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New Orleans’ 9 most endangered sites for 2024

An abandoned building on O.C. Haley Boulevard collapsed last weekend. It’s since been designated as an imminent danger and is set for demolition, according to reports.
Louisiana Landmarks Society and Pitot House
An abandoned building on O.C. Haley Boulevard collapsed last weekend. It’s since been designated as an imminent danger and is set for demolition, according to reports.

Note: The Louisiana Landmarks Society called on the City of New Orleans to make changes to save the sites. WWNO has reached out to the city for comment.

A proposed TopGolf site, an abandoned hospital and New Orleans’ tree canopy have been named to an annual list of the city’s most endangered sites.

On Tuesday, the Louisiana Landmarks Society released its 2024 list of the New Orleans’ Nine Most Endangered Sites, which included trees and parks across the city, the Neighborhood Participation Program (PPP), the proposed TopGolf site, the Inner Harbor Navigational Canal, The Slaughterhouse, the closure of Catholic churches, the Lindy C. Boggs Medical Center (formerly known as Mercy Hospital) and the Oretha Haley Castle Corridor.

The organization wants to save the sites, which have either been slated for demolition, neglected or threatened by bureaucracy, according to the nonprofit.

“Our list this year includes not only specific sites, but serious issues facing New Orleans citywide. From the New Orleans’ Tree Canopy to the proposed Lock Replacement at the Industrial Canal Area, they plead for protection to maintain the lifeblood of our city, the climate and our essential infrastructure. These and seven other sites are in serious need of attention for the sake of our unique New Orleans community,” said Landmarks Society First Vice-President and New Orleans’ Nine Selection Committee Chair Tony Marino.

This photo shows a tree that was chopped down on a street in New Orleans.
Louisiana Landmarks Society and Pitot House
This photo shows a tree that was chopped down on a street in New Orleans.

New Orleans’ tree canopy

The city’s tree canopy has dwindled to 18.5%, partly due to utility projects affecting trees along the streets, including oak trees. Since trees slow down the flow of rainwater, there are concerns this will further intensify flooding across the city. And less tree canopy means significantly higher temperatures.

“Tree loss intensifies flooding and heat island effects while diminishing the city's unique visual character,” the Landmarks Society said.

The organization is calling on the City Council to implement the Reforestation Plan and update City Code Ordinances to prevent tree loss.

“Mandating compliance from municipal agencies and utility providers will safeguard this vital environmental, visual, and cultural asset, reduce flooding, and make the city more environmentally resilient,” the Landmark Society said.


Parks and green spaces

The Landmarks Society said some of the city’s parks and recreational facilities have long been neglected, and they’ve come up with a plan to address the issue.

The "Big Green Easy" Master Plan calls on the city to consolidate management, improve existing parks, and create new ones.

The plan needs public support to get through the Planning Commission, Council and Mayor’s offices and become law.


Neighborhood Participation Program (NPP)

The group wants the city to make improvements to its Neighborhood Participation Program (NPP), which allows residents to be involved in land use decisions that affect them.

The organization criticized the current process, citing issues with meeting times, reporting practices, absent information among other problems.

Advocates have proposed improvements like requiring official note taking, video recordings and stricter follow-up mechanisms for changes.


This photo shows the site of a proposed TopGolf facility in the Lower Garden District.
Louisiana Landmarks Society and Pitot House
This photo shows the site of a proposed TopGolf facility in the Lower Garden District.

Proposed TopGolf site 

The organization is worried about how plans for a TopGolf facility in the Lower Garden District will affect the historic neighborhood.

Developers initially planned to put a grocery store at the site along with affordable housing, but the City Council later approved a land swap allowing a TopGolf complex to be built there.

The Landmark Society said the city’s current zoning process has endangered not only the Lower Garden District, but all of the city’s historic neighborhoods.

“The lack of transparency and meaningful public input exemplifies systemic issues in the city's development process,” the Landmark Society said. “The behemoth structure, visible citywide, starkly contrasts with the neighboring National Register Historic District's low-scale residential character.”


The IHNC Lock lets boats pass from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway to the Mississippi River.
Louisiana Landmarks Society and Pitot House
The IHNC Lock lets boats pass from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway to the Mississippi River.

IHNC lock replacement

Station B was one of nine Mediterranean-style S&WB pumping stations designed by architect James Armstrong in 1903. The city wants to demolish the station to make room for Inner Harbor Navigational Canal (IHNC) Lock Replacement along the 4500 block of St. Claude Ave. and the historic Bascule drawbridge.

The IHNC Lock lets boats pass from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway to the Mississippi River.

“The lock replacement will extend the Mississippi River almost a mile into New Orleans, with the same type of levee infrastructure that failed catastrophically during the 2005 Federal Flood,” the group said. “This proposed project is based on outdated economic and transportation data and threatens the safety of the entire East Bank.”


In the 1800s, the Louisiana legislature passed a law to centralize the city’s slaughterhouses to a single slaughterhouse downriver from most residents.
Louisiana Landmarks Society and Pitot House
In the 1800s, the Louisiana legislature passed a law to centralize the city’s slaughterhouses to a single slaughterhouse downriver from most residents.

The Slaughterhouse 

In the post-Civil War era, slaughterhouses in New Orleans contaminated the city’s drinking water with animal waste, creating a public health hazard. To address the matter, the Louisiana legislature passed a law to centralize the city’s slaughterhouses to a single slaughterhouse downriver from most residents, requiring butchers to rent space from the company and operate out of its buildings.

The Landmark Society said some of those buildings, “exemplars of 19th-century brickwork, are threatened by neglect,” and should be preserved.


Closure of Catholic churches 

Catholic churches are continuing to disappear in New Orleans. Many have consolidated or closed since Katrina. As of June, the Archdiocese of New Orleans has shut down 10% of its parishes.

St. Theresa of Avila (Gothic Revival, 1848).
Louisiana Landmarks Society and Pitot House
St. Theresa of Avila (Gothic Revival, 1848).

“This shift profoundly impacts the city’s historical and architectural landscape,” the Landmark Society said.

The Landmark Society notes that four notable churches are up for sale: St. Theresa of Avila (Gothic Revival, 1848), Our Lady Star of the Sea (Byzantine Revival, 1930), St. James the 4 Major and St. Gabriel the Archangel (Midcentury Modern, 1953 and 1955).

“There is concern, as churches’ intended use is becoming largely obsolete, and they are notoriously difficult to adapt,” the organization added.


This photo shows an abandoned medical center formerly known as Mercy Hospital.
Louisiana Landmarks Society and Pitot House
This photo shows an abandoned medical center formerly known as Mercy Hospital.

Mercy Hospital 

The Lindy Boggs Medical Center, formerly known as Mercy Hospital, was abandoned after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The large brick complex sits on a prominent corner of the Mid-City Historic District. The Landmark Society called it an “eyesore,” noting that it was “deteriorating rapidly and marred with graffiti.”

Financial and regulatory issues have derailed plans to rehabilitate the property into a senior living facility.

Some of the buildings date back to the mid-20th century, meaning they qualify for federal historic tax credits.

The Landmark Society wants the current owners to rehabilitate the site or sell it.


This photo shows a home on Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard, formerly Dryades Street.
Louisiana Landmarks Society and Pitot House
This photo shows a home on Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard, formerly Dryades Street.

Oretha Haley Castle Corridor 

Over the past two centuries, Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard, formerly Dryades Street, has seen a lot of changes. For more than 50 years, it was one of the city’s busiest shopping districts, serving the immigrant community and later the growing African American population. But it fell on hard times with the end of racial segregation and suburban growth and change. It eventually made a comeback, but “ several blighted and vacant commercial and residential properties remain within the corridor, blunting the economic revival and its sustainability,” the Landmark Society said.

An abandoned building on O.C. Haley Boulevard collapsed last weekend. It’s since been designated as an imminent danger and is set for demolition, WDSU reported.

Athina is a digital content producer for WWNO in New Orleans and WRKF in Baton Rouge. She edits and produces content for the stations' websites and social media pages, and writes WWNO's weekly newsletter.