Robert E. Smith branch, New Orleans Public Library (1956)

Robert E. Smith branch, New Orleans Public Library (1956), originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

Real estate agent and contractor Robert E. Smith donated funds to construct the the 12th branch of the New Orleans Public Library on city-owned land at Canal Boulevard and Harrison Avenue in Lakeview.

Designed by architects Albert J. Saputo and Albert C. Ledner in 1954, the Robert E. Smith branch opened in April 1956. The 2400 SF octagonal building featured a pleated 8-gable roof with clerestory beneath.  Ledner also used the folded-plate roof design for the  National Maritime Union hall on Tchoupitoulas and Washington.

The branch was razed and replaced with a larger structure in 1979. The replacement library building was razed in 2009. Construction of a new library branch is in progress.

[F. Stock; photo: Louisiana Division/City Archives, New Orleans Public Library]

National Maritime Union, 1954

National Maritime Union, originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

The National Maritime Union Hall in New Orleans was Albert Ledner's first major commercial project. Up to that time, Ledner's work was solely residential. Last spring, the Regional Modernism class at Tulane had the opportunity to interview Mr. Ledner. He showed the class his pages and pages of calculations he had run in the process of designing this dynamic structure. The following is an excerpt from our conversation.

They wanted a modern building. They were in an old structure down in the French Quarter. They felt as though they wanted new digs. So they bought this property on Tchopitoulas and Washington..... We needed a roof structure to span 100 feet without any columns and an open space. We weren't concerned with having to add a second floor. And so I had experimented earlier, I think here at Tulane as a student with corrugated structures and the strength inherent in corrugating any item. Thin material in corrugation has a great deal of strength. So it was a combination of that early idea of corrugating with a circular building.

I didn't have a structural engineer at the time. I worked out the structure and we built it.... During the framing one of the city inspectors happened to be passing by and saw it and said, 'My God that roof will never hold. It's going to collapse.' Because of the very light framing. So they stopped the construction.They said we had to load it with sandbags to see if it's going to hold up. Which we did.

- Albert C. Ledner, Spring 2008

National Maritime Union (under renovation)

National Maritime Union, originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

Last week, I went to Albert Ledner's National Maritime Union to view status of the current renovation. Unfortunately the exterior glazed brick has been covered in plaster. The glazed brick interior is intact. At least for now.

see new photos in flickr.

National Maritime Union

National Maritime Union, originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

by Ben Wasserman

In the early 1950s Albert Ledner got the commission for the National Maritime Union’s hiring hall through a close friend. He was to complete 14 buildings for the Union between 1954 and 1968 – in cities from San Francisco to San Juan. This included 3 in New York City and one in New Orleans. The most famous and dramatic of these is the Curran/O’Toole Building in Greenwich Village, NYC. These NMU buildings were striking examples of Ledner’s eccentric take on Modernism. Due to the similarity of these buildings and the number of different cities they were built in, looking at the New Orleans building will be an excellent way of analyzing the regional character of the building.