General

After three wonderful days touring the Golden Triangle of India to visit Agra Fort, the incomparable Taj Mahal, the beautiful Fatehpur Sikri, and intriguing city of Jaipur, our driver Supe and my traveling companion Darko Babic from the University of Zagreb in Croatia headed north on Sunday morning to return to Delhi. Supe provided commentary along the way on the camps of gypsies, the rural poverty, the beautiful yellow fields of mustard, and the value of water buffalo (he owns two). As we entered Delhi on a new highway Supe saw something that surprised even him - a speed trap! Traffic laws in many parts of the country where we traveled are non-existent, so the presence of the police ticketing people shocked us all after three days of assuming that speeding was a birth right.

But I'm glad we made it back, because it began an extraordinary two days in which I was privileged to have speaking roles on programs with both the Prime Minister of India and the Vice President of India as part of the International Conference of National Trusts.

We arrived safe and sound at the historic Ashok Hotel which is located in the diplomatic enclave of Delhi, where they do have traffic laws and many historic and beautiful neighborhoods. It was apparent from the massive sign and banners at the hotel welcoming the National Trusts that this was going to be a special few days. I was met by representatives of our host National Trust for the conference - the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) - and taken immediately to a press conference with the international press. This 12th International Conference of National Trusts is a historic one, in that we're launching an new international group of National Trusts. Let me backtrack a bit and explain.

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The Housing Authority of New Orleans approved nearly $31 million in contracts for demolishing the four largest housing developments, with a HANO spokesman saying demolitions will begin December 15.

I spoke to the deconstruction program manager of Mercy Corps, who told me he was waiting for another meeting with a representative of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the State Historic Preservation Office to find out whether there will be any salvage of the mountains of material. Mercy Corps has looked at all four developments and of course there is plenty to save—windows, doors, terra cotta tile roofing, not to mention millions of bricks. No one has answered our questions about where the demolition materials might go.

I joined some public housing activists on the steps of City Hall, who vowed they would stop the demolitions.

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I met with Kristen Palmer (Rebuilding Together) and Suzanne Mason and Rick Denhart of MercyCorps at 1826 Clio Street, a house which will deconstructed beginning the week of November 26 . The Trust is supporting MercyCorps’ demonstration project with a $5000 grant, in which a total of 15 houses will be deconstructed, the materials will be donated to a local non-profit for re-use in rehabilitation projects, and the results documented in a Penn State-authored report. In this case, the materials from 1826 N. Clio will be sent to the PRC warehouse. We are planning a media event for Wednesday, November 28 as the deconstruction begins. We will be tying this in with the announcement of the first public weekend sale on Saturday, December 1 for the FEMA-funded salvage materials at the PRC warehouse.

The house was elevated almost a full story on concrete blocks years before Katrina. The current owners began a rehabilitation project before the hurricane, which likely involved removing significant interior structural elements, and so the building could not stand up to the storm. The owners have agreed to donate the materials to the Preservation Resource Center as a tax write-off, and gain an lot for the construction of a new house in this Central City neighborhood.

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I attended a reception at City Park this past Friday evening for donors who had supported the repair of its 101-year-old carousel and pavilion. A permanent plaque was unveiled which included acknowledgment of the National Trust and the Mitchell and Favrot funds. The plaque sits immediately below the one which is a brass image of the 1989 National Preservation Award recognizing the earlier restoration of the carousel. The carousel is operating again just in time for City Park’s Celebration in the Oaks, a beloved holiday tradition which begins this week. The Favrots and Mitchells visited the carousel in May when they were here, and saw the work underway. Now, it’s complete.

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