McDonogh 11, the large gothic school which educated students for more than 100 years until Hurricane Katrina ended her days, appears headed for demolition.
The 1500 ton structure was saved once from destruction when he was jacked up and moved to its current spot as LSU Health constructed University Medical Center in 2013.
Shuffled over to an empty lot the dormant building now sits awaiting preservation or the wrecking ball on South Claiborne, between Cleveland Avenue and Canal Street.
Now, LSU Health Science has come for the land and wants McDonogh 11 to meet its final fate.
LSU Health Sciences has issued a memo saying they want McDonogh 11 gone.
According to the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate, the announcement has caught preservationists off guard.
They question how LSU can make such move as demolition after more than $6,000,000 was spent renovating the school after Hurricane Katrina and then moving the structure to its current location.
“It has survived 140 years of hurricanes, humidity, termites and three moves,” says Danielle Del Sol, executive director of the Preservation Resource Center. “McDonogh 11 can and should be given a new life.”
The memo from LSU states, “The structure is unusable, it is deteriorating, is frequently vandalized, and occupied by trespassers.”
LSU says demolition is the least cost option for mitigating problem at a cost of $350,000, rather than spending $833,000 to move it or $4,700,000 to renovate it
“You could make this building really incredible again: but we just need a little time to make it happen. And someone will have to have the imagination; the courage, to take that on,” Del Sol told the paper.
ED Note: In a previous version of this story University Medical Center was incorrectly identified as the unit seeking the property where McDonogh 11 is currently. The property is needed by LSU Health Sciences. A correction was made and WWL AM/FM.COM apologizes for this error and seeks to acknowledge this.