Makin' Groceries in New Orleans

1875 St. Roch Market

Home
The Public Markets
1700s
1800s - 1830s
1840s
1850s
1860s
1870s
1880s
1890s
1900s
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
Odds & Ends
Photo Gallery
Site Map
Site Search

MakinGroceries/StRochMap.gif



St. Roch Market at  2381 St. Claude Avenue (at St. Roch) was open selling fresh seafod until Hurricane Katrina. 

In  1903 it was valued at $2000

By the 1930s, the building was in disrepair and cited for demolition by the city (who owned it) but area residents protested vehamently.  So, in 1932 San Stone Jr. & Co. was commissioned to renovate the market (see below an image of his rendering) with full enclusures, refrigeration, and plumbing (which it had lacked).  Stone & Co. also planned work on the building from 1937 through 1939.

The market was turned over to private ownership and for many years housed Lama's seafood market.  Until Hurricane Katrina flooding it was operated by a family of Chinese immigrants who used a portion of it as a restaurant.  Flooding caused structural damage and the building has not been occupied since (see http://theneworleansblightblog.wordpress.com/).

The photo below is from the New Orleans Public Library which captioned it "The interior of the St. Roch Market, 2381 St. Claude, before improvements made by the WPA in 1937. In 1935, there were 19 public markets in New Orleans, the St. Roch among them. That year, the city considered closing the deteriorating building, but a petition by residents of the neighborhood argued that the market was "an absolute necessity." Instead, the city secured the help of the WPA to renovate the St. Roch Market and five other public markets. WPA workers replaced open stalls with refrigerated units, added protective glass to shield fish and fresh meat, installed new plumbing and concrete floors, and separated the fish and vegetable markets. Ten years later, however, the St. Roch Market was declassified as a public market and leased to a private owner. The market survives to this day on the St. Roch Avenue neutral ground at St. Claude".  [Louisiana Photograph Collection. WPA Collection}

Photos at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:St._Roch_Market,_New_Orleans

MakinGroceries/StRoch1930sInterior.jpg

MakinGroceries/StRochSamStone.gif

The following photographs and captions are from the New Orleans Public Library:

MakinGroceries/StRoch8.jpg

Demolishing of rear portion of the St. Roch Market (St. Roch and St. Claude Avenues), preparatory to modernizing the building. This market was one of four repaired. Two other markets were co nstructed under the program.

MakinGroceries/StRoch8.jpg

The St. Roch Market (St. Roch and St. Claude Avenues) before WPA repairs and modernization.

MakinGroceries/StRoch8.jpg

MakinGroceries/StRoch8.jpg

1938 - The St. Roch Market (St. Roch and St. Claude Avenues), more than 100 years old, which has been completely reconditioned and is now in use.

MakinGroceries/StRoch8.jpg

MakinGroceries/StRoch8.jpg

Sponsored Links

Unless otherwise noted, the photographs on this website are from the Louisiana Digital Library.

Contact the Webmaster