NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans’ historic Pontchartrain Park neighborhood has been named to the National Register of Historic Places, Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser and state officials announced Thursday.
Pontchartrain Park’s legacy includes being created as the first neighborhood in the city offering suburban-style homes for members of the Black community. Construction on homes in the neighborhood began in 1955, offering middle- and upper-class Black families their first chance at homeownership.
Pontchartrain Park originally included more than 1,000 ranch-style homes arranged around a municipal park which featured a playground, basketball and baseball facilities, as well as the first, full-time golf facilities available to Black New Orleanians. The golf course was designed by Joseph M. Bartholomew, an acclaimed Black golf course designer and namesake of the course.
Prominent families who put down roots in Pontchartrain Park include the Morials (including mayors Dutch and Marc); Grammy award-winning jazz musician Terence Blanchard; actor Wendell Pierce; and former EPA administrator Lisa Jackson.
Other notable residents over the years include Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Joshua Johnson, legendary singer Irma Thomas, music producer/composer Dave Bartholomew, bandleader Harold "Duke" Dejan, trumpeter Lionel Ferbos, radio personality Larry McKinley and entrepreneur and Civil Rights leader Henry Hayes.
The neighborhood was inundated by floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina and the levee failures 15 years ago.
The push to have the neighborhood included on the National Register was led by the Preservation Resource Center, which worked in concert with the Pontchartrain Park Neighborhood Association, representing homeowners, many of whom come from families who have lived in the neighborhood for generations. Also involved in the application were the Louisiana State Historic Preservation Office and Tulane University.
Because of the national historic designation, property owners may be eligible to apply for and receive federal tax credits for historic rehabilitation projects, provided they agree to certain federal guidelines, according to the state Office of Cultural Development’s Division of Historic Preservation.
