City Hall: 9-8-26

September 8, 2026
Municipal Complex Advisory Committee
c/o New Orleans Building Corporation
New Orleans, Louisiana

Dear Chair Kopplin, Vice Chair Brown DeRousselle, and Members of the Committee:

On behalf of Louisiana Landmarks Society, I write to urge the Committee to recommend the renovation and reuse of the existing City Hall building at 1300 Perdido Street.

City Hall is not a building that failed the city; it is a building the city failed to maintain. Decades of deferred maintenance have left a structurally sound landmark deteriorating — a maintenance problem.

A new hope lies with your committee and the new administration. While the last three mayors all sought to relocate City Hall, a full renovation is often less expensive than new construction, particularly once historic tax credits are factored in. The building's age and architectural significance make it eligible for state and federal historic credits. National Register listing is the necessary first step to unlock the federal credit.

To that end, Louisiana Landmarks Society offers to prepare the National Register nomination for City Hall at no cost to the city, in support of a renovation recommendation. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further.

Completed in 1957, City Hall remains one of New Orleans' most significant examples of mid-century modern architecture, ideally sited in the heart of the Central Business District — central, transit-accessible, and within walking distance of the courts. Whatever one thinks of the architecture, its presence is undeniable: approaching downtown from Basin Street/Loyola Avenue, City Hall rises up to announce that you've arrived at the seat of city government. City Hall also sits directly across from Duncan Plaza, a historic public gathering space, and amid a dense cluster of law offices and other professional offices that exist largely because City Hall and Civil District Court anchor the area. Relocating City Hall risks disrupting that ecosystem and dispersing it. That is a location and a presence no replacement site could easily replicate.

City Hall has been patient long enough. With a viable path to historic tax credits and our offer to prepare the National Register nomination, we hope the Committee has every reason, and little downside, to recommend renovating CityHall into the landmark it was always meant to be.

Sincerely,

Sandra Stokes
Chair of Advocacy
Louisiana Landmarks Society
225-445-3800