Wheatley Elementary School was a perfectly fine building: Letter to the editor

Architect Raymond Boudreaux worked with Charles Colbert in the Office of Planning and Construction for Orleans Parish Schools and later in the firm Colbert Lowrey Hess and Boudreaux. 
His letter to the editor dated June 24, 2011 was  published on July 7, 2011 in the Times-Picayune.

A Plea For Modernism

Hand Crafted Films, DOCOMOMO Louisiana and the Tulane School of Architecture present:

A Plea For Modernism from Evan Mather

A Plea For Modernism from Evan Mather on Vimeo.

The Phillis Wheatley Elementary School has served the historic New Orleans African-American neighborhood of Tremé since it opened in 1955. Celebrated worldwide for its innovative, regionally-expressive modern design – the structure sustained moderate damage during the storms and levee breach of 2005. DOCOMOMO Louisiana is advocating for its restoration via adaptive reuse.

A Plea For Modernism [Evan Mather, Hand Crafted Films, 2011] includes interviews with professor John Klingman of the Tulane School of Architecture, architect Wayne Troyer, John Stubbs, vice-president for field projects for the World Monuments Fund and author/actress Phyllis Montana-Leblanc, a former student of Phillis Wheatley. It was written by Francine Stock and Evan Mather and narrated by actor Wendell Pierce (HBO's The Wire, Treme). The film includes historical photos courtesy of the Tulane Libraries Southeastern Architectural Archive and Tulane School of Architecture's New Orleans Virtual Archive, as well as Charles Colbert's presentation boards courtesy of the Orleans Parish School Board Archive, Earl K. Long Library, University of New Orleans. Contemporary photography is by Emily Ardoin, Winifried Brenne, John Defraites, Anthony DelRosario, Karen Gadbois, Karran Harper Royal, Meg Holford, Michael Kievets / Sybolt Voeten, Sergio Padilla, Francine Stock and John Stubbs. Animations and graphics are by Evan Mather and Wayne Troyer. The original music score is by Jusso Auvinen.

If no action is taken the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School will demolished in Summer 2011. Please take time to sign the petition to save Phillis Wheatley and contact our public officials.

Mayor Mitchell Landrieu, City of New Orleans (504) 658-4900

Superintendent John White, Recovery School District (504) 373-6200

Superintendent Darryl Kilbert, Orleans Parish School Board (504) 304-3520

In taking these steps, we affirm the significance and diversity of our architectural and cultural heritage and our desire to rescue the future from the past.

Francine Stock

president

DOCOMOMO US/Louisiana

A numeric overview :: recent losses from the recent past

I started Regional Modernism: the New Orleans Archives 3 years ago to document the process of documenting modernism in New Orleans. I had just lost my 1st building, a moderne structure on Canal and Treme. I'd only photographed it weeks before and was shocked to see it reduced to rubble before I had a chance to get to know it. A mission made in a moment.

The Regional Modernism course at Tulane School of Architecture in the spring of 2008 was less about teaching and more about discovering and documenting. The students and I started by merging data from the Southeastern Architectural Archives, the New Orleans Public Library's City Archives and Samuel Wilson's Guide to New Orleans Architecture into a map of nearly 850 modern buildings in New Orleans, of which 250 are chronicled in the Regional Modernism flickr account. Soon (very soon) the Regional Modernism iphone app will be released. It includes nearly 150 modern buildings, lost, extant and threatened.

Through this process, I've learned not just about identifying modernism in our midst, but also about its significance and relationship to the history of our built environment. In 1955 Progressive Architecture's 2nd Annual Design Awards recognized more buildings by architects from New Orleans and Louisiana than any other city or state in the nation. That's right. Before New Orleans was the city that care forgot, it was one of the most architecturally progressive cities in the nation.

Yet we are losing significant modern architecture at a truly alarming rate. In the mid 20th century 6 New Orleans buildings received national AIA Awards. Soon two thirds of these will be gone. 

Since 2008 the mid 20th century modern public school has become an endangered species in New Orleans. Of the city's 30 public schools designed and built in the 1950s, today only 3 are left standing. Soon only 1 may remain. At the Hands Around Wheatley gathering in April, John Stubbs offered this sobering statistic:

Since the World Monuments Watch List program was established in 1995, we’ve listed nearly 600 sites in ninety-one countries. In Moscow, Tel Aviv, Los Angeles and Havana others have found ways to preserve threatened modern buildings, surely we can do the same with Wheatley School. If the Wheatley school is lost through demolition, it will be the 1st site on our World Monuments Watch List that died in our hands.

This week the Louisiana Landmarks Society announced its New Orleans 9 Most Endangered List for 2011.  The current list recognizes Abandoned and Neglected Public School Buildings City-Wide including the "Phillis Wheatley School in Treme, once internationally known for its cutting-edge mid-20th century design." The 2008 list included Mid-century Modern Public Schools. Of the 4 schools cited in 2008, McDonogh 39 and Carver have been razed and demolitions are pending for Wheatley and Lafon.

Next week we welcome the 2011 American Institute of Architects annual meeting to New Orleans.  DOCOMOMO Louisiana will present an exhibit on mid-century modern schools at the Preservation Resource Center. On view will be reproductions of architect Charles Colbert's 9 presentation boards of drawings of the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School. The exhibit will also feature contemporary photography of the Phillis Wheatley, Thomy Lafon and George Washington Carver Schools by Emily Ardoin, John Klingman, Anthony DelRosario and Francine Stock. Phyllis Montana-Leblanc's petition to SAVE PHILLIS WHEATLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN NEW ORLEANS! SAY "NO!" TO DEMOLITION now has 1555  signatures. Add yours today. 

You can also email your comments directly to to Mayor Mitchell J. Landrieu: mayor@nola.gov

It's not too late to raise your voice in support for the preservation of this significant and truly unique school building.

Francine Stock

[photo: John Stubbs, World Monuments Fund]

Is there a future for the recent past in New Orleans?

Francine Stock, president of DOCOMOMO US/Louisiana, writes about the current situation of the mid-century public schools in the city. Either demolished or in danger of demolition, these structures represent a type of architecture that was forward thinking and innovative in the way they were built and used by the public. The process to discuss their future when they become obsolete has failed to provide a fair space to listen to new options. Can we establish another way of approaching this problem?

read more..... MAS Context 8 | PUBLIC WINTER 10

4 :: 3 :: 2 :: 1 :: Carver School Faces Imminent Demolition

Carver High School Auditorium, 3059 Higgins Boulevard, New Orleans, LA (1958, Curtis and Davis, architects). Progressive Architecture First Design Award 1957, New Orleans Nine Most Endangered 2008, Eligible for National Register, Demolition permit: November 1, 2010.  Photo: Francine Stock

In the past two years the mid 20th century modern public school has become an endangered species in New Orleans. Of the city's thirty public schools designed and built in the 1950s, today only four are left standing. Soon only one may remain.

Earlier this week the City of New Orleans issued a demolition permit for the George Washington Carver Junior-Senior High School designed by Curtis and Davis, architects. The Helen Sylvania Edwards Elementary School shared many campus facilities with Carver, but has already been demolished. The integration of three schools (elementary, junior and senior high) on a 65 acre campus in the upper ninth ward allowed the schools to share common facilities (cafeteria, kitchen, auditorium) and yet retain age-segregated classroom buildings. The auditorium was also available in the evening for community events. The striking design of the auditorium with its soaring (40 ft high and 200 ft long) parabolic concrete vault and hinged buttresses is truly monumental. The Federal Emergency Management Association determined the Carver auditorium building eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

DOCOMOMO US/Louisiana advocated for the auditorium structure to be retained as part of a new campus plan and suggested that it be adaptively reused as an open air pavilion. Unfortunately, the auditorium will be demolished with the remaining buildings on campus.


The concept of a "school village" was first articulated by architect and planner Charles R. Colbert in 1952 in A Continuous Planning and Building Program, an analysis of existing public school facilities in New Orleans and plans for expansion. The city had not built a single school facility in the 1940s and the population was rapidly expanding. Urban land values in center of the city were twenty times higher than in the newer suburbs. Selecting a site of "ninety beautifully wooded acres, at the edge of urban development, six miles away" from the densely populated center of New Orleans would save six million dollars in land acquisition. Colbert calculated that this savings would support nearly a century of "quality bus transportation." Colbert envisioned the buses as "mobile classrooms." The teachers would travel with the students and with a set of visual aids to extend classroom instruction during the commute to their "semi-rural, college-like campus." Though the mobile classrooms never materialized, Colbert's idea of a "school village" formed the basis of the Carver campus plan designed by Curtis and Davis.


In It Happened by Design, architect Arthur Q. Davis recalled that the firm initially was contracted to design a senior high school, a portion of the site allocated for a junior high to be designed by another firm, and room left over for a future elementary school. Curtis and Davis convinced the school board that it was more economical to develop the three schools as part of an overall campus plan from the beginning. The board approved their plan for a more efficient campus of ten buildings linked by covered walkways. In 1957 the plan of the Carver schools gained national recognition winning both Progressive Architecture's First Design Award and the American Institute of Architects' Best Overall Plan for a School Complex.
 
The 2008 School Facilities Master Plan for Orleans Parish (SFMPOP) called for the demolition of the Carver School suggesting "complete replacement." In fact, the SFMPOP called for the near eradication of the 1950s public schools. The only facility from the era reserved for the future by the SFMPOP  is McDonogh 36 (1954, Sol Rosenthal and Charles R. Colbert). This school has been renovated by John C. Williams and reopened this year as the Mahalia Jackson Early Childhood Family Learning Center.


DOCOMOMO US/Louisiana successfully nominated Carver and three other schools to the Louisiana Landmarks Most Endangered List in 2008. McDonogh 39 Elementary School (1952, Goldstein, Paham and Labouisse; Freret and Wolf, Curtis and Davis, associate architects) the first modern school in New Orleans was demolished earlier this year without review. McDonogh 39 (later renamed after local civil rights activist Avery Alexander) was in Gentilly and thus outside of the Neighborhood Council District Review Committee. 

FEMA also determined that the classroom buildings at Thomy Lafon Elementary School (1954, Curtis and Davis) and the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School (1955, Charles R. Colbert) were eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The Recovery School District's desire to use public funds to demolish these historic structures triggered a Section 106 consultation in accordance with the 1966 National Historic Preservation Act. This bought these facilities some time during the consultation process, but they are likely to be demolished in the coming year.

Idea: the Shaping Force, Charles R. Colbert, 1987, Pendaya Publications

It Happened by Design, Arthur Q. Davis, 2008, University Press of Mississippi

The Child is the Monument

The Child is the Monument, originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

Thirty thousand people attended an exhibit of revolutionary school construction designed by students of Prof. Charles Colbert, Tulane. Colbert above left, and Edwin Eley, assistant head of Orleans Parish Public Schools, check the exhibit.

In the 1950s thirty new public schools were constructed in New Orleans. The drive to modernize school facilities was spearheaded by Charles R. Colbert (1921-2007). In 1948 this young assistant professor at Tulane coordinated a 2nd year studio focused on designing modern schools suitable to our climate and sensitive to the needs of children. The subsequent public exhibition of this student work was viewed by 30,000 New Orleanians. “They went away all steamed up over such items as modern, soft-finish, non-glare desk tops; light-absorbing, easy on-the-eyes green chalk boards instead of old-fashioned blackboards; glass wall blocks which filter light and produce a soothing indirect illumination in the classroom; windows on two sides; ‘orientation’ toward prevailing breezes-----and all this at a smaller cost per foot than is usual for conventional school buildings.”

Colbert served for two years as Supervising Architect for Planning and Construction for the Orleans Parish School Board. In 1952 he produced A Continuous Planning and Building Program, a comprehensive study of existing facilities and plans for growth and development. The following spring Colbert resigned from this position as planner to focus on his architectural practice. And to practice what he preached.

‘The Child Is The Monument’ by Helena Huntington Smith, Colliers, September 3, 1949

Demolition Permit for 1st Modern School in New Orleans

Permit here. View vintage photo in The Historic New Orleans Collection

The Avery Alexander (McDonogh 39) Elementary School in Gentilly (3800 St. Roch Avenue) was designed by Curtis and Davis in 1952.  It was recognized as a model facility and was the first modern school built in New Orleans. This is a "finger school" in plan, with four lengths of classrooms connected at one end to a broad wing of administrative offices, the library and auditorium. The bands of classrooms are connected by an exterior corridor on one side. Both sides of the classrooms and the hall have operable aluminum and glass windows, so they benefit from ample natural light and ventilation. In addition, the hall also filters the sunlight from the classroom, reducing heat gain. Grassy courtyards fill the space between the stretches of classrooms. While the school flooded post-Katrina, the design of the structure is historically significant and appropriate to our climate. 

In 2008 the Louisiana Landmarks Society acknowledged McDonogh 39 along with Wheatley, Lafon and Carver Schools in its New Orleans Nine Most Endangered List. The school is outside the jurisdiction of the NCDC, so the demolition permit was granted without review. 

Nominations to the 2010 New Orleans Nine Most Endangered List are due March 22. [info, forms]

Hoffman Elementary R.I.P.

Sol Rosenthal and Charles Colbert, architects. Designed 1948. Built 1954. Demolished 2010. Photo by Francine Stock.
Hoffman Elementary was the first of four public schools designed by Charles Colbert and built in New Orleans. McDonogh No. 36 is being revitalized by John C. Williams Architects as the Mahalia Jackson Early Childhood and Family Learning Center. Though the elevated Wheatley Elementary School was named to the 2010 World Monuments Fund Watch List, it remains at risk. Lawless High School was demolished in 2007.

Thomy Lafon Elementary School

Thomy Lafon Elementary School, originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

Looking a bit more closely at the plan of the Thomy Lafon School today. Preparing a lecture on case studies and will discuss Lafon in relation to Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye.

The form of the school has been obscured / marred by the unsympathetic addition of those horrible corrugated red hoods. But the plan better illustrates how this school functioned without corridors. The kindergarten wing was accessible by a playful ramp to the upper story. Beyond the kindergarten, classrooms were paired to share a staircase and toilet facilities. Architect Nathaniel C. Curtis described the plan as "the next logical step after the finger plan."* His partner architect Arthur Q. Davis describes the form as "a long, thin classroom wing, gracefully bent to avoid monotony."**

Here the pilotis serve many functions. The elevation of the classroom wing amplifies available play space which also offers shelter from rain and needed shade.This would also keep the classrooms cooler as there is a greater breeze at higher elevation. This is of course an old French Colonial tradition. Finally, the pilotis saved the classrooms from flooding post-Katrina. The Survivors Council fought to re-open the school in 2007, but to no avail. It has remained shuttered. The RSD has no plans for the reuse of the building. However, it could be adapted to serve the Harmony Oaks community as an early childhood center.


* In 1952 the first modern school was built in New Orleans, designed by Curtis and Davis. It was originally known as McDonogh 39 (later renamed Avery Alexander School) and followed a finger school plan with a series courtyards between the wings. School Facilities Plan called for its demolition. It was on the Louisiana Landmark's New Orleans Nine Most Endangered list in 2009, along with Lafon, Wheatley and Carver. Quote is from Talk About Architecture, Heard, Lemann and Klingman, 1993

** It Happened by Design, Arthur Q. Davis, 2009

Proposal to rehabilitate Phillis Wheatley Elementary School

DOCOMOMO. US. Louisiana

Thomy Lafon Elementary School :: comments due by midnight!

Thomy Lafon Elementary School (THREATENED), originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

You can still add your comments to support the preservation and adaptive reuse of the Wheatley and Lafon Schools.

http://www.crt.state.la.us/culturalassets/fema106/

Below is my statement on Lafon.

I am continually floored that the RSD wants to demolish the Wheatley and Lafon schools which DID NOT FLOOD! Eighty percent of the city was under water - and yet these elementary schools were high and dry. In addition, in the case of Lafon the RSD has no intention of building on this site. This is a historic building which needs to be made available on the market for re-development with historic tax credits. The Lafon School is ripe for a sustainable adaptive re-use. The school was designed to address the extremities of our climate - in deference to our high heat and risk of high water.

The new housing development at CJ Peete could benefit from a facility which could function like the Colton Studio. This would foster greater creativity in this community rich with culture. And the studio artists could also offer community services by teaching after school art programs to the youth in the neighborhood.

Regional Modernism needs YOU!

Phillis Wheatley School needs YOU!, originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

NOW is the time for all good architects, preservationists and active citizens to come to the aid of the Wheatley and Lafon Schools threatened with imminent demolition by the so-called Recovery School District. Submit public comments in support of preservation. Deadline Wednesday 9.30.2009.
www.crt.state.la.us/culturalassets/fema106/

My statement on Wheatley follows. Statement on Lafon coming soon.

I support the preservation and adaptive reuse of the Philis Wheatley Elementary School, the master work of the architect Charles R. Colbert, and one of the most important mid-century modern buildings in the state of Louisiana. I encourage the planners and architects of the Recovery School District to open their hearts and minds to consider the renovation of this historic structure. I would like to remind them that the Wheatley School has been deemed eligible to National Register of Historic Places. This means tax credits and good karma! The Wheatley School can be saved AND the Treme neighborhood can have a new school at the same time. It's not an either/or proposition. Docomomo Louisiana has presented the RSD with a proposal for how to address issues of program on this site by adding a 3-story structure (traditional scale of most neighborhood schools) connected via elevated passage to the original and renovated school building. Architects are educated to solve problems with creativity and technology. In the past fifty years, engineers have developed numerous advances is glazing technologies (impact resistant, energy efficient, any range of translucency you desire). Architects can solve any perceived negative condition and maintain the luminous spirit of the school. Give the children of the Tremé the opportunity to witness the resurrection of an abandoned building. Give them the opportunity to see the future reborn. This piece of architecture is a gem - a true diamond in the rough. Let it shine.

Save Wheatley School!

Charles Colbert's master work is threatened with imminent demolition at the hands of the Recovery School Board. Docomomo Louisiana considers Phillis Wheatley Elementary School one of the ten most important modernist buildings in the state. They have presented the RSD with a vision of how this important historic building can be renewed and adapted as part of a state-of the art school for Tremé. Now it's your turn.

Please submit comments in support of the preservation of the Wheatley School (Charles Colbert, 1955) and Lafon Elementary School (Curtis and Davis, 1954) to the FEMA 106 site.

http://www.crt.state.la.us/culturalassets/fema106/

Comments are due by September 30, 2009.

Lafon Elementary School :: public meeting

Lafon School (threatened), originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

The FEMA 106 public meeting on Wheatley was quite interesting, at times enervating but upon reflection, a small win for the preservationists.

Those who spoke in favor of preservation offered numerous solutions, ideas, and offers for continued discussion. DOCOMOMO Louisiana presented historic drawings and and photographs of the Wheatley School. They also presented a proposal for preservation of the school by integrating it with an additional 3-story facility on the site. While the RSD claimed the program did not meet all of their requirements, they are yet to show the community any visualizations for a new building or integration with the existing building. Instead, they keep suggesting outside architects need to do more pro bono design work for them.

You can still take action Wednesday night by attending the FEMA Historic Preservation Public Meeting for the Lafon Elementary School 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm at the C.J. Peete Center 2514 Washington Avenue.

Of course, you can also submit your public comments online.

http://www.crt.state.la.us/culturalassets/fema106/

THANKS!

p.s.
A little backgrounder... RSD does not intend to put a school on the Lafon site. They just want to demolish this historic building to provide clear green space for a developer.

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.

---------------------------------------------------------

*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.

Upcoming hearings on our Modernist Schools

Last Thursday the New Orleans City Council decided to change the date of the hearing on Hoffman Elementary to Thursday September 17, 2009 at 10 am City Council Chambers.

In addition, FEMA is hosting two Historic Preservation Public Meetings for Wheatley and Lafon.

FEMA plans to post information requesting public comments on the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism’s (CRT) website on or about September 15, 2009. This posting will include information about the proposed project and the upcoming historic preservation public meeting. The comment period will extend for 15 days and will close on or about September 30, 2009. This will allow the public with the opportunity to post comments for approximately one week following the public meeting and give the Section 106 consulting parties a reasonable opportunity to review the posted comments prior to the next Section 106 consultation meeting. FEMA will forward the link to the CRT website to you once the information is posted.

The Wheatley meeting is set for Tuesday, September 22, 2009 from 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm at the Sojourner Truth Neighborhood Center, 2200 Lafitte Street.

View Larger Map

The Lafon meeting is set for Wednesday, September 23, 2009 from 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm at the C.J. Peete Community Center, 2514 Washington Street.

View Larger Map

Activism Alert :: Hoffman Elementary :: Last Chance

Hoffman Elementary, originally uploaded by regional.modernism.
Thursday September 3 at 10 am the City Council will hear four NEIGHBORHOOD CONSERVATION DISTRICT COMMITTEE APPEALS

including

LONA HANKINS, DIRECTOR OF CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, RECOVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT Requesting to appeal the Neighborhood Conservation District Committee’s decision of

"denial" of the demolition of property located at 2622 S. Prieur Street. (Hoffman Elementary)

This is the last chance. I will do my best to speak on behalf of Docomomo Louisiana. If anyone else can attend, I think it would really help the case. Please email me (fjudd(AT)tulane.edu) and let me know if you think you can make it. THANKS!

photos of Hoffman

In addition, I also found out that the RSD has been granted a demo permit for Bradley Elementary School (Ricciuti and Benson architects, 1953) which is outside the NCDC. I'm going to go photograph it today and will keep you posted.

Hoffman Elementary (yes we can!)

Hoffman Elementary (THREATENED), Section showing sun control and ventilation. 2622 Prieur Street, New Orleans, LA. Sol Rosenthal and Charles Colbert, architects, 1948-1954. Image source = Idea: The Shaping Force. SFMPOP Preliminary assessment: "complete replacement"
originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

While it's raining outside, the sun is shining on Hoffman Elementary and the residents of the Hoffman Triangle neighborhood. The Recovery School District has been seeking a demolition permit for Hoffman Elementary, even though the RSD currently does not have funds to rebuild a school on that site.

Yesterday the Neighborhood Conservation District Committee (NCDC) voted to DENY the RSD a demolition permit for Hoffman. The Hoffman structure is well-designed for our extreme climate and could definitely be adapted with contemporary advances in glazing and given a new life. Need inspiration? Look no further. A zeitgeist school design exists in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Munkegaard's School was designed by architect Arne Jacobsen 1952-1956. The Danes have taken good care of the school and it is still in use and fresh as the day it was born.

Thank you NCDC for returning a bit of faith in good government to this nearly weary warrior.

Comments on Wheatley coming soon...

Mystery modernist building

Mystery modernist building, originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

This photo arrived in my inbox yesterday. The owners of the photo thought that it may depict the since demolished St. Frances Cabrini School (Curtis and Davis, architects, 1956). I've seen some vintage photos of the school before, but don't remember it having a scalloped roof overhang.
There appears to be a PA system on the roof which could indicate a school.

Anyone recognize this structure?

Form follows function

Hoffman Elementary (THREATENED), originally uploaded by regional.modernism.

This sectional diagram of the Hoffman Elementary School (Charles Colbert, 1948-1954) illustrates how the inverted steel truss spanning the roof provides both sun control and ventilation. The school is threatened with demolition and is on the NCDC agenda today June 1, 2009. Meeting is at City Hall Council Chambers, 1300 Perdido at 2 pm.