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Rosa F. Keller Library and Community Center

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1917; 1993 addition; 2012 addition, Eskew+Dumez+Ripple. 4300 S. Broad Ave.
  • (Photograph by Karen Kingsley)
  • (Photograph by Karen Kingsley)

In 1993, the City of New Orleans acquired this 1917 Craftsman house, adapted it for use as a branch library for the Broadmoor neighborhood, and built an addition that was used as a reading room. The library, which was named for civil rights pioneer Rosa Freeman Keller, was flooded during Hurricane Katrina. Subsequently, the house was rehabilitated to serve as a community center, and a new 6,300-square-foot structure, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recovery program, now accommodates the library, with the two buildings connected by an enclosed glass hallway. Landscaping includes a tree-lined plaza behind the building and a grassy field for children to play. Stormwater management is dramatized in the project, reflecting the recognition of its importance after Katrina in this low-lying area.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Karen Kingsley and Lake Douglas
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Data

What's Nearby

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Citation

Karen Kingsley and Lake Douglas, "Rosa F. Keller Library and Community Center", [New Orleans, Louisiana], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/LA-02-OR193.

Print Source

buildings of new orleans book

Buildings of New Orleans, Karen Kingsley and Lake Douglas. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2018, 225-226.

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