New Orleans, Louisiana: Lighthouse Building

I was on a bus tour for part of the city on Feb. 14th, 2013 and the building has a "For Lease" sign up in the window.

This lighthouse was added to the existing structure in 1924 by the Lighthouse For The Blind as a thematic symbol, and served as their headquarters until 1948, when the group moved to another location. Since that time, the building has served various businesses, and presently houses the Lighthouse Glass art gallery. This distinctive building commands the block it is located on, and can be seen from several high-rise hotels in the area.

The lighthouse building was modeled loosely after the well-known Milneburg lighthouse built in the 1830s and also known as the Port Pontchartrain Lighthouse.

Milneburg was an early resort settlement established near New Orleans by wealthy businessman Alexander Milne who also constructed a railroad to bring residents from the French Quarter to cool off there during the hot summers. The first artificial port on the lake, Port Pontchartrain, along with the lighthouse were constructed at Milneburg. From 1939 to 1984 the area housed the popular Pontchartrain Beach Amusement Park with the lighthouse used for office space. By 1991 the area was converted into the University of New Orleans campus (UNO) and today the old lighthouse can be seen near the University of New Orleans Research and Technology Park at Elysian Fields Ave and Lake Shore Drive.