I realize that historic preservation is somewhat off-topic for this
list, so please overlook that fact. Hopefully it will be a bit more
topic related than some postings I have seen here! :)
I have been volunteering for the Preservation Resource Center of New
Orleans (PRC) for almost three years now. They are an amazing group of
people working to not only preserve New Orlean's historic architecture,
but to preserve neighborhoods - which as you know are comprised of much
more than old buildings. With all the talk frmo the media of
demolishing everything and starting over, the PRC released a press
release related to the recent events which we are all aware of. To
assist them in getting it to as many like-minded people as possible, I
am posting it here. Again, thank you in advance for being slightly off-
topic.
Lisa Lynde
**********
Contact: Patricia Gay - 337-784-9893, [log in to unmask] or
[log in to unmask]
Bulldozing might be expedient, but we're talking about people's homes
and communities, corner stores, diners, and churches. We're talking in
many cases about houses that have stood over 100 years and
neighborhoods that have been home to five or six generations. And we're
talking about what makes our city different from every place else and
what makes visitors want to come here: in other words, our livelihood.
REPORT FROM NEW ORLEANS
by Patricia Gay, Executive Director, Preservation Resource Center
The tragedy of lost lives and displaced citizens of New Orleans will
continue to be paramount in these horrific weeks, months, perhaps,
years ahead of us.
But New Orleans will come back and will once again be a wonderful
community to live in, work in and visit. Cities and towns throughout
history have survived severe flooding, ravishing fires, earthquakes,
and tornadoes and have been rebuilt. We will, too. New Orleanians are
irrepressibly in love with our city and won't rest until it is restored
and rebuilt.
Our organization, the Preservation Resource Center, has worked hand in
hand with neighborhood groups since 1974 to revitalize and restore New
Orleans. After Katrina, our charge is even stronger.
We can report that many of the oldest areas of New Orleans closest to
the river -- from Bywater downriver of the French Quarter to St.
Charles Avenue in Uptown and Carrollton --are intact. Some historic
areas north of the French Quarter are also on higher ground and have
not incurred the severe and tragic flooding. Nonetheless, areas closer
to the lake and downriver of the Industrial Canal, including
Preservation Resource Center's target area in the historic Lower Ninth
Ward neighborhood of Holy Cross, have not fared well in this disaster.
As the water recedes, much will be salvageable. Where buildings have
been damaged, we will repair them. Where we have lost buildings, we
will rebuild with structures that reflect the New Orleans that is known
and loved around the world. This is a time to learn from the buildings
that have survived natural disasters. Over the Preservation Resource
Center's history, we have renovated houses that have been deemed
teardowns by everyone else. We have brought back neighborhoods where
lenders were afraid to go. We are ready.
There are solutions. We are communicating with the National Trust for
Historic Preservation, Preservation Action, the Historic Charleston
Foundation and our state and local governments on ideas to provide
incentives for restoring homes and neighborhoods. These in turn will
attract additional private investment and stimulate the ripple effect
that we depend upon to bring the neighborhoods back. Our staff and
board are developing plans to work with neighborhoods to assist their
restoration and rebuilding efforts.
Much remains of our city. Much can and must be done to utilize the
wealth of human, material and cultural resources of our city to
generate recovery and economic activity as soon as possible. It has
already begun.
We need your help.
RE: Donating to the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans that
has been on the ground for 30 years revitalizing, rebuilding and
restoring New Orleans historic neighborhoods. It is the mission of the
Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans to maintain and augment the
city's unique character that is known and loved around the world. Our
staff is hard at work in exile and we need you help.
How to help: Click here www.preserveneworleans.com to donate online or
mail donations to the Historic Charleston Foundation, made out to the
Preservation Resource Center, Preservation Disaster Relief Fund. The
address is 40 East Bay Street, Charleston, SC 29401.
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