Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Fall 2007 - (Page 73)

had used as headquarters during the Battle of New Orleans. He spent his later years there, gathering a collection of the “latest inventions,” artifacts from the Chalmette battlefield, and papers from the Civil War. The Louisiana State Museum operates nine historic properties open to the public. For more information, log on to www.lsm.crt.state.la.us/ or call: 1 (800) 568-6968 NATCHITOCHES Open Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (318) 357-2270 • The Old Courthouse Museum 600 Second Street Through Nov. 17, 2007, Beyond Blue Dog features Cajun artist George Rodrigue, best known for his “Blue Dog” series. The largest portion of the show will feature Rodrigue’s series “The Saga of the Acadians.” Also on view: Natchitoches: Landmarks in Time. (Nov. 29, 2007 - April 26, 2008). The Mint’s Last Years The only southern mint to reopen after the Civil War, the New Orleans Mint became an assay (testing) office in October 1876, with Bonzano as assayer-in-charge and superintendent. It resumed coining operations in 1879. A series of political struggles ensued for the next thirty years. Many considered the New Orleans Mint to be superfluous and charged that it was purely a form of patronage for Louisiana congressmen. With its aging machinery and competition from the Denver and San Francisco mints, it became increasingly difficult to justify the cost of operations in New Orleans. In June 1911, the superintendent of machinery at the Philadelphia Mint ordered that the New Orleans machinery be dismantled. The assay department remained in operation, however, now sharing the building with a naval recruiting station and a Veterans Bureau dispensary and dental clinic. In 1931, the Mint was converted into a federal prison, and the assay department moved to the New Orleans Custom House. In 1943, the prison closed, and the building functioned as a Coast Guard receiving station until the mid1960s, when it was transferred from the federal government to the state, which in turn placed the Mint under the stewardship of the Louisiana State Museum Board. In 1975 the Mint was designated a National Historic Landmark, and it was opened to the public in 1979. Hurricane Katrina shaped the latest chapter of the building’s history. While the storm significantly damaged the roof, museum staff were able to rescue it contents immediately. For two years, the Mint has closed for repairs, but with the opening of Gold, the building will once again welcome visitors. —Greg Lambousy, Director of Collections NEW ORLEANS All properties open Tuesday – Sunday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. 1 (800) 568-6968 • Cabildo 701 Chartres Street at Jackson Square The Cabildo: Two Hundred Years of Louisiana History features exhibits that trace Louisiana’s past from 17th century to post-Civil War Reconstruction. Also on view: Freshly Brewed: The Coffee Trade and the Port of New Orleans. PATTERSON Open Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (985) 399-1268 • Presbytere • La. State Museum-Patterson 118 Cotton Road off LA 90 Morgan City Artists Guild Group Show (through Oct. 30); Annual Christmas Tree Festival (Dec. 7, 2007 - Jan. 4, 2008); Wedell-Williams Aviation Collection (opening Fall 2007). 751 Chartres Street at Jackson Square Celebrate Mardi Gras: It’s Carnival Time in Louisiana. • The Old U.S. Mint 400 Esplanade Avenue Gold (Oct. 20, 2007-Jan. 2, 2008) explores the historical fascination with this enduring symbol of wealth, beauty, and power. BATON ROUGE Open Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday Noon-5 p.m. (225) 342-5414 • 1850 House 523 St. Ann Street at Jackson Square Authentically furnished Pontalba apartment of a middle-class family life during the most prosperous period in New Orleans’ history. Currently closed due to Hurricane Katrina, however the groundfloor gift shop is open. • La. State MuseumBaton Rouge 660 N. 4th Street Exhibits cover the broad history of the state, with themed areas grouped within Grounds for Greatness: Louisiana and the Nation and The Louisiana Experience: Discovering the Soul of America. On view through Oct. 13, Floodwall: An Installation by Jana Napoli is a freestanding wall, 8 feet high and 96 feet long, featuring 350 drawers collected from flood debris in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. • Madame John’s Legacy 632 Dumaine Street Excellent example of Louisiana Creole residential design of the late 18th century. Currently closed due to Hurricane Katrina. THIBODAUX Open Tuesday – Saturday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. (985) 447-0915 • E. D. White Historic Site 2295 LA Highway 1 Exhibits on the lives of Gov. Edward Douglas White and his son, United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Edward Douglass White, as well as the history of the White family in the Bayou Lafourche area and the region’s sugar industry. right: Three individual 18-karat gold replicas of the American lunar module were made in 1969 by the jeweler Cartier of Paris on behalf of the French newspaper Le Figaro. The replicas were presented to the three Apollo 11 astronauts during their post-flight tour of Paris. © Nick Welsh, Cartier Collection 2006 Fall 2007/LOUISIANA ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES 73 http://www.lsm.crt.state.la.us/

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Fall 2007

Contents Friends & Letters Editor’s Column Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Big Charity: A History of New Orleans’ Public Hospital Historic New Orleans Collection Making Groceries: A History of New Orleans Markets New Orleans’ Faubourg Tremé: Rooted in Tradition Jazz Notes Louisiana Association of Museums Chinatown New Orleans Louisiana Foodways A Question of Secession Louisiana Architecture Louisiana State Museum The Unnatural History of Cypress Parish Terra Incognita Bookstand Sound Advice Forum

Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Fall 2007

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