NPSFom, 1~ OWB No. 102.f.«ll6 S2S' (RevNPS. FormH!I) 10-900 r:, :--.. OMS No. 1024^18 (Rmr. fr«6) : ~ i I l ~! ■ . ' •i ‘i I- - ,w .... • • < Uu )J.._, L~Lb I i . ' United States Department of the Interiorinterior I i 1 uj L..:.. ) National Park Service MAY~, :, Y 202 0 19919911 National Register of Historic Places NATIONAL REGISTER Registration Form This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations of eiigibiiityeligibility for individual properties or districts. See instructions in Guidelines for Completing National Register Forms (National Register Bulletin 16)16).. Complete each item by marking "x"“x” in the appropriate box or by entering the requested information. If an item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A""N/A” for "not“not applicable.applicable."” For functions, styles, materials, and areas of significance, enter only the categories and subcategories listed in the instructions.instructions. For additional space use continuation sheets (Form 10-900a). Type all entries. 1. Name of Property historic name other names/site number Lower Central Business other names/site number Lower Central Business District 2. Location 2. Location street & number rou hl bounded b Canal Tchou street & number roughly bounded by Canal, Tchoupitoulasitoulas , PoPovdras. dras N A I not for publication ci N il A Iviciniw city, town New OrleansOrleansO'Keefe. 0'Keefe Common & S. SaratogaSarato a N vicinity .;;;..st;.;;;a.;;..;:te'--_-=L::..::oc.::u=-=i=-=s;..:i=-=a:.:;n=-=a=------'c;...;;od...:;.;;..e_-=L:::cA=-----c:;..:o;...;;u;.;.;n""ty_--"0'-"r'""l..,,e,_,.a,.,n,.,.s,_state Louisiana code county Orleans ___ ....:;c..::.od.::..e::.___,.0'--LZ code 071.... l~----=z:.:.<ip:....c:;..;od:;..:;...;;e_..,_7_..0""1 zip code 70111... 1... 3'-& & 701307 0 130 3. ClasslflcatlonClassification Ownership of Property Category of Property Number of Resources within Property IK)privateprivate D building(s) Contributing Noncontributing D public-local [iibd district 24247 7 32 buildinosbuildings D public-Statepublic-state Dsitesite ___ sites D public-Federalpubiic-Federal D structure ___ structures Oobjectobject ___ obiectsobjects 247 32 Total NameNam^ of related multiple property listing: Number of contributing resources previously N/A listed in the NationaiNational Register 14 4. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the NationalNationai Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, I hereby certify that this []lQ nomination DCD request for determination of eiigibiiityeligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the NationalNationai Register of Historic PlacesPiaces and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opjnio_.!k0|yion, the pr299rtyprg^erty [xi[x|i^ieets meets DCUdoes does not meet the NationalNationai Register criteria. DCUsee See continuation sheet. ~ ~ ·^________________________ May 15,15. 1991 SignatureofcertifyingofficialSignature of certifying official Leslie Tassin, LA SHPO,SHP0, Dept of Culture, Date Recreation and Tourism State or Federal agency and bureau In my opinion, the property dlD meets DCUdoes does not meet the National Register criteria.criteria. DEH See continuation sheet. Signature of commenting or other official Date State or Federal agency and bureau 5. National Park Service Certification Unt.erfld£ntered. 1nIn <:>uithfl I, hereby, certify that this property is: l^tlonal Hestatup ~reenteredentered in the NationalNationai Register. 0SeeI I See continuation sheet.shoot. ~ DI I determined eligibleeiigible for the National Register. DEH See continuation sheet. DEH determined not eligible for the National RegisterRegister.. D removed from the . National Register.Register, D other, (explain:) _________________________ ^<^^^_^ignaturo of the Keeper Date of Action 6. Function or Use Historic Functions (enter categories from instructions) Current Functions (enter categories from instructions) COMMERCE/TRADE;COMMERCE/TRADE: business, specialty COMMERCE/TRADE;COMMERCE/TRADE: business, professional, store, department store, financial financial institution, specialty store, institution, professional,prof essional, restaurant department store, restaurant 7. Description Architectural Classification Materials (enter categories from instructions) (enter categories from instructions) foundation _____brick,b_r_1_· c_k~,_c_o_n_c_r_e_t_e concrete_____ _ walls _______b.;_r"'-'i-'-c"'"'k __________ _ Greek Revival walls____ brick Italianate roof _______t_a_r~, _m_e_t_a_l-_s_l_a_t_e____ _ Classical Revival roof _ tar, metal,2 slate Moderne other ,_______cast-ironc"'"'a"'"s;c..t.;;;..--=i.:;;r....;;;o.c;n:;..._ ________ granite Describe present and historic physical appearance. The boundaries of the Lower Central Business District encompass a total of 293 buildings. The•rhe district contains one certified historic district.district, Picayune Place, as well as a portion of the city-designated Canal Street Historic District, which has not been certified. Contributing elements within the district range in age from 1830 to 1941, and consist primarily of buildings which werewere erected to house commercial and office uses. The district has a nonnon­­ contributing rate of only 11%, and most of the non-contributing buildings are in scscaleale with their historic neighbors. As the name indicates, the district is only a portion of the New Orleans CBD. The rest of the CBD is visually separated by the almost completely redeveloped four lane Poydras Avenue and was listed on the Register last year as the Upper CBD. The Lower Central Business District occupies a portion of the tract of land which was owned by Don Bertrand Gravier and Madame Marie Gravier in the late eighteentheighteenth century. The Gravier property was subdivided into streets and blocks by the Spanish Royal Surveyor Carlos Trudeau in 1788. The land between Common and Iberville Streets was to remain city property, known as the City Commons, until 1810 when the city surveyor Jacques Tanesse prepared a plan which defined the location of Common, Canal and Iberville Streets. The extraordinary width of Canal Street was due to the fact that an extensionextension of the Carondelet Canal was to be built down the center of the street, a venture which was never undertaken. Development of the Lower Central Business District began in the late eighteenth century, but there are no surviving buildings from that period in the district today. With the entry of Louisiana into the United States in 1812, the flow of Anglo-American immigrantsinunigrants from the rest of the country increased rapidly, with most of these new arrivals moving into the section of the city upriver from the French Quarter. By 1820, according to no less a figure than the architect Benjamin Latrobe, the current Central Business District was the scene of a significant amount of new construction activity, including both residential and commercial buildings. The Lower Central Business District, with its proximity to Canal Street, became the focus of the business and commercial interests of New Orleans, and the overwhelming majority of the buildings built in this section,sect ion, both before and after the Civil War, were intended for one of those uses. Improvements in building technology after the Civil War led to the constructionconstruction of larger and taller commercial buildings, many of which replaced smaller anteante­­ bellumbellwn commercial buildings. The first half of thet he twentieth century saw cocontinuedntinued commercial building activity, with the use of steel frame structural ssystemsystems leading to the erection of the city's first 20+ story office buildings,buildings, erectederected for some of the larger banks in the city. 1x1[Kl See continuation sheet ..-S Form 1o«IO-a OM8 ~ No. 10H«l11 (NI)NP8 Form 10400« f¥Wl Mo. 102^1B United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Lower Central Business District, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, LA Section number _.____ Page ___ Section number 7 Page_] As was the c,rnecase with the Upper Central Business District, the character of the Lower Central Business District is formed by the concentration of common wall structures, all of masonry or steel frame construction. Contributing buildings in the district range in scale from two stories up to bank buildings in excess of twenty stories in height. 1830-1860 - 47% This period of the district's development is most prominent in the area bounded by Tchoupitoulas,Tchoupitoulas, Common, Camp and Poydras Streets, where the majority of the antebellum buildings in the district stand. These buildings are of masonry construction, generally three or four stories in height, sharing collllIIOncommon walls with their neighbors. The Greek Revival and Italianate styles are naturally dominant with respect to these early structuresstructures.. ((SeeSee Photos 8-11.) The most important of these Greek Revival style commercial buildings is the structure located at 301 Magazine Street, Photo No. 13, which was designed by the noted architect James Dakin in 1843 to serve as the offices of the New Orleans Canal and Banking Company. The entire facade of this building is clad in Quincy granite, as are the two identical but separate stores which were built for the company on Gravier Street. Immediately adjacent to the Dakin designed structure is a row of seven identical four story commercial buildings which were designed by the architect Lewis Reynolds