GCA Grant Helps Restore Historical Landmark

February 17, 2022

Longue Vue House and Gardens, New Orleans, Louisiana

On August 29, 2021, Hurricane Ida struck a tremendous blow to South Louisiana, including New Orleans. Within Ida’s path of destruction was Longue Vue House and Gardens, a non-profit historic museum and educational resource for New Orleans students and residents. Ida carried sustained winds over 150 mph and hovered near New Orleans for several hours. The winds created enormous strain on Longue Vue’s living collections, causing downing trees, major limb loss, uprooted shrubs, flattened flower gardens, and a thick layer of debris across the site. 

Over 1,000,000 customers in southern Louisiana lost power, including Longue Vue, disabling irrigation systems. In the course of the storm, Longue Vue lost three significant large pine and magnolia trees, ten important native trees, and an undetermined quantity of shrubs and other plantings. Downed branches and other debris covered the property, and the historic greenhouse lost rare safety glass panes and took damage to wooden casings. 

In an effort to restore this historic national landmark, The Garden Club of America has awarded a $10,000 Restoration Initiative grant to the New Orleans Town Gardeners, Inc. The grant will provide support for the stabilization of the greenhouse, an important component of full-site recovery, enabling safe use of the greenhouse in the short term and resumption of educational and horticulture components crucial to Longue Vue’s mission of propagation, education, programs, volunteers, and tours.

The GCA established the Restoration Initiative in 2017 in response to the urgent needs caused by catastrophic storms, hurricanes, floods, fires, and mudslides to assist member clubs involved in public landscape restoration and conservation projects. Seventeen grants, totalling $170,000 have been awarded to clubs in California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, New Orleans, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia.

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