House through September 2010.

Browse through the photo gallery from the New Orleans' Nine Reception.

NEW ORLEANS’ NINE MOST ENDANGERED SITES is dedicated to drawing attention to significant and threatened sites in our city. The purpose of the program is to build awareness of architecturally and historically significant places in New Orleans that are in danger of being lost. To view the 2010 New Orleans' Nine sites, please download this brochure.
DOWNLOAD BROCHURE

With special help from Advocacy Chair Keith Hardie, the Louisiana Landmarks Society assisted volunteers in producing a comprehensive brochure about the threatened Mid City historic houses in the proposed medical center footprint. The brochure is available to view at www.savemidcityhouses.com.