This story appeared in the September issue of the PRC’s Preservation in Print magazine. Interested in getting more preservation stories like this delivered to your door monthly? Become a member of the PRC for a subscription!
Pierre Capdau School
Address: 3821 Franklin Ave. – map it!
Owner: PCA Investments, LLC
Architect: Michael Lee Studio
Photos by Claire Adams
Development: Construction is underway to transform the former Pierre A. Capdau School in Edgewood Park into an 80-unit senior housing development. All units will be affordable for low-income residents thanks to HUD funds allocated by the Louisiana Housing Corp. and the Housing Authority of New Orleans. The project includes construction of a new building on the grounds as well as renovation of the three-story, 1922 Beaux Arts-style school. In 2012, the Orleans Parish School Board auctioned the shuttered school, designed by E.A. Christy, and its two-acre parcel.
Address: 1800 Canal Street – map it!
Owner: The Orleans House, LLC
Architect: Concordia
Photos by Claire Adams
Development: Built in 1889 as a home for Charles Orleans, this local landmark was spared demolition 122 years later when the development of the new VA Hospital and LSU Medical Center consumed most of 25 city blocks in Lower Mid-City. As early as 1983, the Historic District Landmarks Commission described it as “one of the most complete nineteenth-century buildings surviving along Canal Street.” Though it retains elaborate millwork and a distinctive octagonal turret, the building languished at the corner of Canal and S. Derbigny streets until it sold last year. The present owners are renovating the property to transform the Queen Anne-style residence into a boutique hotel with nine bedrooms.
Nathan Lott is PRC’s Policy Research Director & Advocacy Coordinator.
