Today I took a tour of the Lockett School. This school has 3 buildings all built at diffrent times. 2 of the more recent Buildings are beyond repair. But the Main Bldg. still sings.

Lockett School

The Main Bldg is a typical Arts and Crafts structure, those buildings really resonate as school structures. The way the halls and classrooms connect, the multi tiered transom windows where you could look out onto the Schoolyard.

Lone Student at Lockett

Someday you just have to ask yourself is there Art at the end of this hallway, this darkness, is there renewal?

Lockett

The layout and the pattern of the school has a real timeless quality, the second floor suffered most of it’s damage from the neglect by the Recovery School District post storm.

8/25 Homework

I guess the RSD isn’t taking their homework very seriously.

This building compound sits at the corner of Piety and Law. A fitting place the corner of “Piety”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_gifts_of_the_Holy_Spirit a word which also signifies reverance.

The Neighborhood is making a slow crawl back. The RSD has no plans for the area other than demolishing the property and waiting for the Master Plan. A Neighborhood without a School, A School without a Neighborhood. How do we want to do this?

Lockett School

The first floor mirrors where we are now, 2 years later. In a place dark and abandoned, trying to not lose hope.

Does it really matter if this is what we are looking at in years to come?

Louisiana

Karen Gadbois

Karen Gadbois co-founded The Lens. She now covers New Orleans government issues and writes about land use. With television reporter Lee Zurik she exposed widespread misuse of city recovery funds and led...