Look Who's Knocking

Happy Halloween!

Storyville Madam Josie Arlington's former tomb in Metairie Cemetery, designed by the Albert Weiblen Marble and Granite Company in 1911, frequently tops the list of most haunted sites in New Orleans. Weiblen architect Lorenzo Orsini developed the preliminary sketches for the red granite tomb surmounted with flambeaux.  Derived from a similar work in the city cemetery of Munich, the bronze figure of a woman carries a bundle of roses as she reaches her hand out towards the tomb door.  

Image above:  Lorenzo Orsini. John T. Brady (Tomb for Josie Arlington), Metairie Cemetery. 1911. Albert Weiblen Marble and Granite Company Office Records, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

Lost Marbles

For those who have wondered whatever happened to the figurative sculptures from the old New Orleans Cotton Exchange Building, Albert Weiblen's Marble & Granite Works office records provide the answers.

Louisville, Kentucky architect Henry W. Wolters (flourished 1870s-1890s) designed the ornate structure in 1881 after winning a public competition (first image). Wolters referred to the style as 'French Renaissance,' claiming it to be the 'most popular and appropriate style of street architecture in Paris.'(1) The Carondelet Street facade was especially elaborate, with broken pediments and abundant sculptural embellishment. Caryatids framed the doorway and personifications of Agriculture, Commerce and Industry surmounted the segmental pediment crowning the entrance bay.

In 1918, the sculptures were removed from the building in preparation for the new Cotton Exchange Building.(2) Exchange secretary Colonel H.G. Hester intimated that the new structure would be a replica of the old, and that the sculptures -- either replaced or restored -- would remain.(3)  However, as the building project developed, his assurances were never realized. The Park Commission agreed to place the salvaged marbles in City Park despite criticism from the architectural community.(4)

When the Works Progress Administration began altering City Park, the marbles were moved to the Weiblen Marble and Granite Works. Architect Albert W. Drennan incorporated the caryatids into the Weiblen Showroom building located at 116 City Park Avenue (second image), but the pediment figures proved more difficult to reassign. According to Weiblen architect Ralph G. Phillippi, the 11'10" figure of Commerce (sometimes referred to as Peace; fourth image) -- along with part of the frieze -- was sent to the quarry "to be sawed for slabs and vase stock." Albert Weiblen stored the 7'5" sculptures of Agriculture (third image) and Industry(fifth image)  in the Metairie Cemetery Annex, but both works were vandalized by boys "shooting at them with twenty twos from the railroad track." Weiblen subsequently broke the marbles for use as fill under Bell Avenue/Fairway Drive on the western side of Metairie Cemetery.(5)

This blog has previously addressed Tulane's lost owl sculptures that New Orleans architects Moise Goldstein & Nathaniel C. Curtis, Jr. buried somewhere in Audubon Park.

(1)"The New Cotton Exchange." The Daily Picayune (23 March 1881): p.4. Located on the corner of Carondelet and Gravier Streets, the building was constructed for approximately $370,000. James Freret served as supervising architect for the foundation, and Charles A. Marble of Chicago was supervising architect under Wolters. See: "An Imposing Structure: The New Cotton Exchange in New Orleans." Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper (24 March 1883): p. 76 and "A Palace of Commerce." The Daily Picayune (9 May 1883): p.4. According to the latter article, the sculptures were the work of a stone carver A. Goddard, who also executed works for the Chicago parks.

(2)"'Just What We Deserve' Say Three Granite Sisters." The Times-Picayune (17  November 1918): p.41. S.S. Labouisse was named architect for the project, but passed away in 1918. Favrot & Livaudais ultimately designed the new structure in 1920.

(3)"It Will Be a Gem." The Times-Picayune (12  January 1919): p.31.

(4)'"Stone Ladies' Regarded as 'Grotesque,' Inartistic." The Times-Picayune (9  February 1920): p.7.

(5)Ralph G. Phillippi, notes on undated photographs. Albert Weiblen Marble & Granite Works Office Records, Southeastern Architectural Archive.

Images above: First: H.W. Wolters, architect. Cotton Exchange, Carondelet & Gravier Streets. Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper (30 April 1881), Miscellaneous Photographs Collection; Second: Albert W. Drennan, architect. Weiblen Showroom, 116 City Park Avenue. Undated, Albert Weiblen Marble & Granite Works Office Records; Third-Fifth: Undated photographs, Albert Weiblen Marble & Granite Works Office Records. All Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

NEW! Weiblen Finding Aid

The Southeastern Architectural Archive recently completed the full processing of the Albert Weiblen Marble and Granite Company Office Records. The collection consists of project drawings, photographs, sales specimens, correspondence, ledgers and indices. Highlights include drawings for the Josie Arlington tomb in Metairie Cemetery, the plaster model for the McCarthy Square Victory Arch, and a series of historic tomb images commissioned by architect Charles L. Lawhon of photographer Louis T. Fritch.

This and other SEAA finding aids may be found online here.

Image above:  “Albert Weiblen.” In W.K. Patrick & Assoc. Club Men of Louisiana in Caricature. East Aurora, NY: The Roycrofters, 1917. The Louisiana Research Collection, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

Mid-Century Building Letterheads

By 1950, many companies were modernizing their letterhead designs and doing away with building imagery. Some of those who continued to employ such representations were banks, hotels, funeral parlors, cemetery associations and those engaged in building trades.

Here are a few mid-century letterheads (and one footer design) that prominently feature buildings:

Lamana-Panno-Fallo, Inc.
625 North Rampart Street
1958

Loubat Glassware & Cork Co.
510-520 Bienville Street
233 Decatur Street
1952

Albert Weiblen Marble & Granite Co.
505-525 City Park Avenue
1949

The Hotel Monteleone
214 Royal Street
1948

Metairie Cemetery Association
Metairie Cemetery
1948

The Merchants National Bank of Mobile
56 St. Joseph Street, Mobile, AL
1949

Images above:  Albert Weiblen Marble & Granite Co. Office Records, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

The Hiker

If you are taking the new Loyola Streetcar or walking near the Energy Center building at the intersection of Poydras Street and Loyola Avenue, you may notice this monument.

It hasn't always occupied its current site, but was first erected on South Claiborne Avenue at Canal Street (image above). Local monument artisans Albert Weiblen Marble & Granite Company created the base and installed the monument. The project was delayed when workers encountered the foundation of an enclosed brick drainage canal under Claiborne Avenue. Opting to avoid damaging the culvert, they drove piles around it and constructed a concrete arch above it in order to support the monument.

Designed by sculptor Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson (1871-1932), The Hiker was a tribute to American soldiers who fought in the Spanish-American War. Veteran and Judge Rufus Edward Foster of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals headed the committee that selected the sculpture, which was erected with funds appropriated by the Louisiana State Legislature.

The Gorham Company purchased the rights to Kitson's piece, and began casting copies in 1921. The New Orleans Hiker was dedicated on Memorial Day 1939.

Image above: "Spanish-American War Memorial By Pioneer Firm." Undated broadside. Albert Weiblen Marble & Granite Co. Office Records, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

Stone Mountain Granite Corp.

In 1911, the Weiblen Marble and Granite Company leased Stone Mountain, Georgia from Samuel and William Venable, operating there as the Stone Mountain Granite Corporation (SMGC) until 1936. Company founder Albert Weiblen (1857-1957), a German immigrant, gave SMGC operational responsibilities to his two sons, Frederick († 1927) and George († 1970).

The photograph above was taken by Reeves Studios, founded in Atlanta, Georgia (1914). The Atlanta History Center's Kenan Research Center has digitized a number of Reeves Studio photographs with funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

Close attention to the cutting shed image above reveals a crane operator situated inside a Pawling & Harnischfeger 15-ton type "C" I-beam crane cab. Such cranes were used in lumber mills and granite quarries, and images of its use in these and other contexts may be found in a set of digitized images from the Wisconsin Historical Society.

The Southeastern Architectural Archive retains the records of the Weiblen Marble and Granite Company, as well as supplemental information pertaining to its Stone Mountain and Elberton, Georgia quarry operations. An inventory of holdings may be located here.

Stone Mountain granite was used on many New Orleans public projects, including the pedestal of the Lafayette Square Benjamin Franklin statue, the Huey P. Long Bridge, and -- at the request of City Engineer A.C. Bell -- was used to pave the riverfront between Thalia and Nuns Streets for the construction of the Pauline Street wharf.(1)

(1) "Dock Board Lets Paving Contract." The Daily Picayune (25.1.1913), p. 6.

Image above: Reeves Photo Atlanta. Stone Mountain Granite Corporation, Stone Mountain, Georgia, c. 1914-29. Weiblen Marble and Granite Works Office Records, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

Otis Elevator Company of Chicago

In 1909, Otis Elevator Company of Chicago's President Baldwin journeyed to New Orleans to secure a land deal. He negotiated with businessman Peter O'Brien to acquire the latter's elevator manufacturing plant located at the corner of Carondelet and St. Joseph Streets.(1) The Otis Company wanted to establish a showroom for its elevators, and the O'Brien property provided a good location.

The Otis Elevator Company secured the architectural services of Favrot & Livaudais to design a two-story showroom/office structure that would prominently display the company's mainstay (1910-1912). The architects selected an Italianate form that nodded to the company's Chicago home and its emergent Prairie School style. Built at a cost of $25K, the Otis Elevator Company maintained its New Orleans office for decades.(2) George J. Glover was the general contractor on the project, and the Albert Weiblen Marble & Granite Company was one of the sub-contractors.(3)

The short-lived trade magazine Building Review of the South -- published in New Orleans -- featured the structure in a 1919 article devoted to the "elevator pent house":

"In most cases elevator pent houses are made obnoxious by careless treatment. In large cities where the roofs of the business section are in constant view of thousands of people from the taller buildings it seems that some attention should be devoted to roof appearances, or to that most prominent feature of the roof, the pent house. The designers of the two examples published this month realized the advantages of emphasizing the pent house. Anyone who views the two buildings will concede that the tower treatment is the single thing that gives especial distinction to the buildings,--that is, sets them apart from other commercial structures by adding a feature of interest that ordinarily would be absent."(4)

(1)"More Good Realty Sales Involve New Buildings." The Daily Picayune 16 January 1909, p. 5.

(2)"Real Estate the Real Thing Here." The Daily Picayune 9 January 1912, p. 40.

(3)George J. Glover, general contractor. "Form of Sub-Contract" with Albert Weiblen Marble & Granite Company dated 23 April 1912. Box 15, Albert Weiblen Marble & Granite Works Office Records, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

(4)"Elevator Pent Houses: Two New Orleans Examples Which Are Models of Proper Treatment." Building Review Feburary 1919, p. 14. The image above precedes the article, appearing on p. 13 of the same issue. Photograph was taken by Schnetzer.

The Art Institute of Chicago maintains certain records of the Otis Elevator Company. You can read more about the company's history in The First Hundred Years (New York: Otis Elevator Company, 1953).

Changing Hands on Carondelet

A large number of properties along Carondelet Street changed hands in the years between 1920 and 1930. A series of residential lots came up at auction in the summer of 1923 (map shown above), and by 1926, the Presbyterian Hospital Group (PHG) expanded its existing holdings by purchasing adjacent Baronne Street lots for a new medical complex.

The PHG retained the services of New Orleans architect Rathbone DeBuys (c. 1874-1960) to design a "skyscraper type" hospital. (1) He and Charles Armstrong (1887-1947) had designed an earlier PHG structure, the Corinne Casanas Free Clinic, in 1915 (814-820 Girod Street, completed 1916). After various revisions, his PHG skyscraper hospital resulted in a single five-story structure, named the James H. Batchelor Building, which was completed in June 1928. Built at a cost of $200K, the fireproof building contained an elevator and was sheathed in limestone with polychromed "marble" embellishments. (2)

In 1930, the School Board -- then operating out of the City Hall Annex -- successfully negotiated the acquisition of the Casanas Clinic and the Batchelor Building, and relocated to the latter in January 1931. Rathbone DeBuys' building is now named after former School Superintendent Nicholas Bauer.

Image above: Advertisement, The Times-Picayune 6 October 1923, p. 35.

(1) "Presbyterian Hospital Buys Three Old Homes." The Times-Picayune 14 February 1926, p. 13.

(2) Although DeBuys designed the building, the Albert Weiblen Marble and Granite Works supplied the ornamental stone carvings. Its staff architect, Albert Rieker (1887-1959), developed the requisite drawings. The Southeastern Architectural Archive retains a cartoon for Rieker's stone caduceus in Collection 39 The Albert Weiblen Marble & Granite Works Office Records. Consult the Archive's online inventories here.

Vanitas

The Southeastern Architectural Archive retains the business records of the Weiblen Marble and Granite Company. These records include office correspondence, stone samples, and plaster models such as the one above.

Stone Mountain Granite/Graffiti

In 1901, the Atlanta-based Venable Brothers boasted that they had supplied the city of New Orleans with 25,000 feet of Georgia Granite for curbings and crossings (as opposed to the 900,000 feet for Atlanta). The company maintained quarries at both Stone Mountain and Lithonia, which were reached by railroad that was also owned and operated by the Venable Brothers.

In 1915, the United Daughters of the Confederacy commissioned sculptor Gutzon Borglum (1867-1941) to survey the Ku Klux Klan rebirth site for a monument intended as a memorial to the Confederacy, the "Lost Cause Shrine". World War I delayed the project. Eventually Borglum and his patrons parted ways over disagreements, Borglum destroyed his models, and Augustus Lukeman (1871-1935) was hired to complete the work.

Lukeman informed the supervising body -- the Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial Association -- that Borglum's unfinished carving could never be completed, and recommended an altered design, smaller in scale, featuring equestrian figures of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson. Borglum's carving was sandblasted away from Stone Mountain's face. The Crash of 1929 shut down operations again, and work did not resume on the project until 1958, when the Georgia State Legislature created the official Stone Mountain Memorial Association, and authorized it to sell revenue bonds.

The Massachusetts-based sculptor Walker Hancock (1901-1998) took over the project, following Lukeman's models. New Orleans stone carver George Weiblen (1895-1970) was ultimately commissioned to supervise the 7 carvers working on the site in the 1960s. Weiblen and his wife lived in a trailer at the mountain's base. On 25 March 1966, The Atlanta Journal reported that the stone carving was costing $442.80/day in wages, including those of Mr. Weiblen. In the same article, the 70-year-old New Orleans tomb designer conveyed his reasons for taking on the project:

'I want to put my father's name there, too. He brought his family from New Orleans in 1911 to open a quarry on the back side of Stone Mountain and he leased the whole mountain. He offered the Venable Brothers a million dollars for it in 1920. He died in 1961 at the age of 99 and five months. He said he wanted to lie down before breakfast and he took one deep breath and he was gone. I don't know how I will work his name in but there is a way."

George Weiblen died at Stone Mountain in 1970, the same year Vice President Spiro T. Agnew dedicated the monument. It is now part of an expansive theme park that draws millions of visitors annually.

To read more documents related to the project, click here.

To read excerpts from David Freedman's 1997 book, Carved in Stone: The History of Stone Mountain, on googlebooks, click here.

To read the Smithsonian's oral history with Walker Hancock, click here.

[Photograph above: Frank Rippetoe. Stone Carver at Stone Mountain, Georgia.
8 March 1964. Box 64, Weiblen Marble and Granite Company Collection, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries].