[chalmette70043]

I was asked by a few people hear to post a pic of the Lebeau Plantation. This is it as it is today. Above the pic it states its in the 9th ward of New Orleans. Its not in New Orleans at all, its in a section of St Bernard Parish called Old Arabi. The house sits alongside the Mississippi river and next to the Domino Sugar Refinery at the end of Lebeau Street. The plantation was having some work done to it prior to the storm. But received major wind and flood damage. It lost its cupola in the storm.

http://news.webshots.com/photo/20672...MYa?vhost=news

Ghostly plantation presents new key to St. Bernard rebirth

by Richard Slawsky

Developers Richard Bulot, left, and Mickey Triche stand in front of the LeBeau Plantation in Arabi. The pair is working to raise money to restore the plantation and turn it into a historic attraction for St. Bernard Parish. ADVERTISEMENT
The light leading the way for St. Bernard Parish’s recovery may be carried by a ghost.

For years, residents living near the LeBeau Plantation in Arabi have reported seeing a mysterious light in the vacant house’s cupola. A pair of Chalmette developers hope to persuade the ghost responsible for the light to serve as a beacon for St. Bernard’s rebirth.

“Now more than ever St. Bernard could use a shining light,” said developer Richard Bulot. “There are so many great stories to be told about the plantation.”

Robert Cangelosi, lead architect on the $295,000 stabilization project for LeBeau Plantation, estimates it will take between $2.6 million and $3.5 million to fully rehabilitate the property, Bulot said.

Bulot and his partner, Mickey Triche, are working to raise money to restore the plantation and turn it into a historic attraction. The duo hopes the project will serve as an economic engine to drive tourism back to the parish in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

“When we get tourists back in the city, they can come here rather than drive 35 miles to see a plantation home in Reserve,” Triche said. “Rather than do one or two trips a day, a tour company could do multiple trips and save gas in the process.”

Bulot and Triche aren’t just dreamers. They have developed several successful projects, including a Gulfport, Miss., water park originally planned for New Orleans. Bulot was developing a 150-room hotel in St. Bernard when Katrina struck Aug. 29, flooding the parish and displacing more than 65,000 residents.

Storied past

The LeBeau Plantation, once the largest plantation south of New Orleans, was built in 1854 by Francois Barthelemy LeBeau. The house, once the largest plantation south of New Orleans, has served as a hotel, a brick factory and an illegal casino over the years.

The Greek Revival-style house was built using brick-between-posts construction. It has 16 rooms, an attic and an octagonal cupola but only one interior stairway.

“When New Orleans officials told Francois LeBeau he was going to be taxed on the number of interior stairwells in the house, he tore the inner ones out and built them on the outside,” Bulot said.

Gun turrets built into closets are a testament to the structure’s days as the Jai Alai Casino in the early 1900s.

A 1986 fire destroyed much of the interior and most of the roof. The house has been uninhabited since then.

In 2003, the Meraux Foundation, which owns the property, hired architects to shore up and waterproof the structure, which was in danger of collapse.

Preservation push

Bulot has dreamt of restoring the LeBeau Plantation most of his adult life, he said. Prior to Katrina, he formed Superior Hospitality Management LLC to raise money to restore the property.

The Meraux Foundation is the organization set up to manage the $250-million estate of St. Bernard landowner Joseph Meraux and his wife, Arlene, who are deceased. Bulot signed a letter-of-intent with the Meraux Foundation last year allowing Superior to renovate the property and convert it into a museum and event venue. Bulot planned to operate a bed and breakfast on the site.

“We had some very significant private pledges prior to Katrina and the storm just knocked our legs out from under us,” Bulot said. “The private monies pledged to the project were from local St. Bernard folks and they have their own crosses to bear right now.”

Now, the pair is soliciting funds to restore the property from the Washington, D.C.-based National Trust for Historic Preservation, which offers funding opportunities for nonprofits, public agencies, for-profit companies and individuals involved in preservation-related projects.

The organization hasn’t yet responded to Bulot’s funding request but NTHP officials have already visited the New Orleans area to assess preservation efforts.

“Louisiana has experienced one of the greatest human tragedies in the nation’s history,” said NTHP President Richard Moe during the Louisiana Rebuilding and Recovery Conference Nov. 8. “Obviously, the compelling needs of the hurricane’s victims must be uppermost in our minds as we begin these discussions. But Katrina also could be the greatest cultural catastrophe America has ever known.”

(((((((((chalm))))))))))))))))))
PPL need to wake up and see you guys need help
that house is worth saving
My home had a cupola on top at one point
a firer got it , damage is stillin teh attic

PPL NEED to know what Katrina has done to you all
not swept under the carpet
You my friend are doing a great job

[Perna]

Thanks!

I found this recently: http://blog.nola.com/insideout/2007/..._historic.html