Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Winter 2005-2006 - (Page 47)

DRYADES YMCA (above); 1924 Philip Street; 1914-1915 An Andrew Carnegie grant in 1912 funded this former library for African Americans on a site of the termination of Dryades Street (now Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard), a location proposed by African-American civic leaders and one that gave the building a highly visible presence. Constructed of red brick with decorative details of Bedford, Indiana, limestone, the facade imitates a triumphal arch, with three wide, round-arched bays framed by Ionic pilasters. An elaborate, classically inspired portal is set in the center bay. The library opened with 5,649 books, increasing to 13,000 by 1932. The Dryades Street Branch Public Library was the only library in the city available for African Americans until 1953. The library closed in 1965 following damage from Hurricane Betsy, and by then the city’s libraries were integrated. The YMCA now uses the building for its programs. JOSEPH VACCARO HOUSE (above); 5010 St. Charles Avenue; 1912-1913 Medieval English styles were popular when this house was built by Joseph Vaccaro, founder of the Standard Fruit and Steamship Company and an importer of bananas from Central America. Edward Sporl (1881-1956) chose the Tudor Revival style, as evidenced in the picturesque silhouette, gable roofs, half timbering on the second floor and on the gables, prominent brick chimneys, stone trim, and diamond-pane mullioned windows. The porte-cochere is more Jacobean than Tudor in its detailing. The reception and living rooms are woodpaneled and have carved stone fireplaces. The Leeds Iron Foundry (left), established in 1825 at 923 Tchoupitoulas Street, was the second largest in the South before the Civil War. The Neo-Gothic cast iron window tracery, hood moldings, and groundfloor clustered columns, all manufactured by the foundry, served to advertise its products. The Preservation Resource Center purchased this endangered building in 1998, restored it, and opened it in 2000 as a center for preservation activities and information. Pharmacist Charles Walgreen established his drugstore chain in Chicago in 1901. The smooth, streamlined exterior of this steel-frame store built in 1938 at 900 Canal Street conveys a fresh, healthy image. A low, round tower wrapped by neon signage (added circa 1949) marks the corner entrance. The Margaret Haughery statue (right), one of the nation’s first outdoor sculptures honoring a woman, was designed by Alexander Doyle in 1884. Haughery, owner of a dairy and bakery, established and helped fund three asylums for the poor and, at her death, willed her fortune to 11 charitable institutions. 47

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Winter 2005-2006

Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Winter 2005 Contents Letters Editor’s Column Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Louisiana State Museum After Katrina: “It’s time somebody woke us us up.” Missing New Orleans On Perilous Ground The Buildings of Louisiana (Architectural History by Karen Kingsley) Historic New Orleans Collection Louisiana Association of Museums Back to New Orleans Diary of a Displaced Person Jazz Notes (Music History by Bruce Raeburn) Cradle of the Stars The Terrible and the Brave Bookstand (Book Review by Thomas Uskali) Sound Advice (Music Review by Ben Sandmel) Forum (Commentary by James Lee Burke)

Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Winter 2005-2006

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