Cornerstones

Cornerstones is an effort to document and advocate for the overlooked and threatened landmarks of New Orleans. Through a citywide survey of residents, Cornerstones will be the first ground-up approach to identify New Orleans’ important historical and cultural sites and it will broaden our ideas about the types of spaces that are important to our city and why they are significant to us.

Through a partnership with the Neighborhood Story Project, we have developed a publication, Cornerstones: Celebrating the Everyday Monuments and Gathering Places of New Orleans Neighborhoods that features seven local landmarks. Through interviews, site maps, architectural drawings, and photos we illustrate the range of ways neighborhood places are important to New Orleans. Our survey form will be distributed as part of our book release events, so residents can nominate places that in a similar way are significant to their community.

The Tulane City Center will develop and maintain a public database and website of nominated cornerstones. The online registry will feature written narratives, interview quotes, maps, and architectural drawings, as well as noting any threats to the vitality of nominated places, so we can document local significance and help protect the places that make New Orleans unique.