For years I've driven by the mysterious old hospital complex on Tchoupitoulas and State and wondered what was behind the 120 year old brick wall. A few rooftops were always slightly visible from the street, and the peeling rotunda atop the main building stood out like a beckon of abandoned insane asylum goodness. So of course I jumped at the opportunity to photograph it when the Preservation Resource Center came calling last fall.
The property dates back to the 1730's, when Bienville himself gave 17 acres upriver to his nephew Pierre, who interestingly enough was later executed for leading revolts against the Spanish rule. In the 1770's the land was purchased by the first mayor of New Orleans, Jean Etienne de Bore, who transformed it into the first successful sugar plantation in Louisiana, which became the model for the state's economy. It later became a brick mill and then the Marine Hospital complex in 1883. Most of the buildings in the current complex date back to the 1930's, when the campus underwent a major overhaul. The overseer's house, the oldest building still standing, dates back to the early 1830's.
It was most recently occupied by NOAH, the New Orleans Adolescent Hospital, but was shut down by Jindal in 2009 due to budget concerns. Children's Hospital, which sits directly across the street, purchased the property in 2014 for $29 million. They have already begun to transform the main building into administration offices, but much of the campus has remained untouched. It's a beautiful property, and they have big plans to renovate the campus and expand their current operations. I'm really glad that most of the buildings are being saved. This is what preservation is all about.
For much more info and a brilliantly detailed history of the property, check out the full article by Danielle Del Sol here. For instance, did you know that New Orleans saw a local outbreak of the Bubonic Plague in 1914, which led to a "rat-proofing" campaign that killed as many as 5,000 rats a day? Learn more here! Enjoy the photos...
Huge reliefs by New Orleans own Enrique Alferez, one of the most significant 20th century art deco artists, still hang in the gym.
Wow. My Grandfather was Medical Director for this hospital 1935-1939. They lived in the officers quarters shown here. Amazing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info...that's great!
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ReplyDeleteMy Dad was a doctor stationed there in the 1970s, so I grew up within those brick walls and it is some of the best childhood memories I have! There were many families there during that time, with lots of kids. Too many great stories - Cabbage Ball games & football games in the front yard of the Main Plantation house, annual kids bike race around the residence street loop ....for money!, the older kids building a tree house in one of the big oak trees facing the river, everybody having their birthday parties in the Officers Club next to the tennis courts, kids tennis tournaments, daring each other on who could walk farther around the perimeter on top of the wall, watching some of the parades (Thoth & Elks) from the wall. Man, that was a great time. Feels like it was yesterday, thank you so much for taking those pics. I can see all of my friends in each of those brick cottages, the Plantation house and the Overseers house. I lived in the second brick cottage duplex, across from the plantation house. I actually got to back into those houses/buildings in 2014 and took a lot of pics too. I have one, from the plantation, that everyone says has a ghost in it. Who knows! Anyway, thanks again for stirring up these great memories! Allan
ReplyDeleteAllan! I'm just now seeing your comment. Thank you so much for all the great info. What a place to grow up! I'm glad to know that these buildings (well, most of them) will be put back to great use. Thanks again.
DeleteThey hiding the truth
ReplyDeleteCan you please reach out to me?
DeleteI was born in that hospital in 1947. My father was a Navy Doctor having returned from WWII and was getting his residency training at the then Baptist hospital and Charity. His he went to the South Pacific after his intern year and when he returned the Navy sent him to New Orleans for his further training. Being in the Navy my mother gave birth at Marine Hospital. We lived in the Irish Channel.
ReplyDeleteAmazing...I spent the entire summer of 1994 there. So sad to see it go down.NOAH really helped me in my tough time.
ReplyDeleteI just found this post, I was there when I was 8 years old, for 13 months as a pysch patient. I'm 44 years old now, and the terrible things that happened to me as a patient there, still haunt my memories even today.
ReplyDeleteI'm 45...i was there at 12...you are not alone. I've worked for many years to heal from my stay there. Still haunts me too...
DeleteHi. My boyfriend was there for 3 years as a very young child and I'm trying to find more information about other patients experiences and how their lives have been impacted & how they are now.
DeleteI was employed at NOAH from the 1980’s until 2009 when we were forced to close by Jindal. He reported to the media that the hospital had to close for budgetary reasons; this was not the true reason. One of the reasons was that he was preparing to run for President in 2012 and was eliminating state government employees as part of his platform. (We all know that didn’t work for him). The other reason was that Children’s Hospital had been trying tirelessly to get this real estate since the 1980’s, but was unable to because of the terms of the transfer (of the building and property) from the federal government to state government in the early 1980’s. When these terms expired (can’t remember the exact date), Children’s Hospital was waiting with cash in hand to “rescue” the property, which had been appraised at over 50 million dollars. However, Children’s Hospital somehow worked out a deal with Jindal to only pay less than half of the appraised value. (Clearly, this contradicted his reason for closing NOAH as “budgetary”). The closure of NOAH in 2009 was in the post-Katrina era when mental health treatment was desperately needed in New Orleans, which was then left without any mental health treatment for the uninsured.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to the above writer who stated he or she experienced “terrible things”. This should have never happened. During my employment, mistreatment of the patients at NOAH was not condoned or tolerated. The employees worked hard to care for these children and adolescents and to provide them with quality mental health treatment. Working at NOAH was very rewarding because of the significant improvements we saw in so many patients during the course of the hospital’s short life.
I was born here in May, 1960. My father was in the USMC at the time. A doctor by the name of Robert A Marks, Jr. M.D., Med. Dir. attended my birth. Thank you for helping bring me into this exceptional life.
ReplyDeleteI was born there on July 12, 1955. My dad was in the United States Navy.
ReplyDeleteI’m sure there were some very good people who worked there but a friend stayed there for a year in the mid 80s and was very damaged by the experience. Sanitariums are a thing of the past.
ReplyDeleteHi. Do you have anymore information about other survivors of NOAH?
DeleteI lived on the hospital grounds for 14 years in the house called the Hales Cottage as of this year. That 17 acres was a great place to grow up. Moved away after hospital closed in 1981.
ReplyDeleteI was a patient there in the late 70s when I was in high school. My Dad had retired from the Army. I had a ruptured appendix and at first, the care I had received was questionable. Thank God for my Dad who went straight to the head administrator and demanded better care for me. The chief of surgery, Dr Clay, took over as my Doctor and in no time, I was back in school. I don't think I could ever thank Dr Clay enough, along with my Dad, for saving my life. I also want to thank Dr Schwartz, where ever you are- you were the best for starting an iv line-always got it on the first attempt and with hardly no effort-such an awesome Doctor.
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend was at Noah for 3 years as a child and I can't find any info regarding any specific other survivors of this tragic place. Anyone have any information or ideas on how to find out more?
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