Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
in the 1960s when roof leaks, falling plaster, and buckling floors forced it to
close. Because the city was building a new, more modern library in another
part of Algiers about 4 miles away, officials decided to shut down the Algiers
Point branch, much to the disappointment of neighborhood residents. It re-
opened in 1975 following a grassroots campaign led by resident and activist
Cita Dennis Hubbell, who cited the building's architecture, history, and
neighborhood convenience as reasons to save it. Hubbell had such an impact
on the library's survival that it was renamed in her memory after she died in
2002.
Although the building escaped serious damage after Hurricane Katrina—it
reopened after a couple of months—structural problems predating the storm
shut it down again in 2008. The library operated out of a temporary branch
at the Carriage House behind the Algiers Courthouse, where it remained un-
til July 2013, when a repaired Hubbell Library reopened for the third time.
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Walk to the corner of Pelican and Belleville Street, where you'll see Belleville
Assisted Living, a retirement community built on the site of the old Belleville
School, which dates back to 1895. Turn right on Belleville, walk one block to
Alix Street, turn right, and walk one block to Vallette Street.
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Turn left on Vallette Street and walk one block to the Rosetree Blown Glass
Studio and Gallery, at the corner of Vallette and Eliza Streets. Housed in the
old Algy Theater, which has maintained its Art Deco look, the studio creates
exquisite works of art—from perfume bottles to vases—using traditional
glassblowing techniques. The gallery offers a viewing window where visitors
can watch the artists at work.
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Turn right and walk two blocks on Eliza Street to Verret Street, past Trinity
Lutheran Church on your right. Dating back to the mid-1870s, the church
was organized by a group of German families in Algiers. The congregation's
first house of worship was dedicated in 1876, the current Gothic/Colonial
Revival-style church in 1911.
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Turn right on Verret Street and walk one block to Alix Street, passing
McDonogh Park—also known as the Bermuda Triangle because it's bounded
by Bermuda, Verret, and Alix Streets—on your left. In April 2013, the park
received a long-awaited makeover, with volunteers painting signs, building
wooden benches, and installing a new baseball diamond. The green space is
also home to the Algiers War Memorial.
