Cabildo: Museum vs. Building ______

Elizabeth Shultz Shultz 1

The view over the city of from the cupola of . Photo by Elizabeth Shultz.

The Cabildo is a historic structure of supreme importance in New Orleans, , and

United States histories. While its significance as a historical site is not in dispute, its current functionality as a museum lacks an effective presentation and understanding of the building as a part of history itself. Our site visit to the Cabildo revealed a great deal about the building as a historical artifact, and caused me to think about how the building functions currently and how it could be better utilized in the future.

Overall the Cabildo building itself is a structure that is frankly engulfed in beautiful architectural elements. These elements include the interior arches, the exposed ceiling planks and beam, the floors, and the windows, to name a few. While these architectural elements remain intact in the building, they are masked by ineffective and uncommunicative exhibit design. The current iterations of exhibits that are housed in the Cabildo are constructed and designed in such a manner that they would fit into any museum space - they offer little to no concession to the history of the Cabildo building itself. These architectural elements - while visible with difficulty throughout the museum - could be much better utilized to tell the history of the Cabildo and relay its significance as a site to museum visitors. Shultz 2

Some of the architectural elements that can be found in the Cabildo.

Photos by Elizabeth Shultz

The ineffective exhibit designs that fill the Cabildo museum hinder the ability of museum visitors to experience this historic site. By cluttering spaces, using a typeface to small to relate to more than one person at a time, and by presenting everything from behind thick and off-putting glass display cases, the effectiveness of the Cabildo as a museum is severely diminished. These techniques of exhibition design are especially ineffective in a space like the Cabildo due to the fact that the object in question that are being presented on the first floor of the museum are firstly, not many, and secondly, able to be presented in a much more integrative and engaging manner. The Cabildo museum contrasts sharply with that of the Presbytere, its twin building - Shultz 3

Examples of ineffective exhibit designs on the ground floor of the Cabildo museum.

Photos by Elizabeth Shultz

and while I personally feel that there are also issues with that particular exhibition installation - the building itself has great potential.

In addition to the wonderful architectural details that are present in the Cabildo building and which could be utilized to help tell the story of the history the Louisiana and New Orleans through an interpretation of the design histories of the elements, the spaces of the building themselves are great, and once again are being ineffectively used by the current museum exhibition set-up. There are a number of spaces throughout the Cabildo building that have great potential. For example, the grand stair hall that is located in the center of the ground level plan.

The successes that are possible with the effective utilization of the floor plan are clearly demonstrated by the second floor exhibit housed at the Presbytere.

In addition to the under-used ground level stair hall space, which could be much more Shultz 4

Left: The ground level floor plan of the Cabildo.

Above: A portion of the ground level stair hall.

Photos by Elizabeth Shultz

effectively used in a manner that I will discuss later in this report, there are a couple of spaces in the Cabildo that must be recognized as currently the most effective parts of the building. These two spaces are the second floor gallery space and the attic. I feel that these two particular spaces within the Cabildo structure are the most effective parts of the building and the museum presentation because neither of these two spaces attempt (or at least successfully attempt, in the situation of the attic space) to mask or cover the bones, the structure, of the building itself. I am sure that one of the favorite places of visitors to the museum must be the second floor gallery space. It, more than any other portion of the Cabildo museum, conveys the authority and significance of the building and its history, and accordingly I would neither propose nor condone any alterations to this particular space within the Cabildo building. The other successful part of the building is the attic. Although it is jam-packed full of interpretative exhibit paraphernalia, the Shultz 5

The second floor gallery in the Cabildo is one of the few spaces throughout the entire building that is utilized effectively to convey the historical significance of the Cabildo itself.

Photos by Elizabeth Shultz

space is still able to communicate its purpose to the museum visitor, thanks to the exposed cypress beams that form the roof trusses. These two spaces within the Cabildo building exemplify what the museum could impart to its viewers if every portion of the structure were used effectively.

Although there is always the argument that there will inevitably be some parts of museums that are simply less effective at communicating their purposes than others, the exhibit on Hurricane Katrina that is currently housed at the Presbytere reveals technological advances in museum exhibit presentation that could be adopted for the Cabildo and more simply and effect- Shultz 6

The exposed cypress beams in the attic space of the Cabildo building are effective in communicating to the museum visitor both the purpose and the sentiment appropriate for an accurate understanding of the space - even though there are exhibit module in front and below these beams.

Photo by Elizabeth Shultz

ively used in the Cabildo setting. I’m imagining the ground floor spaces devoid of intrusive exhibit blocks, with simple projection on the walls that gently change to draw the eye and maintain interest. It would not need to be a complicated or especially expensive installation of new technology, but simply being able to understand the building while simultaneously being able to communicate the historical information to larger groups at the same would be incredibly valuable for the sustainability of the Cabildo as a museum setting. The integration of projections as the main display would also provide the museum with a great deal more flexibility to provide the space for rotating exhibits or special shows, as well as provide easy access to a gathering space that could be used for events or fundraisers with the flick of a switch.

In conclusion, while the Cabildo is not currently effectively used as a museum space overall, the architectural details of the building itself, combined with spaces that are currently Shultz 7 communicating effectively with the public - such as the second floor gallery space and the attic space - it is easy to see how changes that could be made in the types of exhibition designs housed in the Cabildo museum, borrowing somewhat from the example of the Presbytere, could be harnessed to totally revamp the Cabildo museum experience. By so doing, the Cabildo could more successfully communicate its history through its architecture in addition to becoming a space that is easily flexible for a multitude of purposes.