PreservationNation Blog

Home Again! projects in Holy Cross weathered the storm well.

The Holy Cross neighborhood looks very good the day after Gustav passed through Louisiana. Although heavy winds downed a few trees and one electrical pole, the neighborhood is clear of any major debris. The streets are fully passable. Luckily, there was no significant damage seen on the exterior of the homes in the neighborhood. Though there is no electrical service at the moment in the neighborhood, all of the HOME AGAIN! projects looked safe and secure -- even one that is currently undergoing major exterior framing.

Despite being only partially completed, the renovation of Mrs. Skidmore's home withstood the hurricane.

Walter Gallas and I had been at the home, owned by Mrs. Imelda Skidmore, on Friday for the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and had assisted in removing potential flying debris from the property. Our efforts – and that of the workmen who secured the home – appears to have paid off, as the only damage was small segments of torn roofing paper, and we’re still on schedule to have Mrs. Skidmore and her daughter back home later this fall.

Another undamaged Home Again! project in Holy Cross.

We are fortunate down here in New Orleans today. There was very little flooding during the storm, and today the streets are dry and the sky is blue. The same appears to be true for the historic districts along the river that I passed as I made my way to the Preservation Resource Center where the National Trust for Historic Preservation New Orleans Field Office is housed. While there was no electrical service in the 9th ward, street lights started working on Franklin Avenue. One or two spots after Franklin had no electricity, but the Quarter and the warehouse district are fine. I am also happy to report that our offices received no damage; the power, computers and phone system are all working fine. Lastly, there is a heavy police and National Guard presence in the streets and no evidence of any problems regarding vandalism.

-- Kevin Mercadel

Kevin is a Program Officer at the National Trust for Historic Preservation's New Orleans Field Office.

Northbound I-55, Mile 1, Sunday morning, August 31.

Watching the early reports of Gustav's effects on New Orleans from my viewpoint in St. Louis, I see that at least right now we will need to keep an eye on three areas -- neighborhoods in and near the Upper 9th Ward, the Lower 9th Ward, and the West Bank.

Whatever happens with the floodwall lining both sides of the Industrial Canal, waters pushing in from Lake Pontchartrain will affect neighborhoods on either side like Holy Cross, Bywater, St. Roch, and conceivably Treme and the French Quarter. On the West Bank, water pushing in from the Gulf side, will affect the West Bank including Algiers Point.

Clearly, it is too early to make any definitive calls, and with the storm heading away from the city, we could be out of the woods. In any case, we are all looking at this, and beginning to make some measured determinations as to what the National Trust for Historic Preservation will be ready to do once the storm passes and residents return.

Early Sunday morning, I left New Orleans at 4:30 am to get caught up in the mind-bending experience of "contraflow" -- the reverse commuting out of the city. Three hours after my departure, I had progressed 27 miles to the beginning of I-55. Traffic ground to a halt, and so antsy motorists jumped out of their vehicles to walk pets, visit with family members in other vehicles, and just stretch.

Nineteen hours later -- after finally abandoning the interstate for state route 61 through Port Gibson, Vicksburg, and Clarksdale, Miss., I arrived in St. Louis. This is a trip that should normally take about 10 hours.

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Updated to add photo.

Friday morning on Royal Street in the French Quarter

With Gustav churning just outside the Gulf, New Orleans made preparations even as citizens also did what they could to focus on commemorations of the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the region on August 29, 2005.

On Friday, Kevin Mercadel and I spent part of the Katrina anniversary at one our HOME AGAIN! New Orleans projects, the home of Mrs. Imelda Skidmore, in Holy Cross, making sure that the building was stable and secure. Workmen nailed cross-pieces and enclosed the newly-framed rear addition, while Kevin and I worked to dismantle the remnants of a large above-ground swimming pool in the back yard.

Preparations in Holy Cross.

Staff members of our partner, the Preservation Resource Center, spent Friday securing their headquarters, warehouse and the building projects of Operation Comeback and Rebuilding Together, and working out communications and computer issues. AmeriCorps staff working with Rebuilding Together's director Kristen Palmer has been trained to assist with the evacuation of citizens from the Union Passenger Terminal, where those without personal transportation are placed on trains or buses for trips to shelters in North Louisiana and in Memphis. There are no shelters provided in the city. The AmeriCorps members will remain until eight hours before landfall and then caravan by cars to Atlanta.

Projections of the hurricane's general direction at this writing peg its landfall west of New Orleans. Leaders of all surrounding parishes have called for mandatory evacuations, and Mayor Nagin has said citizens should evacuate now as well. Hotels are evicting tourists--many of them who came here for the Labor Day's large gay celebration Southern Decadence. The airport closes for commercial traffic Sunday at 6 p.m. A call for mandatory evacuation from New Orleans is likely tomorrow.

Getting Ready for Gustav.

I anticipate leaving New Orleans early Sunday morning and driving north on I-55. It's tough making plans, not knowing what will really happen in the city, but I prefer to be conservative and cautious. Kevin's and our new staff member Stacey Danner's plans were to head up toward Baton Rouge.

Landfall, wherever it is, will be very early on Tuesday. Later that day, we all plan to convene by phone with National Trust for Historic Preservation headquarters and Southern office staff to assess where things are and how we will move forward.