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The site that now houses the National D-Day Museum was originally occupied by two breweries, built in 1856 and then in 1888.
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Courtesy of The National D-Day Museum
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Hey Blake,
In mid-to-late 2000 or early 2001, my friend Tom Blakey wrote and asked when the current home of the D-Day Museum was built. You gave us the background on the fine old building (a brewery) and the date the current building was built. I remember it as 1888. We want to be accurate when responding to visitors' questions. Appreciate your telling us again because we have lost the clipping.
Jack Sullivan, Volunteer
Dear Jack,
It is my pleasure to help out anyone connected with our wonderful D-Day Museum.
The site of the National D-Day Museum was home to two breweries. The first on that site was built in 1856 by the architect Henry Howard for J. Zoelly. Howard later achieved great fame for Nottoway plantation and the Carrollton Courthouse, among other things.
Another brewery -- the Weckerling -- was built on the site. Its grand opening was on Oct. 13, 1888, and The Daily Picayune devoted three columns to a detailed story about the event. The building designed by William Fitzner occupied the block between Magazine, Camp, St. Joseph, and Delord (now Howard) streets. The founder of the brewery was John Joseph Weckerling. He was such a prominent citizen that his death was noted in an obituary in the Times Democrat of Dec. 24, 1908, describing him as "one of the oldest and best-known of the sturdy German citizens who have helped build this city." Mr. Weckerling was born in Alsace and came to New Orleans in 1841 when he was 20. After becoming successful in the shoe business, he organized the Weckerling Brewing Company and became president.
New Orleans was once home to 13 breweries, one of which was the Weckerling. At the end of the 1800s, there was a major expansion of the brewing industry. When an English syndicate made an attempt to purchase six of the breweries in 1890, the New Orleans Brewing Association stepped in and purchased the Weckerling, along with five others -- Southern, Louisiana, Pelican, Lafayette and Crescent -- for just more than $3 million.
With the coming of World War I and Prohibition, most of the breweries went out of business. The Weckerling was one of them. From 1925 to 1995 the property was the home of Gallagher Transfer and Storage Company.
And today, this site is famous because it houses the National D-Day Museum that opened in June 2000.
Hey Blake,
After living in New Orleans for 60 years I saw an interesting sight by the Entergy Center on Poydras Street. I was told that it is the Cancer Survivors Park. How long has it been in existence?
MBM
Dear MBM,
In the summer of 1995 the Richard and Annette Bloch Cancer Survivors Monument opened to the public on Loyola near Poydras.
Richard Bloch, of the national financial-services company H&R Block, was cured of lung cancer in 1978 and vowed to spend some of his wealth to establish cancer survivors' parks in major cities in the country. He offered $1 million for a park in New Orleans.
Each park is unique, and all are intended to be tributes to those who are battling cancer or have overcome it. The Blochs wanted to provide "a transformative experience through interaction with the art and architecture and text" that a visitor will encounter. They hoped to "build a feeling of camaraderie among cancer patients and survivors, and also to promote a feeling that through positiveness and the power of your mind you can overcome cancer."
This plaza, designed by Miosav Cekic of Austin, Texas, features a fountain and two rows of unique 27-foot columns including an American Indian totem pole, a Russian column, and a minaret-style Middle Eastern column. The New Orleans column has Mardi Gras doubloons, wrought iron, and musical instruments. On each column you can read inspirational messages from all over the world.
Also in the plaza is a bronze sculpture showing life-size men, women, and children striding through square frames that represent their passage through hardship.
A "triumphal arch" is the centerpiece of the plaza, and it is decorated with 72 feet of glazed tiles made from the drawings of children with cancer.
It is a most unusual and inspiring place.
