The Royal Orleans Hotel, designed by Arthur Q. Davis in 1960, 621 St. Louis St. (Ray Tyler/NYT Institute)

“Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans,” a song made famous by Louis Armstrong, has even more meaning for those attempting to save the city’s traditional buildings while embracing contemporary architecture.

Before Hurricane Katrina, the “missing” part of New Orleans referred to historic architectural treasures that were no longer standing or were in danger of being lost.  After the storm, “missing New Orleans” has been redefined as the few homes and businesses that were spared from  floodwaters and wind damage.

“During Katrina, we watched buildings be destroyed on TV,” said J. Richard Gruber, director of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. “Key elements of the city have disappeared in a relatively short period of time.”

As the city continues to rebuild itself, the question of how New Orleans will be revitalized remains. For architects and city officials, the solution to the devastation has been to reinvent New Orleans by merging its distinct modern and traditional architecture.

The Warehouse District, now known as the Arts District, represents the current state of the city, the fusion of French Creole architecture and contemporary design. The open spaces of the warehouses have been transformed to lofts and trendy restaurants but  still maintain their original exterior. The Contemporary Arts Center and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art have come to represent the current trend.

In the overgrown fields of the low-lying Ninth Ward, neglected single-story shotgun houses sit next to newly constructed homes with solar panels and energy-saving appliances. The new homes, assembled by the Make It Right Foundation, boast more angular, contemporary designs than the typical New Orleans homes.

“People have criticized the design of the homes being built and question how they fit into the Lower Ninth Ward,” said Jack Davis, a board member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “The design fits the shotgun style, takes advantage of the climate with the solar panel and porches and captures the spirit of New Orleans.”

Preservation is a culture in itself in New Orleans. Battles have been long fought to save and restore architecture with the signature Creole influence, which includes wrought-iron archways, wide porches called galleries and French doors. Preservationists boast of the abundant elegance and charm of the city that attracts many, from Creole cottages to balconies in the French Quarter with their lacy gates and trims that define architectural legacy in New Orleans.

“Unfortunately, so much of what the government has been doing to restore New Orleans has been insensitive to the quality of heritage,” Davis said. “The city measures success by how many buildings have been demolished, but needs to be more careful about demolishing anything in a city where so many buildings make up global cultural treasures.”

In 2008, the National Trust for Historic Preservation listed Charity Hospital and the neighboring Mid-City Historic District on its list of America’s most endangered historic places. The building suffered flood damage during the hurricane and never reopened. “Officials in New Orleans rarely attribute preservation with benefiting the economy as the main drivers related to tourism and travel,” Davis said. “This is one city in the country that should use preservation as its number one tool to boost the economy.”

The attention spent honoring historic buildings has caused works of modern architecture to become a dying breed in New Orleans. The community’s attempts to quickly rebuild the storm-damaged city and a reluctance to embrace contemporary architecture have led to few buildings’ being modeled in that style. Since Katrina, New Orleans modern architectural structures have been increasingly slated for demolition.

“There is a tremendous legacy for contemporary architecture that is underappreciated and not well documented,” Gruber said. “Some battles have been lost, but others can be saved.”

St. Francis Cabrini Church, a 20^th century landmark, succumbed to a wrecking ball in June 2007. Completed in 1964 with a modernist silhouette by New Orleans-based architect Arthur Q. Davis, the building was replaced by a glistening new Holy Cross School, a Catholic boys’ institute whose Ninth Ward campus was destroyed after the hurricane. “Integrating modernism hasn’t been an easy task. There was resistance to its presence in a city rooted in architectural history and tradition,” said Gruber, of the  Ogden Museum, which is presenting “Legacy of a Modern Architect,” an exhibition highlighting the issue of preservation and the contributions of Arthur Q. Davis to New Orleans architecture.

Davis, while part of the Curtis & Davis architectural firm, gave New Orleans several of its most revolutionary modern structures, including the Superdome, the New Orleans Public Library and the Automotive Life Insurance building.

“These buildings are really quite revolutionary in their design. The structures are worth saving because the unique designs add character to the city landscape and are more durable than the buildings likely to replace them,” added Davis, who is 89 and works with the Preservation Resource Center to protect buildings under threat.

Jack Davis of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, who is not related to Arthur Davis, says that there can be room for both traditional and contemporary designs.

“Preserving what we know about the city will revitalize neighborhoods and bring New Orleans back to life,” he said.

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Tory McPhail , executive chef at Commander’s Palace, had no idea he would compete in a cook-off Saturday until four days beforehand, but he walked away as the newly crowned king of Louisiana seafood.

McPhail, who also competed last year, will represent Louisiana in the Great American Seafood Cook-Off at the Morial Convention Center July 18 and 19, and will compete with chefs from other states.

McPhail said his public relations manager mentioned the contest, the Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off, as an aside. It wasn’t until the day before the cook-off, in the Superdome, that the chef created and submitted the winning recipe for Louisiana Seafood Grill.

The cook-off, held to call attention to the Louisiana seafood industry, was part of the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience.

The last-minute preparation did not shake McPhail’s confidence.

“I’m an innately competitive person, so to stand out in that sort of crowd is awesome,” McPhail said.

McPhail’s winning recipe-  grilled black drum, wild-caught shrimp and crabmeat with fresh Creole tomatoes and grilled corn with basil oil – won out over dishes created by chefs Chris Lusk and Tom Wolfe of New Orleans; Jack Jennings and Nathan Gresham of Baton Rouge; Matthew Beaudin of Lake Charles; John Salmon of Bossier City; and Minh Le of Houma.

McPhail not only made prize-winning food, but also managed to keep wine-sipping onlookers entertained.

“I love watching the Food Network, but actually being able to see  it taking place
— it is amazing,”  said one attendee, Johnette Drago from Baton Rogue.

McPhail credits his abilities to slice tomatoes at rapid speed and toss flaming corn in a skillet without batting an eye or wincing to one thing - practice.

“Working at our restaurant is kind of like practicing every day,” McPhail said.  Located in the Garden District, Commander’s Palace is known for its award-wining food and is where chef Emeril Lagasse spent the beginning of his career.

McPhail said he and his sous chef had a tight game plan, which they executed in the hour they were given to prepare, cook and present their dish to the table of six judges.

“For us it’s like a family reunion,” McPhail said. Many of the chefs know one another and were able to recognize the deep talent pool.

The 2008 Seafood King, Brian Landry, said “The spirit of it is a bunch of chefs getting together to promote local fisheries.” Last year Landry’s sautéed cobia, similar to swordfish, with Louisiana blue crab butter won him the title. He said his cobia was caught specifically for his use the day before the competition.

“I can’t cook those dishes without the people who are out there catching the fish or harvesting the oysters,” Landry said. “It’s a very symbiotic relationship.”

But with these trying economic times, another relationship dynamic has been introduced to the formula: the one between the chefs and the people who eat their food.

“You can really tell the chefs who are tuned in to what is happening with our economy,” said Tommy Simmons, contest judge and food editor at the Advocate in Baton Rogue.

McPhail said he chose to do a seafood grill with accessible products because grilling season is near and he wanted cooks to be able to replicate the dish at home with ease and without breaking the bank. But the fact that the dish was “value-oriented” did not subtract from the impression it left at the judges’ table.

“It was real Louisiana seafood – it screamed Louisiana,” said Judge Charley Goodson, owner of Charley G’s in Lafayette, La.

Goodson said he likes to spend time with each dish to pay respect to the chef.

The eight dishes presented to the judges represented cuisine from around the world: paella and gazpacho from Spain, foams used in France and hand rolls from Japan, among other worldly components. As each dish was presented, the judges spent a few moments letting the aromas waft from their food as they examined various elements on their plates.

Simmons said the caliber of cooking talent at the cook-off was impressive.

In addition to Goodson and Simmons, other judges were Lorin Gaudin, food editor at www.neworleans.com; Kendall Gensler, editor of Culinary Concierge; Anne Parr, assistant professor at the John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University; and David Slater, chef at Emeril’s Restaurant in New Orleans.

This year will be no different.

Since 1992, 11 hurricanes have battered the Louisiana coastline. And in the past few years, the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board and the Office of Homeland Security have collaborated on countless projects.

Joseph R. Becker, spokesman for the board’s General Superintendent’s Office, said that during a hurricane 300 employees usually live in the city’s 24 pumping stations, working around the clock. He also said the stations generate their own power needed to run the stations.

“We’re basically in a bowl, so water won’t drain without being pumped out,” Becker said. “Our drainage system pumps water out of the city into Lake Pontchartrain. It basically moves water from one point to the next.”

Robert Jackson, public relations director for the sewerage board, said over the next several years, New Orleans is scheduled to make more than $800 million in emergency preparedness improvements – although he didn’t go into detail.

“In the case of a flood or hurricane, our job is to make sure we have the staff and equipment necessary to pump the water out,” Jackson said. “Water is our history.”

In August 1992, Hurricane Andrew made landfall in southern Florida as a Category 5 storm, causing catastrophic damage, and hit the Louisiana coast as a Category 3 storm. Seven people died and 94 were injured across southern Louisiana.

In 2005, which broke all records with 27 named storms, including three that reached Category 5 strength, hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the Louisiana coast and outlying cities 20 days apart.

At its peak, Katrina was a Category 5 storm with winds up to 175 miles per hour, but weakened to a Category 3 before making landfall on the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29. The storm is nationally known as the natural disaster that weakened the city’s levee system, which broke in several places – although the Industrial Canal levee was punctured by a barge – and over 90 percent of New Orleans was flooded. Then Rita hit Louisiana as a Category 3 storm, re-breaching the Industrial Canal levee, causing massive reflooding of the area.

The city still hasn’t fully recovered.

“The main response activity for police, fire and medical workers is to evacuate in the event of a Category 3 or higher storm, then we do whatever else under the mayor’s direction,” said Tom Ignelzy, senior planner for the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. “But what we’ve found is that not many people have the finances to evacuate the city. It takes some money.”

That was evident on television stations nationwide in scenes of local residents who couldn’t leave the city making their way to the Superdome instead.

Despite forecasts of active hurricane seasons in 2006 and 2007, no storms made landfall in the United States.

Evacuation preparations were better in 2008 for Hurricane Gustav, the fourth-most -destructive hurricane ever to hit the United States. “Last year, for Gustav, we evacuated 20,000 people and went to 70 pickup points in the city, and put them on state-sponsored buses that took them to shelters,” Ignelzy said. “That’s the biggest project we work with.” Gustav made landfall along the Louisiana coast as a strong Category 2 hurricane, just one mile per hour below Category 3, killing 46 Louisiana residents.

Fourteen days later, Hurricane Ike made landfall. Levees overtopped in St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Terrebone, St. Mary and Jefferson parishes, and eight Louisiana residents were killed.

It is estimated the Gulf Coast sustained $27 billion in damages from Hurricane Ike.

Ignelzy said there are several areas in New Orleans that drain slower than others after a heavy rain, though this doesn’t necessarily cause flooding in those areas.

“We look at the areas that are prone to any kind of water collection activities and we try to make sure to clear those up,” Ignelzy said. “We’re confident that we have enough to withstand the storm season this year.”

Storm season officially runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, but storms can form close to those dates. In 2005 a storm named Epsilon became a hurricane two days after the hurricane season ended –  only the fifth hurricane in 120 years to form in December.

No storms have been known to have hit the United States between December and May, and this year appears to be no different, although stormy weather was expected this Memorial Day weekend. All three days of the extended weekend were forecast to have  at least a 50 percent chance of rain or higher, according to the National Weather Service.

Ignelzy said Homeland Security works closely with the National Weather Service in Slidell to keep updates on weather and possible evacuations.

“There are no tropical storms in the Gulf right now, just a non-tropical depression that rolled through Florida,” Ignelzy said. “We figure we’ll get some bans of rain over the next three days, roughly three inches. That’s nothing more than a good soaking.”

The festival, held July 3-5 at the Superdome, is packed with concerts featuring some of the biggest names in music as well as various seminars.

Organizers expect their “party with a purpose” to draw more than 270,000 attendees and add about $100 million to the local economy.

“Given the current state of our economy, we’re trying to give them the best bang for their buck,” said Dawn Baskerville, the executive editor of Essence magazine.  ”We’re always prepared for Essence Music Festival. As soon as we complete one we’re in preparation for the next year.”

Essence magazine is a main organizer (and sponsor) of the festival. Baskerville said that months of planning and logistical work goes into making each year an enjoyable event.

The Superdome will host five simultaneously playing concerts on each day of the festival. The main stage will showcase the feature acts. And other artists will be performing in four separate, smaller club rooms called super lounges. Concert-goers will have access to both the main stage and super lounges.

The festival’s main stage will feature artists such as Beyonce, John Legend, Maxwell, Anita Baker, Robin Thicke, Lionel Ritchie, and Al Green just to name a few.

Some of the artists scheduled to perform in the lounges include Keri Hilson, Solange, Eric Benet, Ryan Leslie, Raphael Saadiq and the Blind Boys of Alabama.

Along with the concerts in the Superdome, another vital component of the Music Festival is the “empowerment seminars.” These free seminars, held in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, run the duration of the festival. This year’s seminar hosts include Roland Martin, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Dr. Juanita Bynum, Bill Cosby, Steve Harvey, and the Rev. Al Sharpton.

 ”It’s a multimillion dollar project,” she said.

Mary Beth Romig, the director of communications and public relations for the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Burea, said that this year’s festival has a certain significance.

“It’s an anniversary year. We look to see as many visitors as we’ve had in the past. No matter what has happened people still come to New Orleans,” Romig said. “We certainly believe the Essence festival will have a strong attendance;, we count it as a major event. We always roll out the red carpet for this event. It gives us a good lure to draw visitors to the city.”

To promote the event, the Visitors Bureau did a lot grass-roots marketing, print advertising and plenty of outreach to journalists, Romig said.

The festival has been held in New Orleans in all but one of the last 15 years. In 2006 it was moved to Houston after Hurricane Katrina left the Superdome and much of the city in ruins.

Organizers said they were committed to bringing the festival back to New Orleans.

Bill Curl, who has been the spokesperson for the Superdome for 32 years, said he does all he can to make  the event a success.

“The people enjoy the event so much. It’s the biggest thing of the whole week. I love seeing the expressions on people’s faces,” Curl said.” It’s not a normal event. It’s a truly unique event that takes a great deal of preparation.”  

With such a busy weekend of festival related activities, the Superdome needs a big staff to keep up. The Superdome has a pool of part-time staff that works year round, but for the Essence Music Festival an additional 600 to 800 workers are brought on as ushers, ticket takers and parking lot attendants, Curl said.

 ”The festival gets more exciting every year,” Curl said. “The Superdome is a building with tremendous history, and people get that sense of history every time they come to the Superdome.

The New Orleans Police Department is also preparing for the  festivities.

“The Music Festival is like any event in the dome,” said Lt. Andre Menzies, likening it to other major events held at the Superdome, such as the Bayou Classic football game, the Sugar Bowl and Circus.

“People will know that they are safe,” Menzies said, speaking of the police department’s stepped up-efforts during festival weekend.”We’re the best at what we do.”

Baskerville called it a “guaranteed feel-good weekend.”

“We want you to party and have a good time, but we also want you to leave fulfilled,” she said. “If anything, it’s a party with a purpose. We are also uplifting each other, mind, body and spirit. It’s about connecting with your community.”

The Super Bowl is coming back to the Big Easy.

After a six-month-long process, the city of New Orleans was awarded the 2013 Super Bowl, beating out the Phoenix and South Florida competition.

It wasn’t much of a surprise, since New Orleans was the heavy favorite. Nonetheless, on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in Lafayette Square, the New Orleans Saints will hold a pep rally to celebrate. Cheerleaders, coaches, administrators, the host committee and a few players will attend.

The final vote was at the NFL owners meeting Tuesday in Tampa, Fla. At a press conference announcing the decision on Tuesday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said: “We are thrilled and excited in the
NFL to say that Super Bowl XLVII will be played in the great city of New Orleans. I think this is a great statement about the spirit and people of New Orleans, and the great relationship the Saints and the
NFL have in that community. We’re thrilled to be coming back there and look forward to being there.”

After Goodell delivered the good news, the only thing left to do was celebrate. Sam Joffray, vice president of communications for the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, which mounted the bid, said: “The bid team and community are flying really high right now and we saw this as a hat trick for the past year. We were awarded the 2012 Men’s and 2013 Women’s Final Four also. We’re extremely successful; we couldn’t ask for more.” But there is more: the game will be played in a renovated Superdome.

This is a colossal win for New Orleans, which last hosted the Super Bowl in 2002. It will be the 10th Super Bowl in the city of New Orleans, tying South Florida for the most hosted. And this will be the seventh that will be held in the Superdome; games in 1970, 1972 and 1975 were played in Tulane Stadium.

The Super Bowl is expected to bring in about $300 million.

“New Orleans provides an atmosphere that creates fantastic memories, and there is nothing like a Super Bowl to give a city the opportunity to show the world what it is capable of,” said Rita Benson LeBlanc, Saints owner and executive vice president, in a press release. “The NFL loves to come to our city for Super Bowls. And just by the way we entertain the world, there is a tremendous trickle-down effect economically – to our hotels, our restaurants, our vendors, all businesses. We will all benefit from today’s announcement.”

As part of the bid, the state legislature has pledged $85 million in upgrades and renovations for the Superdome, including additional seating, new suites and wider concourses.

The Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, which now becomes the host committee, will start collaborating with the NFL to stage the big game, scheduled for Feb. 3, 2013. Everything from volunteers, fundraising, game day operations and media relations will start now.

In the presentation to NFL owners, Steve Perry, president of the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau, said he touted the city’s advantages. “New Orleans has got some great assets, and you’ve always thought of three great assets for New Orleans as a Super Bowl City.

It’s the food, its music and nightlife, its architecture, but I’m here to tell you that the three greatest assets for New Orleans are proximity, proximity, proximity.”

The Super Bowl is coming back to the Big Easy

The Louisiana Superdome, seen here in a recent image, will host the 2013 Super Bowl in New Orleans. (Ray Tyler/New York Times Student Journalism Institute)

The Super Bowl is coming back to the Big Easy.

After a six-month-long process, the city of New Orleans was awarded the 2013 Super Bowl, beating out the Phoenix and South Florida competition.

It wasn’t much of a surprise, since New Orleans was the heavy favorite. Nonetheless, on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in Lafayette Square, the New Orleans Saints will hold a pep rally to celebrate. Cheerleaders, coaches, administrators, the host committee and a few players will attend.

The final vote was at the NFL owners meeting Tuesday in Tampa, Fla. At a press conference announcing the decision on Tuesday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said: “We are thrilled and excited in the
NFL to say that Super Bowl XLVII will be played in the great city of New Orleans. I think this is a great statement about the spirit and people of New Orleans, and the great relationship the Saints and the
NFL have in that community. We’re thrilled to be coming back there and look forward to being there.”

After Goodell delivered the good news, the only thing left to do was celebrate. Sam Joffray, vice president of communications for the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, which mounted the bid, said: “The bid team and community are flying really high right now and we saw this as a hat trick for the past year. We were awarded the 2012 Men’s and 2013 Women’s Final Four also. We’re extremely successful; we couldn’t ask for more.”But there is more: the game will be played in a renovated Superdome.

This is a colossal win for New Orleans, which last hosted the Super Bowl in 2002. It will be the 10th Super Bowl in the city of New Orleans, tying South Florida for the most hosted. And this will be the seventh that will be held in the Superdome; games in 1970, 1972 and 1975 were played in Tulane Stadium.

The Super Bowl is expected to bring in about $300 million.

“New Orleans provides an atmosphere that creates fantastic memories, and there is nothing like a Super Bowl to give a city the opportunity to show the world what it is capable of,” said Rita Benson LeBlanc, Saints owner and executive vice president, in a press release. “The NFL loves to come to our city for Super Bowls. And just by the way we entertain the world, there is a tremendous trickle-down effect economically – to our hotels, our restaurants, our vendors, all businesses. We will all benefit from today’s announcement.”

As part of the bid, the state legislature has pledged $85 million in upgrades and renovations for the Superdome, including additional seating, new suites and wider concourses.

The Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, which now becomes the host committee, will start collaborating with the NFL to stage the big game, scheduled for Feb. 3, 2013. Everything from volunteers, fundraising, game day operations and media relations will start now.

In the presentation to NFL owners, Steve Perry, president of the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau, said he touted the city’s advantages. “New Orleans has got some great assets, and you’ve always thought of three great assets for New Orleans as a Super Bowl City.

It’s the food, its music and nightlife, its architecture, but I’m here to tell you that the three greatest assets for New Orleans are proximity, proximity, proximity.”