Children’s Hospital is in the process of renovating the former Marine Hospital site on Tchoupitoulas Street between Henry Clay and State streets Uptown. The Preservation Resource Center’s Executive Director Danielle Del Sol and Advocacy Coordinator Erin Holmes toured the 17-acre site on Monday (May 14) with architect Mark Ripple, principal of Eskew+Dumex+Ripple. Nine buildings – including a Creole cottage from the 1830s and a two-story house from the 1880s – are being restored, while five two-story brick residences were demolished to make way for an 800-space parking garage. The hospital, which acquired the site in 2014, has renovated a brick gymnasium into a state-of-the-art conference center that retains original plaster details, wood floors and doors, and is almost finished renovating a 1920s two-story brick building into a temporary-stay facility for families whose children are being treated across the street. Work is about to begin on the 1880s Commandant’s House, which retains many original historic details, including beautiful woodwork inside and out, an ornate wood mantel and staircase, and plaster trim. A Creole cottage dating to the 1830s is in bad shape, but has been braced and weatherized. It awaits a move: a shoring company will rotate the building back to its original location on the site before it undergoes renovation.
The PRC commends Children’s Hospital New Orleans and Eskew+Dumez+Ripple for working closely with the Historic District Landmarks Commission in the restoration of many of the buildings on this site. We look forward to continuing to track the progress as it moves forward. Read more about the history of the Marine Hospital from the Preservation in Print archives here.
Click images to expand. Photos courtesy of Eskew+Dumez+Ripple
