Tell us a little bit about how you got into historic preservation and architectural history.
My career began in the visual arts. I’ve practiced for over 20 years as a freelance painter and sculptor, primarily in landscape and botanical abstraction drawn from the landscape where I grew up on the north shore.
I became an art gallery director some years ago and enjoyed working with other artists to curate exhibitions. The storytelling component of art and a general curiosity about why things are how they are is where my love of history started.
For me, architecture is like an interwoven collaborative sculpture. I had been making large-scale outdoor steel work when I decided to become an architect. Tulane had a dual-degree program for getting a Master of Architecture and Master of Preservation Studies, which felt like a natural fit for my interests. It ended up being a good move because I can’t imagine doing any project without thinking first about the cultural context
That experience gave me the understanding that everything we see is interpretative and representative of a society’s values.
You’re working now to try to nominate West End Park for the National Register of Historic Places. Why is that area worth recognizing?
The nomination was initially a project undertaken by the West End Lakeshore Park Civic Association. My firm has a pro-bono program to do projects that align with our mission and at some point, it was brought to my attention that they could use support.
Natural areas are my favorite place of refuge, as well as any place having to do with art, music and books. At first glance, the nomination looked to be about what we commonly associate with the West End, like the history of lakefront entertainment and ties to the development of Jazz. What a National Register nomination actually evaluates, however, is what still exists at the site of the park itself.
West End Park is an impressive example of land reclamation for its time, circa 1914. Though it is partially buried and surrounded by a post-modern colonnade, there is a rare prismatic fountain in the center of the park designed by Frederick Darlington. A documentary underwritten by the Azby Fund called “West End and The Dancing Prismatic Fountain,” which aired on WYES-TV, tells the great history of the original fountain.
These are some of the reasons why the site remains significant and worth recognizing. The site has both tangible and intangible heritage, but the hope, as far as a National Register listing, is that the natural areas will be preserved as an example of engineering and park design between 1914 and 1936. It’s one of the city’s many gems.
You’ve also been involved with the team working to bring back Lincoln Beach. Are there any updates you can share about that project?
Lincoln Beach’s return is in progress, and the timeline to reopen is moving but running behind schedule.
Now that the master planning phase is complete, the city has signed a construction manager-at-risk agreement with RNGD, a Metairie-based general contractor that has experience with similar projects. Sasaki is continuing its preliminary design work from the master planning phase into final design documents.
Construction is expected to start in December 2026 and is estimated to take between 12 and 18 months. The first phase to be completed will allow the beach to safely reopen in 2027. I would encourage anyone interested in the project to learn more by attending public meetings and getting involved with organizations like New Orleans for Lincoln Beach. There are many parts of the process still undergoing permitting and approval, and community involvement is very important in this process.
Finally, what does historic preservation mean to you?
To me, historic preservation is a lens through which I see everything. I can’t unsee it. It is my nature to want to appreciate what works and let go of what doesn’t. My instinct is to be efficient about things, like conserving materials or working with passive design strategies commonly found in historic structures that respond to our specific climate conditions.
I’m not trying to live in the past, but I believe we have so much to learn from it.
I enjoy overlaying histories like post-modernists do, but ultimately, I am a very pragmatic person. I joke with clients that I am in the business of their dreams, but I do believe that I have a knack for balancing aspirations with what makes sense. I was fortunate to work with Peter Trapolin when I was an intern, and we shared the belief that regardless of budget, there’s always a little room for magic.
Artists are known for being able to breathe new life into things and places – preservation is just one of the many ways to evolve, transform, and renew.
