I have used Roy’s pics before on here. He is an “amateur” photographer whose Quarter genealogy includes the venerable Antoine’s Restaurant. As much as I like to at at Antoine’s (and the Hermes Bar) I’m glad Roy has time to photograph the Quarter. No one does it better.
Canal street needs to add a diverse set of residents and this project may be the kick off to that.
In any case, it has long been my contention that tax credits for Canal building owners that renovate their largely empty upstairs floors should be considered; those tax credits would be given with rent controls so that regular people can animate our main street.
However, the Texaco building has been empty for far too long-I wonder how long it will really take to renovate it? I also wonder if this is the beginning of the end of the Iberville housing; this article talks about moving seniors from there. Besides high-rises being sometimes difficult for seniors to navigate it makes me wonder if moving people from there is to change the community aspect of Iberville in order to hand it over to developers.
The high winds of Hurricane Katrina managed to displace two large oak trees in St. Anthony’s Garden behind the Cathedral, dislodging 30 feet (9.1 m) of ornamental gate, while the nearby marble statue of Jesus Christ lost a forefinger and a thumb.
Restoration of St. Anthony's Garden at St. Louis Cathedral..
The garden restoration is finally underway….This video link tells its fascinating history (albeit a bit hokey with the fuzzy recreations) and about 14 minutes in, tells about the dig that started the restoration. Nice to know it was a flower market at one point, and how many toys they found in the excavation…And that the earliest structure in the French Quarter ever found in a dig was uncovered. And that fruit trees and native plants are being used.
<http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=5507649944314471148&hl=en&fs=true
Turns out the owners of this property could have demolished the whole thing. Uh, oops City Hall.
I guess there is no substitute for knowledge, even at City Hall. I agree with Councilperson Palmer’s acknowledgement of the problem, but do not believe that one-stop permitting would entirely alleviate bad clerical work.
Best to beef up signage and posting so that savvy neighbors (of which there are many in the old city) can catch the mistakes. And maybe, have someone they can call over the weekend when they see illegal demo or repair activity.
The last time I heard from the GD was during the French Quarter Festival, when her neighbor delivered a message to me from an alert Duchess, who spied me from her balcony. That post
As I know that the Duchess locks up her house for the summer and takes long trips east and west (“never South or North my dear; there’s been entirely too much traffic in THOSE directions over the years”), I was surprised when I noticed the curtains blowing out from her 3rd story. I rang the bell and was admitted warmly by her live-in, Miss Maude who looked fresh as a daisy in the 96 degrees, as all true New Orleans ladies do.
I knew to wait for the Duchess in the cool, darkish middle room on the second floor, which is where she receives guests in the summer. I sat in the large wicker chair after making myself a lemon ginger drink from the tall pitcher, mixed together with ice from the bar freezer and mint from her glorious garden.
garden description
I could hear the muted chatter from nearby streets and feel the fans churning above me. The second floor seems cooled by old-fashioned architecture and strategic breezes rather than too-large air conditioning machines (as the Duchess calls them).
I sat relaxing and cooling and opened my eyes when I smelled verbena. The Duchess had entered and was shooing one of the fattest of her cats to the next room. Soon after, she sat in her usual straight-backed chair across from me.
“I am surprised to see you home in the summer, Duchess”
We believe that in moments of high drama, our citizens need us to be alert.
“I assume you are referring to the historic river levels?”
We are referring to the Mississippi and Atchafalaya river levels, yes. It is our wish that no one suffers on behalf of the village’s residents, but unfortunately, this time some will suffer to save the old city. We hope that our cousins in the Louisiana provinces know that our gratitude and empathy rises to them at this time
“Do you believe the levees will hold?”
We have personally inspected the levee in our village and believe it is safe. However, I cannot vouchsafe for the other villages surrounding ours and hope their royal servants are taking their citizens safety seriously.
“Duchess, I do not believe the other neighborhoods have a Duke or Duchess such as yourself that watch over them.”
(She looked at me sharply as if to gauge my seriousness and then shook her head sorrowfully)
If that is true, our concern is profound for those places. We hope that someday they can restore a personage to serve their needs.
In any case, we must all remember that water is both our saviour and our curse. We cannot control the mighty rivers forever, so must live in such a way as to not draw their ire and still prepare for the days that the water will change its course. We have been thinking a great deal on this subject and offer these decrees:
All villagers must teach each other basic swimming techniques.
All villagers should keep a flotation device available.
The staff of Loyola Avenue must ask for widow’s walks or wrapping galleries to be built on all new buildings above one story.
Second and third floor windows must have an exit path.
Those villagers with means should store expandable ladders of 15 feet or more on second floors or in attics. Rope ladders are more useful but must be inspected regularly for strength. (DW-I mentioned the usefulness and long life of nylon rope, an idea which pleased the Duchess and she begged me to insert the word nylon to the decree above.)
All villagers should make the acquaintance of at least one neighbor who seems to be alone and then to be responsible for that person in times of environmental or federal crisis.
After her decrees were stated, she rose, bade me to follow her into her library and showed me a brass bell and a beautiful old oar from a small boat. She told me they had been given to her by a grateful river pilot many years ago. As she went to ask Maude to show me out, I noticed an first English edition of Mark Twain’s “Life on the Mississippi” near the items and surreptitiously opened it to find this confounding inscription:
To the gracious lady downriver who watches over us all. Mark Twain
To read the original post explaining our Duchess:
Duchess
I had a feeling that KGP (City Council for the FQ) was going to allow solar panels. Look-if you want to get picky about it, then take the Victorian bric brac off and lose the indoor bathrooms and kitchens! Solar panels should be taken seriously, even by those French Quarter residents who think charm comes from roofing materials. Push or pull those huffy residents screaming all of the way to the 21st century whenever possible and keep our old city vibrant rather than becoming a total anachronism no one can afford to live in.
another ingenious use of space in the French Quarter. Parking valets at the Omni Royal (or for you old folks the Royal Orleans or for you old OLD folks, the Saint Louis) use this vertical people mover to get up to upper floors to get a car, or to come down after parking. No waiting for elevators (that would break more often) or dodging cars on the ramps.
French Quarter block by block 
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