Letter from the President - Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation

SPRING 2014 NEWSLETTER
Letter from the President
Dear Preservationists:
Michael Echols
President
The Winter has been an exciting time across the state for preservation. Buildings are being saved,
economic development is happening and we are creating jobs. I appreciate all the work that individuals
and the development community are doing to make Louisiana one of the best states for doing historic
Board of Directors
Officers:
Michael Echols
President • Monroe, LA
Richard Gibbs
Vice President • New Roads, LA
Scott Chotin
Secretary • Lacombe, LA
David Broussard
Treasurer • Baton Rouge, LA
John R. Crook
Immediate Past President • Leesville, LA
Board Members:
William Lane Callaway • Shreveport, LA
Altha Lee K. Ripley • Lafayette, LA
Delbert W. Chumley • Shreveport, LA
Darryl Gissel • Baton Rouge, LA
Charlotte Lowry Collins • Slidell, LA
John Denison • Monroe, LA
Dr. Gary Joiner • Shreveport, LA
Gregory Jones • Pineville, LA
Donna Richard • Lake Charles, LA
Dr. Dan Seymour • Natchitoches, LA
Staff
preservation.
Spring is right around the corner and there are many events that you will want to mark on your calendar.
On April 22 the Lt. Governor will host the Louisiana Annual Cultural Connection. Artists, cultural
entrepreneurs, and preservationists alike will be recognized for their efforts throughout Louisiana. This
time will also provide our network of volunteers the opportunity to speak with our legislature individually
to express the importance of historic preservation. I hope you can attend. Another upcoming important
event that you will not want to miss is the Louisiana Annual Preservation Conference on June 25-27,
in Natchitoches, hosted by the Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation and the Louisiana Division
of Historic Preservation. Another highlight in Natchitoches will be the Louisiana Trust for Historic
Preservation Annual Soiree on June 25, honoring Senator and Mrs. J. Bennett Johnston as the 2014
Preservationists Extraordinaire.
This newsletter serves as a reminder to renew your membership or join if you are not currently a member.
There are various levels of support which you can see at www.lthp.org. Your support is needed to ensure
we continue the efforts as the only state wide partner of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
In our last newsletter I introduced a new program to assist in preserving properties statewide that have
fallen into disrepair or are no longer wanted by the owners. This program was inspired by Preservation
North Carolina’s award winning Endangered Properties Program. This program is done by acquiring
endangered historic properties through donation or purchase option. The LTHP will work with developers
and individuals to rehabilitate, to protect, and to put these properties back into commerce. If you know of
any vacant historic properties in your communities, cities and/or parishes that need to be rescued, please
let us know.
Sherry McInnis
Ex-Officio Officers:
Phil Boggan
Deputy Assistant Secretary
Office of Cultural Development
Nicole Hobson Morris
Louisiana Division of Historic
Preservation
Thank you for your service to our state preservation efforts. We look forward to working with you in the
future. Don’t forget, join as a new or renewal member for 2014 at www.lthp.org.
Sincerely,
Ray W. Scriber
Director, Louisiana Main Street
James Logan
National Trust Advisor
Jean Sayres
National Trust Advisor
Michael Echols
President, LTHP
Winnie Byrd
Advisor Emeritus
Sue Turner
Advisor Emeritus
w w w. L t h p. o r g
2013 Fall Bayou Liberty Ramble
On October 5, the LTHP took its first Ramble into St. Tammany Parish near Olde Towne Slidell and historic Bayou Liberty
partnering with the St. Tammany Parish Government and in cooperation with the Bayou Liberty Association. Special
guest speakers were Judge Frederick Ellis, author of L’Autre Côté du Lac, “Storyteller”, John Case, Camp Salmen Nature
Park spokesman, Ben Taylor, Creole Genealogist Alice Doucette Twillie, and Charlotte Collins, author and photographer
of the artist’s book Rooted in Liberté. Charlotte Collins served as chairman of the 2013 Fall Ramble which concluded with
a social, “Wrap Up and Wine Down”, at the Lowry home, the historic Francois Cousin House.
Historical Tranquility Plantation owned by Jimmy and Suzanne Broadwell.
LTHP President Michael Echols, Monroe, sends ships ahoy!
LTHP Founder Sue Turner, Baton Rouge, touring historical Tranquility
Plantation.
The Francois Cousin House, St. Tammany’s oldest known structure in the parish
circa 1789 owned by William Lowry.
Ramblers afloat in miracle weather!
Tom Collins, Bayou Liberty, leads the flotilla!
Salmen-Fritchie House built in 1895 and presently owned by Pat Bacharach.
Dubuisson Cemetery Ramblers learn of its centuries old history from Creole
Genealogist Alice Doucette Twillie. Advocate Staff photo by Scott Threlkeld.
Natchitoches Ramblers Dan and Cathy Seymour
enjoying Bayou Liberty.
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Check Exchange
Presented to St. Tammany Parish Government
Historic Properties
Most Endangered and Success Stories for 2013
By Lane Callaway, LTHP Board Member, Shreveport
On Friday, December 6, 2013, LTHP President, Michael Echols presented a check to Pat Brister, St.
The nomination forms for the state-wide Most Endangered and Success Stories for 2013 are being
Tammany Parish Government President, on the grounds of Camp Salmen Nature Park located near Slidell.
distributed with a submission deadline of Friday, March 28, 2014. For this cycle, there is a change in the
These funds will be utilized in the restoration of the historic Salmen Lodge on the banks of Bayou Liberty.
time frame going from a two year period to a calendar year basis. Therefore for this nomination cycle, the
The Salmen Lodge was selected to receive shared proceeds of the 2013 Fall Ramble, which is one of several
focus is on a historic structure that underwent some type of preservation effort during the January through
fundraisers held annually throughout the state by the LTHP. The Bayou Liberty Association and Friends of
December 2013 period. The historic structure definition includes buildings, non-building structures and
Camp Salmen were in cooperation with this endeavor.
landscapes as well as historic streetscapes. There is no limit to the number of historic structures nominated
by a community, group or individual. And as similar to last year’s nomination efforts, the two categories
– Most Endangered and that of Success Stories – remain. The nominations forms for 2013 have been
changed slightly to capture any use of federal and / or state historic tax credits. Nomination forms for both
categories are as seen below, are located on the LTHP website, www.lthp.org, and have been distributed to
the Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation (within the Office of Cultural Development), the LTHP
Board, Main Street Program of Louisiana, preservation organizations state-wide, office of various Downtown
Development Authorities, and to local historic preservation commissions. Approved nominations covering
2013 for both categories are to be presented at the June 2014 LTHP annual conference in Natchitoches.
Most Endangered
Nomination form
Michael Echols , Monroe, President of the LTHP
shares the proceeds of the 2013 Bayou Liberty
Ramble with Pat Brister, President of the St.
Tammany Parish Government.
Jeanne Stangle, Historian, Friends of Camp
Salmen, and Maurice Doucette, whose
ancestors are buried in the Dubuisson
Cemetery.
LTHP Co-Founder and Advisor Emeritis Winnie Byrd (left), Baton Rouge ,
with Phil Boggan , Baton Rouge , Deputy Assistant Secretary and Deputy
SHPO, LA Office of Cultural Development and Wensel Convoy, Director of
CRT, STP Government observe the check presentation.
Success Stories
Nomination form
Salmen Lodge historical marker denoting its
placement on the National Register of Historic
Places in 2006.
William Lowry, long time resident of Bayou Liberty and owner of
Francois Cousin House was present with grandson Curly Lowry and
Jessica Caldwell.
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Progress Report
By Scott Chotin, LTHP Board Member, Lacombe
Southern Hotel Adaptive Re-Use, Historic Tax Credit Project
City of Covington, Louisiana
The long awaited rebirth of the historic Southern Hotel is in its final stretch with the expected opening date
June 1, 2014 according to Lisa Condrey Ward, one of the developers of the project. Owners will spend more
than 8 million dollars on the project to bring the historic 1907 hotel back to commerce. The property is
located at the corners of Boston and New Hampshire Streets in the heart of Covington’s Historic District.
The 38,000 s.f. structure has a storied past. Constructed in 1907, the hotel boasted modern amenities such
as electric lights, hot water and carpeting catering to the well-heeled clientele. In 1911, the hotel was sold
and converted to a sanitarium for people suffering from health issues. The hotel closed in the 1960’s and was
adapted to accommodate retail businesses.
In 1983, the building was sold to the St. Tammany Parish government to be converted into courtrooms
and office space and served as the parish administrative complex. Local architect Arthur B. Middleton
supervised the renovation. The Parish used the building for 20 years then sold it at auction for $885,500 in
the early 1990’s.
The building sat mostly vacant until late 2005 when the Red Cross and other Federal agencies following
Hurricane Katrina used it for a few years.
In 2011, the present owners bought the building for $1.75 million and immediately embarked on the effort
to bring the building back to its original use as a hotel. The developers, using historic tax credits, began
demolition and remodeling in 2012.
The Southern Hotel will cater to up-scaled clientele offering 40 guest rooms, a high-end restaurant, ball
room, full service bar, spa and smaller meeting room.
From the beginning, the developers wanted a first class historic adaptive re-use project that would be
the centerpiece for the City of Covington and the Northshore. They selected Trapolin-Peer Architects as
designer and Woodward Construction as general contractor. Both of these New Orleans businesses have
extensive experience with high profile adaptive re-use historic tax credit projects.
City officials, local property and business owners in down town Covington see the resurrected hotel as a
stimulus for economic development helping local businesses and expanding the City’s tax base.
Lisa Condrey Ward added, that to her knowledge, the Southern Hotel project is the first federal historic tax
credit project in St. Tammany.
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The Historic Caddo Lake Drawbridge
100 Years and Still Standing Proud
Louisiana Highway 538 at Mooringsport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana
The Historic Caddo Lake Drawbridge - 100 Years and
Still Standing Proud Location: Louisiana Highway 538 at
Mooringsport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana In 2014, the Caddo
Lake “Vertical Lift” Drawbridge crossing Caddo Lake in
Mooringsport, LA will be 100 years old . Built in 1914
under the authority of the Caddo Parish Police Jury during
“Mooring’s Port’s” oil boom era, it is one of Louisiana’s very
earliest surviving bridges. Slated for replacement in the late
1980’s, a citizen‘s campaign was launched to save the unique
landmark. The saving endeavor triggered the Louisiana
Department of Transportation & Development to conduct its first historic bridge survey. The evaluation indicated that
the bridge is nationally significant due to its designer, its unique design , and the fact that it is the sole surviving example of
this bridge type in the State of Louisiana. With this determination, the bridge became eligible to be presented for listing on
the National Register of Historic Places. On October 18, 1996, the Historic Caddo Lake Drawbridge was officially entered
into the National Register of Historic Places. Funds that were originally appropriated for removing the structure were used
to refurbish it as a pedestrian walkway and preserve it as tourist attraction and civil engineering landmark. Today, the
drawbridge is a proud asset of the Caddo Parish Department of Parks & Recreation. It is open to the public from dawn to
dusk where visitors are welcome. The town of Mooringsport is located 12 miles north of Shreveport, Louisiana.
Louisiana Culture Awards 2014
Call For Nominations
The Office of the Lt. Governor and the Office of Cultural Development, in partnership with the Louisiana Trust
for Historic Preservation, the Louisiana State Arts Council, the Louisiana Archaeological Survey and Antiquities
Commission, the Louisiana Folklife Commission and the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, is
sponsoring the annual Louisiana Culture Awards on Tuesday, April 22, 2014. The purpose of this awards program is to
recognize individuals and organizations making outstanding contributions to Louisiana’s culture. The following awards
will be presented for the HISTORIC PRESERVATION and ARCHAEOLOGY AWARDS:
■■ Main Street Award
■■ Education Award
■■ Leadership
■■ Heritage Award
■■ Preservationist of the Year
■■ Archaeologist of the Year
Other Award categories include: the Arts Awards with seven individual awards, and the French Language Award.
Nominations must be received no later than 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26, 2014. to mday@crt.la.gov. For
nomination forms and further information, contact Matthew Day at (225)342-7600 or mday@crt.la.gov.
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LOUISIANA
PRESERVATION ALLIANCE
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PERMIT NO. 775
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Do you have
CONTACT US TODAY:
historic properties
(504)256-0912
that you would like to
sell or donate?
latrusthistoricpreservation@gmail.com
SAVE THE DATE
April 22-23, 2014 Cultural Connection, Baton Rouge, LA
June 26-27, 2014 Louisiana Preservation Conference hosted by the LTHP and Louisiana Division of Historic
Preservation in Natchitoches LA
LTHP Soiree honoring 2014 Preservationists
Extraordinaire Senator and Mrs. J. Bennett Johnston in Natchitoches, LA
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SPRI NG 2 01 4 NEWS LE TTE R
June 25, 2014