Squandered Heritage

30 responses so far ↓

• randall fox // Sep 29, 2006 at 10:59 am

  i love it. represents hcdrc’s failure yet again

• Billy // Sep 29, 2006 at 4:15 pm

  Where exactly IS this? And what are those flaps supposed to be? Like decorative? Or do they have some purported wind diversion properties?

• Karen Gadbois // Sep 30, 2006 at 2:12 am

  I am not sure where to lay the blame. They are in Mid City..I will look up the exact Street. But beware when you see them in person your whole body shakes.

• Becky // Sep 30, 2006 at 10:58 pm

  It’s the Home Depot doors that really make the facade. The little things count.

• Deep // Oct 4, 2006 at 12:49 pm

  Randal, this property is NOT within the jurisdiction of the HDLC and there is no entity at the city level that reviews design in Mid City.

• Kinch // Oct 10, 2006 at 11:09 am

  I’M BLIND.

  Besides, I’m not sure this is building is of a pre-war design. Notice the piers. They are not brick which was typically used before the war. After the war CMU’s (concrete masonry units) were used because they were quicker and cheaper. More than likely it is a post-war raised cottaged. And totally expendable. Hpefully it will be.

• Mark Folse // Oct 10, 2006 at 1:16 pm

  Wow, I just drove past there after checking out the Preserve (Baumer Foods) site of a proposed apartment complex. (Everybody at the Mid-City meeting was telling me how bad the streets were back there, but except for the road alongside the Expressway (is that technicaly stille Tunlane?) I’d trade any of the other roads in and out of that site for No. St. Patrick.

  I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that it’s on Alexander between Tulane and Banks).

  And then there is this: http://neworleans.metblogs.com/archives/2006/10/whats_wrong_wit.phtml#more

• Mark Folse // Oct 10, 2006 at 1:18 pm

  And (secretly) I like it in a “man, that is so Mid-City funky” sort of way. A block of them (or anything inspired by them) would be an abomination, but off on its own (and hat tip to Kinch for pointing out something I didn’t know about the piers) if it’s not a historically valuable property, at least its- now-ummm—interesting.

• Karen Gadbois // Oct 10, 2006 at 1:31 pm

  One of my neighbors said the facades look like Head Boards. I kind of like the “inspiration” idea..All it needs is some chrome..

• GentillyGirl // Oct 10, 2006 at 2:03 pm

  That double is freakin’ butt-ugly. I want the architect’s name so I can warn Gentilly residents about his sense of style.

  BTW- We have a war-era double, and it’s quite pretty and is not expendable.

• Tim // Oct 10, 2006 at 6:46 pm

  U - G - L - Y - You ain’t got no alibi!

  Not even McMansions are this offensive to my eye. It looks like it wants to be a business.

  Peace,

  Tim

• daggerdave // Oct 11, 2006 at 12:06 am

  this is AWESOME!!!!! this is just what our city needs. FINALLY somebody’s got some style in this architectural wasteland of a city. brilliant, just brilliant…

• Alan Gutierrez // Oct 11, 2006 at 12:17 am

  Now we need to demo the houses on either side to make room for the drive thru.

  I’m thinking: “Deco Burgers”.

• dangerblond // Oct 11, 2006 at 12:50 am

  In case of flood, those things act as sails and the wind blows the house to dry land.

• Mr. Clio // Oct 11, 2006 at 7:20 am

  Hey! Let’s not be critical!

  It’s New Orleans’s first self-demolishing house. When a storm comes, those things on the front blow back, thereby crushing the house and preparing it for ‘dozing.

  Of course, the self-demolishing part presumes a prior evacuation. Hope the occupants read that part of the instruction book.

• Varg // Oct 13, 2006 at 11:41 pm

  Are those supposed to represent comets?

• Julie // Oct 15, 2006 at 10:45 pm

  Oh dear. I appreciate the attempt at some kind of architectural decoration, but that is really bad. FUGLY, in fact. The columns are awful, the false front over the peak of the roof is beyond horrid, especially the faux ‘deco’ design, and the doors…yes, I must agree with the “Home Depot” assessment from above. Ghastly.

  Building cheap doesn’t have to mean building ugly, too. I may have to gouge my eyes out…good lord.

• Sam // Oct 17, 2006 at 4:07 am

  Maybe it’s “green”. You can commit all kinds heresies if you attach the green label to it.

  See:

  www.rebuildgreen.org/first.html

  There are lots of sites like this. We are apparently at the vanguard of this movement(at least, according to them, I’m not sure anyone asked us if we wanted to be the prototype). What’s particularly disturbing about the site above is that they have some understanding of the heritage, workmanship and style of the house but then still want to turn it into this beachhouse-looking-thingy.

• The Chicory - Lost in Leveeland // Oct 17, 2006 at 4:51 am

  […] - I was perusing some of the local blogs and I happened upon this post at Squandered Heritage. I can’t believe the HDLC wasn’t on those folks like white on rice. The HDLC made my neighbors saw a foot off their fence the DAY AFTER the damn thing went up.  I suppose they aren’t in a historic distric. Though it seems like ALL of New Orleans should be a historic district. This thing looks like the facade decoration is of two comets hurling towards each other at high speed. Perhaps they will collide and blow the two-toned Miami Vice paintjob and Disney-esque superstructure off that poor shotgun double? […]

• steve bergeron // Oct 18, 2006 at 10:40 pm

  I live on the 200 block of s. alexander st. this building is just 3 blocks away. for your information, i witnessed the entire transformation (and indeed it was a transformation.)

  the building was a typical shotgun double. the owner widened the building by 5 feet on either side and added the art-deco flaps later.

  please be careful when dating homes by their foundations. old pre-war houses can easily have their piers replaced by CMUs. those piers are less than 6 months old.

  across the street is a slightly less repulsive modification. the entire facade of an old shotgun has been stuccoed over. in addition (and what is really tacky) is the aluminum gutter system that runs vertically down the house, then makes a 90 angle and runs 5 feet in order to dump the water on the sidewalk.

• Karen Gadbois // Oct 19, 2006 at 2:11 am

  I saw the one across the street..it was special as well. Someone seems to have unloaded a spray truck of stucco. I will pass by and check out the gutters.

• Lori // Oct 19, 2006 at 10:27 pm

  yes, I saw this delightful “renovation” when I, too, was reviewing houses on the demo list. And I, too, was stunned, speechless, and then screamed! I must say it is one of the MOST amazing things I’ve seen in quite a while. And that’s saying something. I noticed the one across the street also, but it’s not nearly as good as this one. It is now even more “complete,” with non-matching “Colonial” door surrounds. You really must see it for yourself. Stunning. Literally.
  BTW, NOT in an HDLC district - no design review in Mid City, only demo review by HCDRC.

• Jessica Henricksen // Oct 19, 2006 at 10:33 pm

  Those things are basketballs or big pieces of hail. Duh.

• Quinn // Dec 29, 2006 at 4:32 pm

  Is this Lisa Mazique’s new house in Miami?

• Sunday Funnies {Mid City Edition} | Squandered Heritage // Jan 14, 2007 at 3:50 am

  […] A few months ago I saw a house that almost made me faint. The singular achitectural style and audacity was something I never thought I would see again. […]

• Kathleen // Jan 15, 2007 at 8:45 pm

  it looks like an old time movie theatre in New Orleans, except the colors don’t match

• ID Ellen // Feb 24, 2007 at 2:49 am

  What was so great about the 80’s was NOT the teal and peach overwhelm, it was the music. They got it all wrong; but were able to get to New Orleans anyway from whatever planet-I would love to see their landing craft.

• Innocent Bystander // Jun 1, 2007 at 9:27 am

  Yes. They are butt-ugly but it looks to me as though they did the best they could with what they had. It sucks when you have to live next to something like this but the fact is, it isn’t anyone’s except the person who owns it. I loathe neighborhood associations.

• Karen Gadbois // Jun 1, 2007 at 9:36 am

  Thank you for your comments, Mr Innocent someone has to be hatin,why not you

• Randall // Jun 1, 2007 at 10:45 am

  Another property rights fanatic? Im guessing

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