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Once the site of the main branch of the New Orleans Public Library, this spot at Lee Circle boasts the name of another remnant of the city's past: K&B Plaza.
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Photo by Eileen Loh Harrist
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Hey Blake,
I used to go to the main library at Lee Circle. When did they tear down our beautiful library and why?
Mrs. D.
Dear Mrs. D.,
The library you speak of has been gone since 1959 when it was demolished and the new library was built at 219 Loyola Ave. When new libraries are built, it's usually for a happy reason: they need more space for the growing collection. And the new facility had over four times as much floor space.
The great old building at 1031 St. Charles Ave. was erected using money donated by Andrew Carnegie and supplemented by appropriations of the City Council. As you remember, the architecture of the gray stone building looked rather like a Roman temple with four tall Corinthian columns at the entrance. There were also features copied from the Roman temple Mars Ultor. It was erected in 1908 on a site that used to be the location of the car barns for the New Orleans and Carrollton Steam Railroad. Later, in 1871, on the site came the foundation for a Masonic temple that was never built and a temporary hall for the 1890 festival of the German-American singing club. Today, we have the K & B Plaza with its outdoor sculpture gallery.
And although the building on Loyola Avenue would not make anyone think of a temple, we have an award-winning library to be very proud of. The third floor, in particular, is an absolute treasure trove of information about New Orleans. You can explore the Louisiana Division and the New Orleans City Archives, the records of municipal government from 1769 to the present. There are thousands of manuscripts, maps, drawings, photographs, videotapes and recordings, old newspapers on microfilm, a Carnival Collection, and a Rare Book Collection. And it's a great place for genealogical research. Best of all, the librarians are all experts and able to answer any questions you could possibly have.
Hey Blake,
What was the name of the courthouse in the French Quarter? I used to watch Comus on its lawn.
Dolores Jefferson
Dear Dolores,
If you were watching parades from the lawn of the courthouse, it had to have been before 1973 because the year before was the last time Comus or any krewe paraded through the French Quarter.
The courthouse built in 1909 never had a name. But for a while, locals referred to it as the "Wildlife and Fisheries building" because the agency set up shop there in 1958.
In its early days, the building, constructed to house the states' appellate courts, was home to New Orleans' civil district court, the civil sheriff's office, and some other city and state agencies. Then in 1910, the Louisiana Supreme Court left the Cabildo and moved to the new courthouse. For a time, new lawyers were sworn in there, one of whom was current Chief Justice Pascal Calogero Jr. It has been largely through his efforts that the courthouse is being restored.
The Supreme Court stayed there until 1958 when it moved to Loyola Avenue, and the Wildlife and Fisheries Department moved in. And for a while, the building was also home to the U.S. District Court, but it moved to its Camp Street location in 1976.
The building has been empty for about two decades, but in 1991, the courthouse appeared in Oliver Stone's movie JFK, and in the television series Orleans, starring Larry Hagman.
For many the restoration has been a long time coming. However, the fall of 2003 should see the Supreme Court back in its newly renovated home as the old place at 400 Royal St. -- all four stories and 200,000 square feet -- will finally be restored to its former glory. And all for a mere $38 million.
The Supreme Court, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the state judicial administrator's office, and the local office of the state attorney general will occupy the building, as well as a law museum. And the statue of a famous Louisiana native who became a U. S. Supreme Court Chief Justice, Edward Douglas White, will be moved to its new location.
Perhaps, along with its grand reopening, the historic building will also get a name.
