MSS 351 - FEMA - Duncan Plaza Collection: Inventory

FEMA – DUNCAN PLAZA COLLECTION

(Mss 351)

Inventory

Earl K. Long Library

University of New Orleans

August 2009

 

Summary

 

 

Size:                           0.1 linear foot

Geographic

locations:                 New Orleans, Louisiana

Inclusive dates:      2008-2009

Summary:                 Recordation materials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) documenting historic buildings at Duncan Plaza (New Orleans, La.) that may be demolished or altered as a result of a FEMA-funded project.

Related

collections:              FEMA – Xavier Cabrini Church Collection (Mss 352), FEMA – Jackson Barracks Collection (Mss 360), FEMA – Andrew H. Wilson School Collection< (Mss 361), FEMA – Charles J. Colton Middle School Collection (Mss 362), George Washington Carver High School Collection (Mss 363)

Source:                     Gift, 2009

Access:                     No restrictions

Copyright:                Physical rights are retained by the Earl K. Long Library, University of New Orleans.

Citation:                    FEMA – Duncan Plaza Collection, Earl K. Long Library, University of New Orleans

 

 

Historical Note

 

            After World War II, the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana collaborated on planning, funding, and building a new complex of modern municipal buildings that would consolidate city and state offices in a single location.  Bounded on the sides by Tulane Avenue and Poydras Street and fronting on Loyola Avenue (formerly Saratoga Street), the complex came to be known as the Duncan Plaza Civic Complex after Brooke H. Duncan, manager of the city’s Real Estate Utility Department, who had envisioned it.  Some of the city’s preeminent architects participated in the Modernist design of the public space and adjacent buildings, Including City Hall, the New Orleans State Office Building, the New Orleans Public Library, and the former Louisiana Supreme Court.  An urban renewal initiative, completed in 1987, revitalized the original site plan, which was then thirty years old.

 

            Though marred by the ravages of age, wear, and neglect, the buildings survived Hurricane Katrina (2005) relatively intact.  All except the Public Library, however, experienced flooded basements, two of which (the State Office Building and the former Supreme Court) contained HVAC and other equipment.  In light of the difficulty and expense of replacing the equipment, the decision was made to demolish those two buildings.  Materials in the FEMA – Duncan Plaza Collection document the history of the Duncan Plaza Civic Complex and the demolition of the State Office Building and former Supreme Court.

 

Container List

 

351-1              Lee, Virginia S., and Dayna B. Lee.  Historical Documentation on Duncan Plaza, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana.  Final Report.  Jill-Karen Yakubik, Principal Investigator.  Prepared for Louisiana Office of Facility Planning & Control, Baton Rouge, La.  New Orleans: Earth Search, Inc., January 2009.  xi, 131 l.

 

351-2              Photographs of Duncan Plaza, 2008 (53 prints, 5” x 7”).  Photographer: Robert H. Tucher.  (Descriptions are those of the photographer.)

001          Contextual view to north northeast of Duncan Plaza.

002          Contextual view to west northwest of Duncan Plaza.

003          Contextual view to south southwest of plaza landscape, including the 1986 Duncan Plaza redevelopment plaque and “Africa House” bandstand, Arthur Q. Davis Architects.

004          Contextual view to south southwest from Louisiana Supreme Court Building rooftop of Louisiana State Office Building.

005          Contextual view to north of plaza statuary.

006          View to north of Avery C. Alexander statue, Duncan Plaza, sculptor, Shaleen Jones.

007          View to northwest of front façade, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building.

008          View of east southeast of rear elevation, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building.

009          View to north, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building (oblique angle).

010          View to southwest, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building (oblique angle).

011          Exterior detail view to northwest of walkway, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building.

012          Interior view of pipes and concrete block walls, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, sub-basement.

013          Interior view of pipes and equipment, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, sub-basement.

014          Interior view of pipes and equipment, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, sub-basement (alternate view).

015          Interior view of air handling equipment, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, sub-basement.

016          Interior view of terra cotta tile hallway, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, basement.

017          Interior view of pipes and terra cotta tile piers, large storage room, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, basement.

018          Interior view of terra cotta tiles and tiled piers, large storage room, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, basement.

019          Interior view to northeast, lobby, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, ground level.

020          Interior view to south, lobby, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, ground level.

021          Interior view to northwest of windows and partition, Law Library of Louisiana, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, ground level.

022          Interior view to west northwest of empty shelving, stacks, Law Library of Louisiana, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, Mezzanine level.

023          Interior view to west northwest of walkway, stacks, Law Library of Louisiana, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, Mezzanine level.

024          Interior view of empty metal shelving, stacks, Law Library of Louisiana, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, Mezzanine level.

025          Interior view to south of glass curtain wall, mosaic and stairwell, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, 2^nd floor.

026          Interior view to west northwest, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, 2^nd floor.

027          Interior view to east, Clerk of the Supreme Court Office, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, 2^nd floor.

028          Interior view to west of hallway, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, 2^nd floor.

029          Interior view to north of hallway, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, 2^nd floor.

030          Interior view of south stairwell, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, 2^nd floor.

031          Interior view to southwest, Room 201, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, 2^nd floor.

032          Interior view to northwest of wood paneling, Room 211, Loui­siana State Supreme Court Building, 2^nd floor (oblique angle).

033          Interior view to northwest, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, 2^nd floor (oblique angle).

034          Interior detail of south stairwell, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, ground level.

035          Interior detail to north northeast of wood paneling, Louisiana State Supreme Court Room, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, 2^nd floor.

036          Interior detail to north northwest to dais, Louisiana State Supreme Court Room, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, 2^nd floor (oblique angle).

037          Interior detail to north northeast of elevators, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, 2^nd floor.

038          Interior detail to south southwest of “Ideas of Law,” mosaic mural, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building, 2^nd floor, Artist: Conrad A. Albrizio.

039          Interior view to south southeast, Louisiana State Supreme Court Room, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building.

040          Detail view of marble dedication plaques, Louisiana State Supreme Court Room, Louisiana State Supreme Court Building.

041          View to west northwest of front façade, Louisiana State Office Building.

042          View to north of side elevation, Louisiana State Office Building.

043          View to north Louisiana State Office Building (oblique angle).

044          View to south, Louisiana State Office Building.

045          Exterior detail of front entrance, Louisiana State Office Building.

046          Exterior detail of panel unit-mullion system glazed curtain wall and reflection of skyline, Louisiana State Office Building.

047          Interior view of ramp, black marble walls, and diamond patterned ceiling with brass accents, Louisiana State Office Building, ground level.

048          Interior view of reception desk and elevators, lobby, Louisiana State Office Building, ground level.

049          Interior view, single occupancy office, Louisiana State Office Building, 2^nd floor

050          Interior view, double occupancy office, Louisiana State Office Building, 2^nd floor.

051          Interior view, multiple occupancy office, Louisiana State Office Building, 2^nd floor.

052          Interior detail of elevators, Louisiana State Office Building, 4^th floor.

053          Interior detail of dedication plaque, Louisiana State Office Building.

 

351-3              Photographs and architectural plans

001           Duncan Plaza photographs by Robert H. Tucher, final, January 2009.  CD.

002           Duncan Plaza architectural drawings.  CD.

 

 

Index Terms

 

Duncan Plaza (New Orleans, La.)

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Hurricane Katrina, 2005

Lee, Dayna B.

Lee, Virginia S.

New Orleans State Office Building

Supreme Court of Louisiana

Tucher, Robert H.

Urban renewal—Louisiana—New Orleans

Yakubik, Jill-Karen.