Saturday, January 31, 2009

Abandon Not Hope, Ye Who Enter Here

Hope no longer need be abandoned as one walks through these gates. Armstrong Park, along with hope itself (at least in this one instance), has been restored. Its centerpiece, The Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts, recently reopened since Katrina filled her seats with 14 feet of water back in 2005. While Mahalia glows amongst the lagoons and foot-bridges--and boasts performers like Placido Domingo--her co-occupant of Armstrong, the Municipal Auditorium, still sits in ruins. Although the Auditorium's future is uncertain, the majestic Saenger Theater on Canal Street has some tentative plans to be reopened by 2011.