Now that city leaders have finally released a plan for revitalizing the Municipal Auditorium, things are finally moving after over 20 years of delays. Jackie Harris, President of the Save Our Soul Coalition says the coalition actually began because of plans to house City Hall within the Municipal Auditorium. Very few New Orleanians seemed to want that according to Harris, and that revitalized local interest in the historic building.
“This is the first step in actually doing anything to the auditorium since Katrina, and that’s been over 20 years now,” Harris emphasized. Reconstruction is already underway and many are excited about the potential renewal of the space where so many New Orleanians created fond memories. He says money allocated shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit the area has sat unused after all this time and it’s essentially use it or lose it at this point. This is why there’s a more urgent push to get renovations done with the dollars already set aside.
“People graduated in the auditorium or had a ball in the auditorium. We know it’s going to take some time and money to develop this property, but it deserves that chance,” Harris added. With work currently being done, she says there will be a great deal of local interest when it comes to using the space once again once renovations are complete.