At the July 10 Central Business District Historic District Landmarks Commission meeting, the commission unanimously voted to designate the former site of the Up Stairs Lounge at 135-141 Chartres St. as an individual local landmark. Starting in 1970, the Up Stairs Lounge occupied the second floor of the building and served as a gathering place and social refuge for members of the gay community until a brutal arson attack in 1973. In less than 20 minutes, 32 people were murdered and 15 people were injured, the highest death toll from fire in modern New Orleans history and until the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, the deadliest attack on LGBTQ people in United States history. The response to the crime was terribly insufficient: the mayor and governor ignored the incident; the archdiocese denied the victims a Catholic burial or funeral; the police were dismissive; and members of the press and public trivialized the events. No one was ever arrested for the crime.
The circa 1845 building contributes to the Vieux Carre National Register District and the Canal Street Local Historic District for its architecture as a typical mid-19th century commercial building, rather than its significant association with LGBTQ history. Designating the building as an individual landmark establishes an important record of the violence and systemic failures inflicted by civic and religious leaders, the media, and members of the public on the LGBTQ community.
Despite general disregard for the victims at the time, the horrific event prompted decades of LGBTQ activism. The PRC strongly supports the designation and commends the HDLC for placing a spotlight on the tragedy and legacy of this building.
Also on July 10, the HDLC re-elected its commission chairs and vice chairs: Seamus McGuire and John Boyd for the CBD HDLC and Jennie West and Jason King for the New Orleans HDLC. The commission also re-appointed all current members of the Architectural Review Committee for another year-long term.
In other business, the commission denied the installation of prominent, street-facing solar panels at 3132 Laurel St. in the Irish Channel. Several demolition applications were approved with no objection from the HDLC staff, including 7900 Maple St. (Carrollton), 119 Broadway (Uptown), and 715 N. Salcedo St. (Parkview). All three buildings were heavily altered or in poor condition.
At 721 Seventh St. in the Irish Channel, the commission denied the retention of inappropriate windows and sills and HVAC platforms in deviation of a Certificate of Appropriateness, issues that the commission had denied previously in 2023 when the house had different ownership.
Staff recommended a Tier 2 fine ($10,613 to $20,602) for the unauthorized demolition of the roof at 1808 Lowerline St. in the Uptown Historic District. The project had received a permit to remove rear portions of the building to construct a camelback. It appears the building was not properly braced during a storm in May and the side walls splayed out, hitting a neighboring house and pulling the front wall backwards. To save the rest of the building, the roof was removed. Several neighbors made comments at the meeting, some encouraging the commission to increase the fine to a Tier 3. The commission voted to approve retention of the roof demolition but deferred the decision on the fine amount to provide time to review a structural report provided by the applicant.
After Hurricane Ida, multiple inappropriate changes were made without a Certificate of Appropriateness at 1734 Josephine St., an individual landmark. The owners were not aware that the building was a landmark when they purchased the property and the unpermitted work included applying historically inappropriate ornamentation at the fascia as well as door and window cornices, changes to the newel posts, columns and railings. The alterations create a false sense of history, and the commission denied retention.
At the landmark building at 3500 St. Claude Ave., the commission approved the retention of expanded HVAC equipment to allow a noise suppressor. They deferred the application to retain insufficient screening around the HVAC system, to provide time for the landscaping to grow over the summer.
MaryNell Nolan-Wheatley is PRC’s Advocacy Coordinator & Public Policy Research Director.
