Wednesday, February 6, 2008

RegionalModernismNOLA map

This map is a collaborative project-in-process of the class, Regional Modernism: the New Orleans Archives, Tulane University School of Architecture. Our Google map of Regional Modernism in New Orleans was created with the help of MapBuilder and GPS Visualizer.

Our primary sources are the New Orleans Public Library Index to Building Plans online and the Southeastern Architectural Archive finding aids. We would be lost without Sam Wilson's A Guide to New Orleans Architecture 1699-1959. The buildings listed date from the period 1925-1975. We have not made evaluations for historic significance. Our very wide net certainly captures a few dogs here and there, but we hope it will also reveal some treasures. At this point, we have nearly 850 sites and will turn our energies to photo-documentation and the collection of oral histories.

4 comments:

mominem said...

This is a valuable project. in New Orleans we have too often been attracted to our 19th century building, ignoring later buildings, especially modernist work.

We have lost some significant examples already (the Rivergate and Cabrini) We will likely lose more soon.

Francine Stock said...

Thank you. It's a tough sell - trying to save modernist buildings in a city that is so strongly identified with its traditional architecture.

(oyyoo = word ID)

Tom said...

Agree - a great project. Saving Modern sites is difficult everywhere at times, that's why documentation is so important!

aresgee said...

My dad designed our house at 5612 Chestnut. I think it was built in 1972-73ish. Not sure if you'd be interested in capturing it in your inventory or not. Honestly, growing up in that house, I was always sad that we didn't just restore the typical shotgun that he'd torn down to build that house. It definately stuck out...as it was the only 3 story modern house in the 'hood.