Join in the origin story of Felicity Redevelopment, eighth in the LETTERS READ series.
3:30 to 5:00pm
St. John the Baptist Catholic Church
1139 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.
New Orleans
Parking available in the gated lot at 1920 Clio Street.
Admission free and open to the public.
Twenty years ago, a Northshore, LA developer worked with New Orleans Mayor Morial, two City Council members and two Central City clergymen to demolish a 4-square city block area between St. Mary and Polymnia streets, Baronne and an altered Carondelet Streets. What was planned to replace historic, architecturally important homes was a suburban strip mall-style Albertsons grocery store more than 60,000 square feet large. Two of the four city blocks were planned to become a parking lot.
Locals and preservationists were in an uproar and a grand fight ensued.
This is the story of why and how Felicity Redevelopment began and how two women stopped the Albertsons project from being built.
Mack C. Guillory III, emcee. Grace Kennedy, reader. Jeffrey B. Goodman, urban planning consultant. Kure Croker, information consultant.
LETTERS READ is the ongoing series of live events in which local performers interpret personal letters written by culturally vital individuals from various times and New Orleans communities and is presented by stationer Nancy Sharon Collins and Antenna.