Squandered Heritage

HDLC

Historic District Landmarks Commission Meeting Agenda
May 11th, 2007
City Council Chambers 9:30 a.m.
City Hall

RESULT: Approved

Joseph Tolliver, owner, represented by the Housing Unit Demolition Task Force. Right now, we are in the vortex of the demolition process we could see coming 6 months ago.

It could be an Imminent Danger declaration at the City level that brings this to the agenda or a FEMA demolition. Because of the timing, I think it’s a FEMA list, voluntary application, for a taxpayer sponsored demolition. In the minds of the owners, these are FREE demolitions. There is no free demolition. The taxpayers pay or a lien is put on the remaining vacant lot.

Even though this building has been altered in design from it’s original contributing status as an architecturally important structure, at one point it was contributing. Regardless of the provenance of demolition, there will be a lingering and unrecompensable cost to our city’s architectural heritage that is lost forever. The Imminent Danger properties listed by the city as part of their code enforcement program are just now going coming to the point where they will actually be demolished.

Nevertheless, this demolition is not due to Katrina. It’s due to neglect. It’s a lack of responsibility on the part of the owners to maintain or sell the property, and also many years of complete lack of real code enforcement in New Orleans.

Housing Conservation District Review Committee Meeting Agenda
January 8th, 2007
10 a.m. Room 7E07
City Hall

Result: This house is up for review at next Monday’s Meeting

The City Attorney’s Neighborhood One, Housing Unit Task Demolition Task Force has applied to demolish this two-story structure in Central City. The owner, the Second Mount Calvary Baptist Church permitted this building to fall into blight in recent years and intends to leave the lot vacant. Churches consistently purchase property, allow it to blight and have it torn down by the city or tear it down themselves simply to bank land around a church. There are about six churches in one square block in this neighborhood, they are not open, there are few residents who have to returned to attend. However, the city’s new wifi system is available here.

I remember when this story was first covered by the Times Picayune and in looking found the blog of the folks who live next door to it.

I had done some research on this house and the story of the move to this location. What is difficult to fathom is the size of this house. It is HUGE.

I spoke with Sean a musician who lives next door, with his fiancee. Sean has been working on his house for 10 years. He told me that he was out of town for a month and while he was gone someone stole the joists and floorboards.

As you can see from these photos this place is ready to fall down, and it is 8 inches from the property line.

Sean said that he fears on a daily basis that it is going to fall on top of his house. Seems that a shame that this house was moved from the original site to this site which is too small and because of the neglect of Lisa Mazique while she is settling in to her new job in Miami and Sean and Jackie are living next door to this Historic Landmark of failure.

Here is an older photo of this home in which it appears to be leaning left, in recent photos it is leaning right.
Scary.