REDEDICATION CEREMONY

Press Invited

 

Contact:

Anne Rheams

Deputy Director/

New Canal Lighthouse Keeper

504- 836-2236 office

504-400-5287  cell

anne@saveourlake.org

 

New Canal Lighthouse

Historic Marker Lost after Katrina

Found

 

Before Katrina, the New Canal Lighthouse had been on the National Register of Historic Places.  The building, built in 1890, had long been the beacon that guided mariners along Lake Pontchartrain’s south shore.  Katrina demolished the structure and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation has been tirelessly working to rebuild it as a museum and education center. 

 

Soon after Katrina, the bronze plaque that designated the lighthouse as historic came up missing.  Had it been washed away by Katrina?  No one knew.  Recently, Michael Liebaert, an avid sailor was looking in the "collectibles" section of Craig's List and saw the plaque advertised for $1,000. Mr. Liebaert explains, “I contacted the seller and also contacted a Captain friend at NOPD and asked them to check it out as possibly stolen. The seller said they found it after Hurricane Katrina about two blocks from the lighthouse, so NOPD would not take action. I persuaded the seller down to $800 and asked the Azby Fund Board of Directors for authorization to buy the plaque, which they didn't hesitate to approve.”  Liebaert is managing director of the Azby Fund. Carlton Dufrechou, Executive Director of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation says, “We got a call from Michael that he had retrieved the plaque.  We were elated and decided to re-dedicate it to the Lighthouse and our partners the US Coast Guard.”

 

The rededication event will take place this Wednesday, July 15th at 10:30 am at the New Canal Lighthouse, along Lakeshore Drive in New Orleans, next to Landry’s Seafood House.

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Links to additional info follow:

 

http://www.crt.state.la.us/hp/nhl/search_results.asp?search_type=historicname&value=New+Canal+Lighthouse&pageno=1

 

http://www.saveourlake.org/lighthouse.htm