Historic NOLA jazz club to be restored

[Baconwrapped]

This is pretty cool... and rather ambitious:

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/06/jazz_restoration_society_hopes.html

[swag]

So this is right at the corner of City Park Ave & the Expressway?

Is this the building?
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=new+orleans+la&ie=UTF8&split=0&gl=us&ei=Fiw6SpvQJeKwtgfHwsTYDA&ll=29.981201,-90.113071&spn=0.005046,0.006588&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=29.981203,-90.113063&panoid=iURVkcxzaFUQfUyCY5zoYA&cbp=12,176.48,,0,3.97

[glinda]

Sounds cool. Love those old buildings. With all that music and dancing, no doubt it has soul in its structure. But. I wonder about its past as a pesticide company..... That coulda driven all the soul right out....

[FLSusan]

Sounds cool. Love those old buildings. With all that music and dancing, no doubt it has soul in its structure. But. I wonder about its past as a pesticide company..... That coulda driven all the soul right out....

Pesticides...that would be my concern, as well. Otherwise, it sounds great.

[Baconwrapped]

So this is right at the corner of City Park Ave & the Expressway?

Is this the building?
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=new+orleans+la&ie=UTF8&split=0&gl=us&ei=Fiw6SpvQJeKwtgfHwsTYDA&ll=29.981201,-90.113071&spn=0.005046,0.006588&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=29.981203,-90.113063&panoid=iURVkcxzaFUQfUyCY5zoYA&cbp=12,176.48,,0,3.97

That would seem to be it... I recall seeing a burnt-out building around there.

[Zydekitten]

As someone who lives not too far from there - I would LOVE to see it brought back to its roots as a jazz club.

[windowman]

It is an historic building to be sure, but it is located in an area where there is no on-street parking and the property is not large enough to accommodate more than twenty vehicles. It is a short walk from the end of the streetcar route but people would be parking up on Canal Blvd. or on Canal Street below the cemeteries and walking at night. You don't hear about much crime in that area but you never see anyone on the street there after dark either. I believe there is one adjacent property with some parking space, so if something could be worked out with them perhaps it could be done. I am waiting to see what the new Blue Room looks like and what kinds of performers will be playing there.

[windowman]

Looks like it is not going to happen:

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/halfway_house_jazz_hall_likely.html

[marignygreg]

Here is the latest info on this important building.

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/11/halfway_house_jazz_landmark_ga.html

[marignygreg]

Another update.

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/12/halfway_house_jazz_sites_landm.html

[Blitzzzzz]

Another update.

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/12/halfway_house_jazz_sites_landm.html

Thanks, Greg. Amazing how short sighted some people are. The building couldn't be more out of the way for the rest of the land to be utilized by the Com group, but they still want it gone??:cool:

[mightyradgumbo]

Thanks, Greg. Amazing how short sighted some people are. The building couldn't be more out of the way for the rest of the land to be utilized by the Com group, but they still want it gone??:cool:

They feel that the hazard may exists but I think that has been dispelled solidly enough. I know Shelly Midura is fighting pretty hard to keep the building. I am not sure of Carter's opposition to it especially considering he is stepping down from what has been said.

[jerseygirl67]

They feel that the hazard may exists but I think that has been dispelled solidly enough. I know Shelly Midura is fighting pretty hard to keep the building. I am not sure of Carter's opposition to it especially considering he is stepping down from what has been said.

There is another club -- mid/upper 9th (i think) Club Desire (on Desire St.). Someone I was talking to down there said that Fats got his start there.

Anyone know anything about this one? It was an incredibly sad sight -- went inside....

[mightyradgumbo]

There is another club -- mid/upper 9th (i think) Club Desire (on Desire St.). Someone I was talking to down there said that Fats got his start there.

Anyone know anything about this one? It was an incredibly sad sight -- went inside....

I went inside early this year. I believe it is in a state of disrepair still although I have not been there at the location in some time now. I hear that a non-profit has possession of the building from someone that lives near the building but cannot confirm that further.

[Blitzzzzz]

There is another club -- mid/upper 9th (i think) Club Desire (on Desire St.). Someone I was talking to down there said that Fats got his start there.

Anyone know anything about this one? It was an incredibly sad sight -- went inside....

More of an R&B club, like the Dew Drop, but equally worthy. Apparently, the non-profit was deeded the property to build affordable housing.:cool:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/karenapricot/2896777770/http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3076/2896777770_cccca9db84.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/karenapricot/2896777770/
WDSU news report:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5QXhT

[marignygreg]

Just like Louis Armstrongs old house and most of South Rampart Street. Damn.

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/02/halfway_house_jazz_hall_demoli.html

[McGregor]

Just like Louis Armstrongs old house and most of South Rampart Street. Damn.

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/02/halfway_house_jazz_hall_demoli.html

I just got finished reading Armstrong's bio, My Life in NO, and from his accounts he never lived in one single place for long. I wonder which house it was?

[marignygreg]

I just got finished reading Armstrong's bio, My Life in NO, and from his accounts he never lived in one single place for long. I wonder which house it was?

It was on Janes Alley, around where the courthouse is now. He lived there for a good chunk of his childhood with his mother.

[marignygreg]

Many times, structures were torn down to make way for city projects, such as the city municipal campus downtown, Stewart said. "When push comes to shove, the political decisions always let the jazz landmarks get demolished," he said.

One well-known example is Armstrong's boyhood home on Jane Alley in the Mid-City neighborhood, which was razed in the 1960s to make way for the Orleans Parish Prison complex.

McIntyre said he was with the preservationists when they raised $9,000 to try to buy and relocate the home. But it was discreetly demolished overnight, he said

Here is a link to the article.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-12-29-New-Orleans-jazz-halls-preservation_N.htm

[McGregor]

It was on Janes Alley, around where the courthouse is now. He lived there for a good chunk of his childhood with his mother.

Thanks Greg!

[jerseygirl67]

More of an R&B club, like the Dew Drop, but equally worthy. Apparently, the non-profit was deeded the property to build affordable housing.:cool:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/karenapricot/2896777770/http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3076/2896777770_cccca9db84.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/karenapricot/2896777770/
WDSU news report:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5QXhT

sad. I know there's a need for affordable housing, but the jazz, r&b clubs...they are an integral part of the city's history. Why not restore, re-open, bring money into the neighborhood, create jobs?