[StBernard] Arabi's Maumus building to get new life as science center, Katrina museum

[Westley Annis]

Arabi's Maumus building to get new life as science center, Katrina museum
By Bob Warren, The Times-Picayune 
December 07, 2009, 5:17AM

The iconic Maumus building in Arabi, empty and unused since being flooded
during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, will see new life under an ambitious plan
by the St. Bernard Parish School Board to turn the building into a science
center, planetarium and small-scale Katrina museum.

The building at Friscoville Avenue and Royal Street, which dates to 1929 and
was the site of the parish's first high school. In 1932 Joseph Maumus High
graduated nine seniors, a first for the parish.

At various times, the building has housed a high school, grammar school and
a community and arts center. It hasn't been used as a school since 1999 when
Arabi Elementary, which it was called at the time, moved to a new location.
It later took the name Maumus Center and hosted numerous productions and
programs in its old-style theater.

But while the school district's plans for the site are ambitious, the
transformation won't come cheaply: Schools Superintendent Doris Voitier said
the project will cost at least $15 million. 

The School Board recently enlisted the architectural firm Waggoner and Ball
for preliminary design work. Voitier said the firm was chosen because of its
experience working with old, historic buildings in educational settings. She
said the district also wants to involve the Old Arabi Association in the
planning phase.

A completion date is uncertain at this stage, Voitier said. She said the
district has cobbled together insurance proceeds, money from the Federal
Emergency Management Agency and Community Development Block Grants that
should cover the cost.

Voitier attributed the cost to the complicated scope of the project: fitting
a technology-intensive planetarium and interactive science center into a
historic site. 

But, she said, it will be worth it.





"We think this is going to be a wonderful project,'' she said. "It's going
to be extremely attractive, not only for our children in St. Bernard but to
children from all over.''

Voitier said the museum will be a much smaller component of the project than
the science center and planetarium, but will be "child-centered'' and
concentrate on telling the story of the school district's recovery. "It'll
tell our story,'' she said.

Parish government officials also have talked in recent years about creating
a Hurricane Katrina musuem. 

"It's a seminal event in our country's history and we're ground zero,'' said
St. Bernard Parish Councilman Mike Ginart, who last week brought the
discussion back before the council. "We need to preserve history; there are
so many photos and first-hand accounts.''

Ginart said a Katrina museum would fit nicely with two other tourist stops
in the parish: Chalmette Battlefield and the Isleno museum complex in St.
Bernard community. "There's a lot we could do with it,'' he said. "We're
hoping to generate some interest.''

Voitier said she thinks the school district's plans will mesh nicely with
whatever the parish does.

The Maumus school, built for approximately $52,000, was originally named for
Joseph Maumus, a prominent parish businessman. Like the surrounding
community, the brick, two-story building was swamped with several feet of
dirty water after the levees failed during Katrina in August 2005. Since
then it has been used mostly as storage by the school district.

"I love this old building,'' Dennis Juneau, a school district
air-conditioning maintenance worker, said during a recent walk through the
quiet hallways. "You could really do a lot with this place.'' 

During the walk-through, Juneau, who lived in Chalmette until Katrina
flooded his home, pointed out the building's wooden floors, still sturdy
walls and light-filled rooms. Walking through the building's entrance and
into the theater, Juneau recalled sitting through productions there with his
wife.

"We came here a few times,'' he said. "It was really nice.''

"I'm glad the district's got big plans,'' Juneau said, securing the building
after the walk-through. "This building is too nice to not do anything.''



Bob Warren can be reached at bwarren at timespicayune.com or 504.826.3363