For those wondering about the building located at 2000 Jackson Avenue that is being demolished today (google streetview above), the structure underneath was designed by New Orleans architect Edward B. Silverstein for Goodwill Industries in 1958. His commission required the inclusion of a chapel, loading platform, terrace, kitchen, offices, a large work area and a salesroom for the nonprofit organization's job-training operations. Only the former sales and work areas lasted until 2013, and the exterior had been dramatically altered.
When Silverstein started the project in 1957, he hired surveyor F.C. Gandolfo, Jr. to review earlier surveys and develop new measurements for the existing conditions at the site.
Lot 24A was the Old Hebrew Rest Cemetery, partially bordered by a brick fence and remnants of its foundations, and dotted with "miscellaneous rubble and old tombs" and an established mulberry tree, hackberries, cedars and oleanders. Goodwill Industries acquired the site from Touro Synagogue -- which had owned the property since 1828 -- in August, 1957. The cemetery had not been used as a burial site for decades, and the New Orleans Rabbinical Council made arrangements for appropriate reinterments.
After the site was cleared, pile driving commenced on 30 October 1958. Mayor deLesseps Morrison cut the ribbon at the building's formal dedication on 24 September 1959.
Second Image: Edward B. Silverstein, Architect. Goodwill Industries. Detail of East Elevation. 17 February 1958. Edward B. Silverstein Office Records, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.
Third Image: F.C. Gandolfo, Jr., surveyor for Mr. Ed. Silverstein, Arch. Lot 24A Square 299 Fourth District. 20 May 1957. Edward B. Silverstein Office Records, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.
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