FEMA – FRANCIS W. GREGORY JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL COLLECTION
(Mss 373)
Inventory
Earl K. Long Library
University of New Orleans
April 2012
Summary
Size: 0.75 linear foot
Geographic
locations: New Orleans, Louisiana
Inclusive dates: December 2010 – March 2011
Summary: Textual, photographic, and architectural documentation from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recording Francis W. Gregory Junior High School (1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, La. 70122), prior to the projected demolition of the school in September 2011.
Related
collections: Orleans Parish School Board Archives (Mss 147); FEMA – Duncan Plaza Collection (Mss 351); FEMA – Xavier Cabrini Church Collection (Mss 352); FEMA – Jackson Barracks Collection (Mss 360); FEMA – Andrew H. Wilson Elementary School Collection (Mss 361); FEMA – George Washington Carver Middle and High School Collection (Mss 363); FEMA – New Orleans City Park Corral/Maintenance Facility Collection (Mss 367); FEMA – 1019/1021 Audubon Street Collection (Mss 368); FEMA – Orleans Parish Projects Collection (Mss 376); FEMA – YWCA of Greater New Orleans Collection (Mss 379); FEMA – Christian Community Youth Against Drugs Structures Collection (Mss 380)
Source: Gift, 2011
Access: No restrictions
Copyright: Physical rights are retained by the Earl K. Long Library, University of New Orleans.
Citation: FEMA – Francis W. Gregory Junior High School Collection, Earl K. Long Library, University of New Orleans
Historical Note
Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, established by the Orleans Parish School Board to serve African American students residing in subdivisions that developed in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans after World War II, opened in January 1960. Situated around a central courtyard in a design known as a “finger school,” Gregory initially consisted of four classrooms, a gymnasium, and an auditorium, connected by a web of covered walkways. When Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, the campus remained much the same as it had when it was constructed, except that two concrete-block mechanical buildings had been added.
In 2008 the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) determined that Gregory was eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places as an example of a junior high school campus built in the International Style and for its association with the New Orleans architecture firm of Burk, LeBreton, & Lamantia, which designed it. The style also reflected the Orleans Parish School Board’s shift from block construction to finger campuses as it transitioned from racially segregated schools to integrated ones. It was slated to be demolished in September 2011.
Sources: .Orleans Parish School Board, 2011 1st Quarterly Report, available at http://rsdla.net/Libraries/Documents_and_Reports/1st_Quarterly_Report.sflb.ashx, accessed April 12, 2012; Kelly Sellers Wittie, Susan Barrett Smith, and Katy Coyle, Recordation of Buildings at the Francis W. Gregory Junior High School Campus, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana: Final Report (New Orleans: R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates, Inc., for Federal Emergency Management Agency, March 2011).
List of Series and Subseries
Series I. Textual documentation
Series II. Photographic documentation
Subseries II.1. Black-and-white prints
Subseries II.2. Color prints
Subseries II.3. Negatives
Series III. Architectural documentation
Container List
Series I. Textual documentation
Box 1, Folder 1
373-1 Wittie, Kelly Sellers, Susan Barrett Smith, and Katy Coyle. Recordation of Buildings at the Francis W. Gregory Junior High School Campus, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana: Final Report. New Orleans: R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates, Inc., for Federal Emergency Management Agency, March 2011.
Series II. Photographic documentation
Box 1, Folder 2
Subseries II.1. Black-and-white prints
Black-and-white 8-by-10-inch glossy photographs of Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, Orleans Parish, Louisiana. Photographed by T. Greene on December 8, 2010. Negatives of these photographs are available (see 373-23 through 373-35).
373-2 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Northwest corner of Building F (Auditorium), facing Southeast. Negative: 373-23.
373-3 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Southeast corner of Building F (Auditorium), facing Northwest. Negative: 373-24.
373-4 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Walkway under cantilevered second story of Building A, facing South. Negative: 373-25.
373-5 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Northwest elevation of Building A, facing Southeast. Negative: 373-26.
373-6 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Wooden louvers sheltering Building A stairwell, facing West. Negative: 373-27.
373-7 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Cantilevered second story of Building D forming walkway, facing Northeast. Negative: 373-28.
373-8 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Northeast corner of Building B (Gymnasium), facing Southwest. Negative: 373-29.
373-9 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Southeast corner of Building B (Gymnasium), facing Northwest. Negative: 373-30.
373-10 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Windows of Building C, facing Southeast. Negative: 373-31.
373-11 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Overall view of campus from the East, facing West. Negative: 373-32.
373-12 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Overall view of campus from the North, facing South. Negative: 373-33.
373-13 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Overall view of campus from the South, facing North. Negative: 373-34.
373-14 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Overall view of campus from the West, facing East. Negative: 373-35.
Subseries II.2. Color prints
Box 1, Folder 3
Color 8-by-10-inch glossy photographs of Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, Orleans Parish, Louisiana. Photographed by T. Greene on December 9, 2010. No negatives are in the collection.
373-15 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Auditorium, Building F, facing Northwest.
373-16 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Auditorium, Building F, facing Southeast.
373-17 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Computer Lab, Building A, facing Northwest.
373-18 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Room 423 – Science Laboratory, Building D, facing West.
373-19 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Room 333 – English/Reading, Building C, facing Northwest.
373-20 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. English/Social Science, Building E, facing East.
373-21 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Second story, Building B, facing Southeast.
373-22 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Gymnasium, Building B, facing Northwest.
Subseries II.3. Negatives
Box 1, Folder 4
3.75-by-4.75-inch negatives of the 13 black-and-white photographs described above (373-2 through 373-14).
373-23 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Northwest corner of Building F (Auditorium), facing Southeast. Print: 373-2.
373-24 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Southeast corner of Building F (Auditorium), facing Northwest. Print: 373-3.
373-25 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Walkway under cantilevered second story of Building A, facing South. Print: 373-4.
373-26 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Northwest elevation of Building A, facing Southeast. Print: 373-5.
373-27 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Wooden louvers sheltering Building A stairwell, facing West. Print: 373-6.
373-28 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Cantilevered second story of Building D forming walkway, facing Northeast. Print: 373-7.
373-29 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Northeast corner of Building B (Gymnasium), facing Southwest. Print: 373-8.
373-30 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Southeast corner of Building B (Gymnasium), facing Northwest. Print: 373-9.
373-31 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Windows of Building C, facing Southeast. Print: 373-10.
373-32 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Overall view of campus from the East, facing West. Print: 373-11.
373-33 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Overall view of campus from the North, facing South. Print: 373-12.
373-34 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Overall view of campus from the South, facing North. Print: 373-13.
373-35 Francis W. Gregory Junior High School, 1700 Pratt Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. Overall view of campus from the West, facing East. Print: 373-14.
Subseries III. Architectural documentation
Box 2
Copies of selected architectural drawings by Burk, LeBreton, & Lamantia, Architects & Engineers, 632 Pirates Alley, New Orleans, La. August 30, 1957. 30” x 42”.
373-36 Sheet index.
373-37 Building A. Floor plans.
373-38 Building A. Cross section, elevations, window details.
373-39 Building B. Floor plans.
373-40 Building B. Elevations, stairs.
373-41 Building C. Floor plans.
373-42 Building C. Elevations, door & window details.
373-43 Building D. Floor plans,
373-44 Building D. Elevation, ceiling plan & miscellaneous details.
373-45 Building E. Floor plan & door details.
373-46 Building F. Floor plan & door details.
373-47 Building F. Cross sections & elevations.
Index Terms
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Francis W. Gregory Junior High School (New Orleans, La.)
Greene, T.
Gregory Junior High School (New Orleans, La.)
Hurricane Katrina, 2005
Schools—Louisiana—New Orleans