Restoring Cultural Capital Through Preservation in the Holy Cross Historic District
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2014 Restoring cultural capital through preservation in the Holy Cross Historic District Jennifer Ann Hay Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Hay, Jennifer Ann, "Restoring cultural capital through preservation in the Holy Cross Historic District" (2014). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 3026. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/3026 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. RESTORING CULTURAL CAPITAL THROUGH PRESERVATION IN THE HOLY CROSS HISTORIC DISTRICT A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Geography and Anthropology by Jennifer Ann Hay B.A., University of Texas at Austin, 2006 M.S., Texas State University-San Marcos, 2008 May 2014 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am inclined to begin by thanking Louisiana for taking me in when I needed a place to go, providing more questions than I could explore in a lifetime, and introducing me to people and places I will treasure forever. From Ida to Slidell, Cameron to Bastrop, I am indebted to the communities that endeavored to answer my questions, inviting me into their homes and lives to share a hot cup of coffee and more pimento cheese sandwiches than I care to count. Specifically, I’d like to thank Smokie and Jane Maddox, Amy, Chan, and Luna Brown, and Debbie Smith for their hospitality and kindness. Thank you to the librarians and archivists who graciously led me to key sources and then tolerated my presence for weeks and months, exchanging my dollars for coins and allowing me to park in the staff lot on the weekends! I also thank the leadership of Historic Green for embracing my love for New Orleans and giving me the opportunity to give back to the Lower Ninth Ward. To the preservationists at the HDLC and PRC that humored the questions of a geographer, I appreciate your candid commitment to preserving the built environment of New Orleans. Many, many people at LSU provided invaluable guidance, inspiration, and direction. I would like to thank my dissertation committee for believing in me and supporting my research through some of the best instruction I’ve had the privilege of experiencing. Professor Colten, your willingness to take on an unfunded, last-minute student still astounds me. Your calm encouragement and infamous sense of humor were invaluable to me during my studies. I am so grateful for your confidence in me, despite my tendency toward overzealous acquisition of projects and responsibilities! Dr. Edwards, your lectures helped frame my understanding of the relationship of material culture and sense of place – especially the one with the photo of Johnny ii White’s! Dr. DeLyser, I have never had a better teacher. Your attention to your students’ growth is extraordinary and should serve as a model for future educators. Dr. Regis, I owe you mountains of thanks for your leadership and enthusiasm for two overly ambitious students, for traveling to a far corner of Louisiana, and for redefining service learning for me. To John Anderson, Map Librarian of the largest, most prestigious Map Library in the known universe, thank you for giving me the most interesting job in the department, for braving the Dreaded Aisle so I didn’t have to, and for sharing your love of aviation history with me. And of course, thank you, Dr. Miles Richardson, for sharing some of the secrets of the Delta to those of us willing to sing under the oaks. I am also grateful for the influence of a number of people outside of the Department of Geography & Anthropology. To Dr. Guzik and the rest of the LaACES team, thank you for giving me a chance and letting me live vicariously through the amazing students in your program. To Dr. Beech and Dr. Gall, thank you for including me in your research and introducing me to coastal Louisiana. Enormous thanks to Dr. Motsenbocker and the LSU Community Gardeners who let me play in the dirt and invited me to spend seasons together growing the most delicious produce at Hill Farm. To Professor Risk, thank you for opening the door into the world of the National Park Service for me! Thanks to the Geography & Anthropology Society for having a keg of Shiner at every party, and to Krewe du Monde for reminding me that there is nothing more fun than dancing down the street during Mardi Gras, whether it’s raining or freezing. Many of the students of the Department of Geography & Anthropology have become my dear friends over the past few years. My academic soul-mate and partner in capitalization-noncompliance, gENTRY, thank you for stopping for milkshakes and for not curating a museum with me and for the million things iii that happened in between. Annemarie, for the gift of your friendship, I am forever indebted. Jessica, thank you for opening your home to us – your passion for life is irresistible! Thanks to Case, Jamie, Kate, Beverly, Michael, Corey, Paul, Cory, Arnold, Ryan, Caitlin, Marc, Amy, Bethany, Arnold, Dusty, Ari, Tracy, Mikeal, Louise, Alex, John, Audrey, Lauren, Emily, Laura Lee, Stacey, and the other wonderful graduate students at LSU and other institutions – from late nights in the Rich Lab to fieldtrips into the Delta, I was honored to be surrounded by such brilliant, dedicated students. Thank you to our friends in Texas that not only soothed our homesick hearts but also cheerfully embraced our new love for New Orleans. To my parents, thank you for instilling a love of learning and an appreciation for the past in me. Thank you to my brothers for grounding me in reality and providing an excuse to travel to Alabama again. I am grateful to mi Abuelo for inspiring me to explore the world and infecting me with topophilia. Finally, thank you to my partner and companion in all things, Dustin, for your unconditional love and belief in me, come what may. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ ii LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... viii ABSTRACT .....................................................................................................................................x CHAPTER 1 CROSS THE CANAL ...............................................................................................1 Research Questions ..............................................................................................................4 Theoretical Framework ...................................................................................................... 6 Methods..............................................................................................................................16 Chapters .............................................................................................................................23 Endnotes .............................................................................................................................26 CHAPTER 2 AMERICAN PRESERVATION AND THE HISTORIC DISTRICT 32 Public History in the Landscape ...................................................................................... 32 Preserving Patriotism .........................................................................................................33 The Influence of the Conservation Movement ..................................................................37 Legislating Preservation.....................................................................................................40 The Riverfront Expressway ...................................................................................44 State and Local Preservation Solutions..............................................................................48 Enforcement Tools .................................................................................................51 Preservation through a Geographic Lens ...........................................................................56 Endnotes .............................................................................................................................60 CHAPTER 3 A HISTORY OF THE HOLY CROSS HISTORIC DISTRICT .............................69 New Orleans’ Ninth Ward .................................................................................................69 Early Occupants: Plantations, Convents, and Slaughterhouses, 1820-1918 ......................71 Disconnected: Industrial Canal Begets the Lower Ninth Ward, 1918-1965 .....................79 Injustice: Social, Environmental, and Economic, 1962-1990 ............................................82 School Integration ..................................................................................................82 Hurricanes