Archive for the ‘Architecture’ Category
Algiers Got Googie
Are you interested in architecture? Do you read the local blog, Architecture Research? If not, get thee over there forthwith.
Today there’s a post about the shuttered Frost-Top on General Meyer Ave in my neighborhood of Algiers, an example of Googie architecture. From the post:
“Although these Googie structures once proliferated along the Crescent City’s highways, they are now nearing extinction. At one time, there were ten Frostops in the greater New Orleans metropolitan area, but now there are only three.[iii] The famous 3140 Calhoun Street Ted’s Frostop has been significantly altered, Ganus’ own 2714 Jefferson Highway building is stripped and forlorn, and the 2900 Canal Street outlet was recently demolished. The Algiers Frostop, originally owned by Francis R. Henry, is relatively unchanged, an outstanding example for its asymmetrical cross-diagonal arrangement of signage and cantilevered roof. It bears a close relationship to the 1958 Ganus patent designs and to a set of Frostop drawings that Ganus commissioned from the New Orleans architectural firm of Benson and Riehl in 1959. [iv]“
I’ve always wondered about the story behind that kitschy-cool building and now I know some of it. What I want to know is, who owns it and are there any plans for restoring and reopening it? Federal City’s a-coming. Might be a good time to think about it.
