Changing landscapes

Pretty soon you won't be able to recognize Tulane Avenue anymore.  That was bound to happen once the medical center was complete and I don't mean to say it's altogether good or bad.  In a lot of cases, it's just a matter of replacing one ugly thing with another ugly thing.  Here, for example, they're replacing an ugly motel with an ugly office building.

Despite opposition from a few neighbors and the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans, the demolition of the former Le Petit Motel has been approved.

The New Orleans Neighborhood Conservation District Advisory Committee approved a request to demolish the former auto motel on 2836 Tulane Ave at its regular meeting Monday. The committee previously deferred the vote so developers could bring the plan to the Mid-City Neighborhood Organization for input.


Two people spoke in opposition of the demolition, including Erin Holmes of the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans. Holmes said the former hotel has architectural merit given it’s mid-century design and expressed concern about a large development on the Tulane corridor.

"Mid-century design."  I mean, OK, I guess. If you're really into preserving cheap kitsch for its own sake, that might have some value.  Here's the motel as it looked in October when I happened to be in the neighborhood.



Maybe they'll keep the little piper when they knock it down.  You could probably sell that to whoever opens a trendy bar or something in the new building.