New Orleans Business Archive: Ole K. Olsen

Ole K. Olsen Advertisement, as published in Building Review of the South Sept. 1919.
Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division,
Tulane University Libraries

In 1919, Ole K. Olsen had his business at 823 Perdido Street, and was a contractor and a distributor of various building products, including those of Detroit, Michigan's Trus-Con Laboratories. "Trus-Con" was noted for its damp-proof coatings for exposed and underground masonry, as well as its "Asepticote," a hygienic decorative finish for interior walls.

By 1928, Olsen had expanded his operations considerably, with a large office and warehouse located at 325 North Cortez Street.

Ole K. Olsen Office and Warehouse, as published in Ole K. Olsen/New Orleans, LA.  

Associated Equipment Distributors, 1928.
Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division,
Tulane University Libraries

Although he focused on contracting/building equipment sales, Olsen was first registered to practice architecture in Louisiana in 1911 and continued his registration until the 1950s. He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark in January 1877 and graduated from the city's Polytechnical Academy in 1900. He was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Louisiana Engineering Society and the Louisiana Architects Association.