Historic Preservation of New Orleans After Katrina Essay

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Hurricane Katrina devastated one of the most culturally rich, vibrant, and unique cities in the United States. New Orleans lost a significant number of historical and natural icons, including the Naval Brigade Hall, which had been a hub of music during the heyday of jazz in the 1930s and 1940s. The Naval Brigade Hall was not only home to dances and concerts but also to a school of music. Until Katrina, the Naval Brigade Hall had been part of the National Park Service's jazz tour and had been slated to be renovated to house new condominiums because it was no longer being used as a music conservatory (Foster, 2005). Therefore, even before the hurricane hit, there was considerable tension between those developers who wished to transform the historical icon into profitable housing and historic preservationists. The Naval Brigade Hall was the first historic building to be demolished after Hurricane Katrina and symbolizes the challenges cities face when crises and disasters threaten to undermine the preservation of communities.

As Thorp (2006) points out, historic preservation has been "rightly viewed as a secondary consideration to the much more important priority of preserving human life," but there has lately been a "realization that the preservation and protection of cultural resources is important in the mental and emotional rebuilding of a place," (p. 3). The destruction of the Naval Brigade Hall could have been avoided; the edifice might have been renovated instead in order to provide the community with hope in the midst of disaster.

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Instead, the case of the Naval Brigade Hall shows that "the unnecessary destruction of cultural resources after disasters causes unnecessary emotional distress and pain," (Thorp, 2006, p. 3). Especially in a city that defines itself by history and particularly the history of American music, it would have been far healthier for New Orleans residents to rally in support of the preservation of its historic properties.

Preserving historic properties promotes social solidarity in communities. The recovery process depends on residents participating in the rebuilding of their communities in order to preserve their integrity and quality of life. Barriers to recovery in New Orleans included the funneling of money into new development over the use of money to preserve the history and character of the place. As a result, historic properties like the Naval Brigade Hall were considered unimportant and led to impediments in rebuilding New Orleans. The "reduction of social….....

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"Historic Preservation Of New Orleans After Katrina" (2015, October 28) Retrieved May 19, 2024, from
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"Historic Preservation Of New Orleans After Katrina", 28 October 2015, Accessed.19 May. 2024,
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