The National Trust for Historic Preservation Responds to Hurricane Katrina

As the weeks have passed since Hurricane Katrina devastated so many historic areas in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast, it is clear that the lives of the residents of these areas will never be the same. But now that attention has shifted from rescue to rebuilding, we must answer the question of how, and in what form, the rebuilding will happen. If we get the answer wrong, Katrina could turn out to be among the greatest cultural disasters the nation has ever experienced.

New Orleans, with twenty districts on the National Register of Historic Places covering half the city, has the highest concentration of historic structures in the nation–more than 33,000 houses and commercial and public buildings. Luckily, many of these districts are in the highest part of the city, and escaped much of the flooding that covered 80 percent of the city after Katrina. The French Quarter and the Garden District, for example, are largely intact.

Unfortunately, however, Katrina took a heavier toll in some of New Orleans’ lesser-known historic neighborhoods. In the Holy Cross area, a neighborhood near the Mississippi River in the Lower Ninth Ward, dried mud and debris cover nearly everything. In Mississippi, the stories of complete devastation in places like Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, Ocean Springs and Gulfport are heartrending.

The natural temptation, in the face of such widespread damage, is to bulldoze everything to the ground and start over. That is the fear of preservation organizations in the region and around the country.

"Bulldozing might be expedient, but we’re talking about people’s homes and communities, corner stores, diners, and churches. We’re talking in many cases about houses that have stood over one-hundred years and neighborhoods that have been home to five or six generations. And we’re talking about what makes our city different from every place else, and what makes visitors want to come here: in other words, our livelihood," said Patricia Gay, executive director of the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans.

"The destruction Katrina has caused to historic structures on the coast and in other areas of the state has been massive. Our historic buildings on the coast have suffered extensive damage and in some cases blocks of historic districts have been wiped clean by Katrina’s storm surge," said David Preziosi, executive director of the Mississippi Heritage Trust. "The destruction I witnessed was unimaginable and it was heartbreaking to see so many of the historic gems of the coast in ruins. Even though many historic properties were damaged or destroyed there are many that survive relatively unscathed or with minor damage. Now the key is to try and save them before they are taken down in the clean up efforts."

"The goal of recovery should be to allow residents to come back home to healthy, vibrant, livable places that retain the character that makes them unique," said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "You can’t do that by calling in the bulldozers and creating vacant lots where neighborhoods used to be."

Additionally, experts maintain that officials in New Orleans should seek examples from other cities which have faced similar circumstances. For instance, Charleston, South Carolina, successfully rebuilt its economy after 85 percent of its properties were damaged by Hurricane Hugo in 1989, in part by adhering to tough standards in historic areas.

"In dealing with the Mississippi River floods of 1993, the Northridge earthquake of 1994 and numerous other natural disasters, the National Trust has learned that almost always, the first impulse of local officials is to tear down every damaged building in the name of public safety. We’ve also learned that this first impulse is almost always wrong. Obviously, some historic buildings–perhaps a great many of them–will necessarily be lost, but we shouldn’t lose any unnecessarily," said Moe.

Further, Moe and other experts contend that the majority of these structures can be saved. To this end, Moe has called on preservationists from across the world to come together as a collective group to insure that the historic places in the region that can be saved are. Additionally, "This year’s conference theme, ‘Sustain America—Vision, Economics, and Preservation,’ is even more meaningful in light of the recent tragedy in the Gulf Coast region, where scores of historic homes and sites have been damaged by Hurricane Katrina," said National Trust President Richard Moe at the start of the 2005 National Preservation Conference in Portland, Oregon. "We all know that Katrina is one of the greatest human tragedies in the nation’s history—but it also could be the greatest cultural catastrophe America has ever experienced. For this reason it is imperative that preservationists from across the world come together as a collective group to insure that residents come back home to healthy, vibrant, and livable places that retain the historic character that makes them unique. Rebuilding is essential, but it must acknowledge the unique heritage of one of the nation’s most distinctive regions."

The National Trust recently launched the National Trust Hurricane Recovery Fund, with the goal of raising one million dollars to support the work of survey teams, help convene discussions among experts to envision design solutions for sensitive reconstruction, and facilitate the provision of technical assistance to communities in need. To date, the Trust has raised more than $400,000 with generous contributions from the World Monuments Fund and American Express Foundation; the Getty Foundation; Home and Garden Television (HGTV); The History Channel; Restore Media, Inc.; and hundreds of National Trust members across the nation. During the National Trust’s annual National Preservation Conference at the end of September, the organization also launched an effort to raise additional funds, with an initial $10,000 commitment, to benefit the Mississippi Heritage Trust and the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans as well as the National Trust Hurricane Recovery Fund.

Currently, the Trust is working with partners in three primary areas:

• Assembling survey teams with professional expertise in architecture, construction, history, and preservation. Teams are currently at work in Mississippi assessing damage to historic resources and trying to prevent unnecessary demolitions, and the National Trust has opened an office in New Orleans and an office in Gulfport, Mississippi, to serve as a staging point for survey teams and to provide on-the-ground assistance and education to residents.
• Working with federal, state, and local governments to develop and refine tools to facilitate reconstruction and help prevent future disasters of this kind. At the federal level, these include: amendments to facilitate the use of existing tax-credit incentives for the rehabilitation of hurricane-damaged historic commercial properties; development of a new tax-credit program for the rehabilitation of owner-occupied historic houses; and the creation of a two-year, $60 million fund that would offer grants to help preserve properties listed in, or eligible for listing in, the National Register of Historic Places. At the state and local levels, tools being considered include revised building codes to enable structures to withstand future hurricanes, and design guidelines to encourage new construction that respects the character of historic areas.
• Launching a major effort to educate the public about the importance of the historic resources of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast—and the importance of saving them.

For more information about the National Trust Hurricane Recovery Fund, and ways that individuals and organizations can aid recovery efforts, visit <http://www.nationaltrust.org/> or call 1-800-944-6847 (NTHP).

Jeannie McPherson is Communications Manager for the National Trust for Historic Preservation.