Diaz-Simon Pediatric Clinic (1958)

Diaz-Simon Pediatric Clinic, originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

In Idea: the Shaping Force (1987), architect Charles Colbert described the two main ideas which led to the design of the Diaz-Simon Pediatric Clinic on Antonine near Touro Hospital.

'Children's vivid imaginations and their shallow thresholds of pain can make the doctor's office appear to be a dark torture chamber. The design objective of the Antonine Clinic (1958) was to lessen this instinctive fear and create an environment of bright and cheerful playfulness. The Antonine Pediatric Clinic was located upon an undersized lot that had only one real advantage, a large live oak tree. The tree became the most singular element in the overall design. The children's waiting room was located to seem to rest among its branches and was calculated to evoke the thrill of a real tree playhouse.'

Colbert received an Honor Award from the AIA in 1959 for the design. The clinic has been razed, but the tree remains.

[F. Stock; photo: Biographical Files, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Tulane University Libraries]

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]

Dr. Lyman K. Richardson Residence (1955, razed)

Dr. Lyman K. Richardson Residence (1955, razed), originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

In 1955 Dr. Walter Gropius juried Progressive Architecture's second annual Design Awards Program.

The Times-Picayune reported, "The designs, which gave New Orleans and Louisiana more awards than any other city or state were done by Curtis and Davis, Charles R. Colbert, John W. Lawrence, George A. Saunders, Buford L. Pickens and John Ekin Dinwiddie. The designs were of six proposed Louisiana buildings."

One of these was a residence for Dr. Lyman K. Richardson designed by Curtis and Davis architects. It stood at 7 Glenwood Avenue in Harahan, but was recently razed for new development.

[photo: Curtis and Davis photos, SEAA]

Physicans' Office Building (1950, razed)

Doctor's Office Building (1950, razed), originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

In 1950 Curtis and Davis designed a medical office building near Touro Hospital at 1520 Louisiana between Prytania and St. Charles. The building contained ten physicians' offices of various sizes on the two main floors with a penthouse office suite and rooftop terrace above.  Construction costs were estimated at $150,000. The building has since been razed and is now a surface parking lot.

[photo: 1974. New Orleans Virtual Archive, Tulane School of Architecture]

Burglass Furniture Store (1945-47, razed 2008)

Canal Street Moderne (DEMOLISHED), originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

In 1912 Abraham Burglass purchased the site at Canal and S. Liberty streets for his furniture store. The store was completely rebuilt in 1945-1947 by architect Rathbone E. DeBuys (c. 1874 -1960) and contractors Perrilliat-Rickey Construction Company in an art moderne style. The building was razed in January 2008.

[photo: F. Stock, TSA NOVA]

“A Necessary Ruin: The Story of Buckminster Fuller and the Union Tank Car Dome”

A Necessary Ruin - Trailer from Evan Mather on Vimeo.

Upon its completion in October 1958, the Union Tank Car Dome, located north of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was the largest clear-span structure in the world. Based on the engineering principles of the visionary design scientist and philosopher Buckminster Fuller, this geodesic dome was, at 384 feet in diameter, the first large scale example of this building type. A Necessary Ruin relates the powerful, compelling narrative of the dome’s history via interviews with architects, engineers, preservationists, media, and artists; animated sequences demonstrating the operation of the facility; and hundreds of rare photographs and video segments taken during the dome’s construction, decline, and demolition. (Evan Mather, U.S.A., 2009, 29:54)

Hoffman Elementary (sunrise 1948 - sunset 2009)

On September 17, 2009 the New Orleans City Council voted to overturn the NCDC decision to deny a demolition permit for Hoffman Elementary School, 2622 S. Prieur Street. Councilwoman Stacy Head expressed regret regarding ordering the demolition of a historic structure. Representatives of the Recovery School District verbally promised to move the Hoffman site up to phase two, and possibly phase one if they can secure the financing. It is tragic that the RSD outright refuses to renovate this structure. The building assessment in the School Facilities Master Plan indicated that it would cost $2.2 million LESS to renovate Hoffman, but they would prefer to start over.*

I read a statement on behalf of the board of Docomomo Louisiana as an "epitaph" for Hoffman. Councilwomen Head and Clarkson invited Docomomo Louisiana to meet to discuss critical modernist public structures which are endangered.

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*The rebuild costs over 20% more. It's possible that if the RSD chose renovation over rebuild for five schools, we could get a sixth school renovated for free.

New State Office Building (1957-2009)

New State Office Building (1957-2009)), originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

August Perez & Associates. Goldstein, Parham and Labouisse. Favrot, Reed, Mathes & Bergman.
demolished.
image source: 1954-55 Annual Report of the Mayor.
http://NOVA.tulane.edu


take a minute to read today's t-p :: Flood damaged state office building, state Supreme Court finally demolished

"Finally" demolished? And yet the close of the article admits the building has been demolished even AFTER the plan for its replacement structure is no longer in place. It's obscene.

"However, the need for a new building evaporated when the state and Saints owner Tom Benson agreed on plans for the state to lease office space in the nearby Dominion Tower building. The state now plans to leave the sites of the former office building and Supreme Court building vacant for the foreseeable future."

Unfortunately our foreseeable future still lacks a leader with a VISION.

Motel de Ville (DEMOLISHED)

photo by Frank Lotz Miller, from Progressive Architecture

This motor-hotel by Charles Colbert was quite innovative in its day. It was on Tulane Avenue and S. Cortez. It's hard to imagine that this would be a desirable location for a motel today. But when it was built in 1953, Tulane Avenue / Airline Highway was THE major corridor until the Ponchartrain Expressway was completed in 1958. Not sure when the Motel de Ville was demolished, but the site was empty when I looked for it last December.

Canal Street Moderne

I captured this image just last month. I rarely drive up Canal Street, and had not noticed this building before. On Saturday 1.19.08, I was back on Canal Street for the AIA / Design Within Reach Modern Architecture bus tour. As we approached the site, I was shocked to see the building had since been reduced to rubble. It WAS on the uptown lakeside corner of Canal and Treme.