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New Orleans Art Deco & Streamline Moderne Buildings

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former Gus Mayer Department Store
New Orleans, LA

2006:
2020:
The Gus Mayer Department Store was built in 1948. Gus Mayer, a Southern chain, still has two operating locations (Nashville, TN and Birmingham, AL). This store closed in 1987. Before Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the lower level was occupied by Footaction USA, an athletic shoe store. By 2011, the ground level was occupied by a CVS drug store. LED tubing signs were installed on the corner of the building. For more, see this website. [map]

General Laundry Building
New Orleans, LA

2010:
2021:
The General Laundry Building was built in 1930. In the 1960s, the building was used by the American Beverage Company. Later, it housed Southern Scrap Metal. It has been vacant for decades. The building was painted and apparently stabilized around 2017. For more, see this website. [map]

Charity Hospital
New Orleans, LA
Charity Hospital was designed by Weiss, Dreyfous & Seiferth and built in 1939. Officially known as the Rev. Avery C. Alexander Charity Hospital, the building has been closed and endangered since shortly after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

former Feibleman's Department Store
New Orleans, LA
This former Feibleman's Department Store was designed by Samuel Wilson, Jr. and built in 1931. The building became a Sears-Roebuck store in 1936. The building now houses the Wyndham Garden Baronne Plaza Hotel. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Mangel's
New Orleans, LA
Mangel's was a nationwide woman's clothing store. The Art Deco facade was there by 1934. For more, see this website. [map]

Third District Homestead Association
New Orleans, LA
The Third District Homestead Association was built in 1937. I believe it housed a bank originally. The addition on the right is from 1949. The buildings are currently vacant. [map]

Eleanor McMain Secondary School
New Orleans, LA

2010:
2019 and 2020:
The Eleanor McMain Secondary School was designed by E. A. Christy and built in 1932. The building was restored from 2018-2019. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Lake Vista Community Shopping Center
New Orleans, LA
The Lake Vista Community Shopping Center was designed by Wogan and Bernard and August Perez Jr. and built in 1946. [map]

Lakefront Airport
New Orleans, LA
The Lakefront Airport was designed by Leon C. Weiss of Weiss, Dreyfous and Seiferth and built in the mid-1930s. The murals were created by Xavier Gonzalez. It was originally named Shushan Airport but soon renamed the New Orleans Airport. It was the main commercial airport in New Orleans until 1946 when the Moisant International Airport (now Louis Armstrong International Airport) was built. The airport is still operating for private, corporate, military, and commercial aircraft. The building was restored in 2013. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

Blue Plate Foods
New Orleans, LA

2010:
2019:
The Blue Plate Foods building was designed by August Perez Jr. and built in 1941. Blue Plate Foods manufactured mayonnaise and sauces here. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1974, Blue Plate was purchased by the William B. Reily Company. In 2000, Reily moved production to Knoxville, TN and the building remained vacant after that. In 2012, the building was converted into loft apartments. The sign above the entrance was adapted to read "Blue Plate Artist Lofts" where it originally read "Blue Plate Fine Foods." The secondary panel on the rooftop scaffolding read Fine Foods with neon letters on top that alternated to read "Mayonnaise." The new secondary panel reads "Artist Lofts." The "sculpture" of glass blocks must have come from part of the building during the renovation. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

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