In January 2015, OffBeat published a story by David Kunian about how many of the landmarks that mark this city as the birthplace of jazz have either been destroyed or are languishing in disrepair.

He mentioned the Eagle Saloon (401 S. Rampart); the Iroquois Theatre (413-15 S. Rampart); and the old Karnofsky store at 427 S. Rampart (the Karnofskys took care of Louis Armstrong as a child and teenager).

Kunian quoted a May 2011 Times-Picayune article quoting John Haase, curator of American Music at the Smithsonian Institution: “There is probably no other block in America with buildings bearing so much significance to the history of our country’s great art form, jazz.”

The properties are sited on a city block that’s owned by the Meraux Foundation, a family foundation set up to benefit activities in St. Bernard Parish.

Preservationists have been talking about saving these buildings for years, but nothing has happened. In fact, the three historic properties have almost fallen into ruins.

The properties were supposed to have been rebuilt and preserved years ago when Arlene Meraux entrusted their care to Jerome “PopaGee” Johnson via the non-profit New Orleans Music Hall of Fame (NOMHF); he received substantial dollars in block grants to restore the properties. But Johnson died without ever having accomplished any preservation or development efforts. On his deathbed, he appointed Arlene Meraux’s niece, Rita Gue, and her husband Floyd to the board of NOMHF to keep the project alive. But the restoration money was gone (where?). The buildings were designated as historic landmarks in 2009, and the Historic District Landmarks Commission cited them for “demolition by neglect” in 2010. The Meraux Foundation claimed that they were going to sell the buildings, but nothing happened. And so this South Rampart historic “jazz block” has sat for years, letting our jazz heritage slowly be erased.

But recently, impediments—including title issues, and finding a developer and contractor for the properties—have been remedied; there is an active effort to restore the properties, with the Eagle Saloon being the major focus, according to Mike Sherman, an attorney who serves on the board of NOMHF. Remedying crucial construction elements, like a bad roof and other stabilization work, has been started with monies from the Gues, and with the assistance of BringBackEagleSaloon.com, a crowd-funding effort that highlights why the Saloon should be restored, and to also establish music programming in the property.

Jazz historian, writer and photographer John McCusker perceives the current renovation effort as too little, too late, and believes that the Meraux Foundation and city should be held accountable for the deterioration of the historic buildings. He recently wrote an opinion piece for the investigative website, The Lens, and is convinced that the current activity is nothing but a stall tactic so that the properties can be demolished, giving the Meraux Foundation a reason to redevelop the block without having to be responsible for restoring the properties. McCusker asserts the dollars needed to renovate the Saloon are not likely to come from crowd-funding, leaving the renovation in limbo once again.

A cynical opinion, yes, but the neglect of South Rampart might elicit that reaction from anyone who’s been concerned about preserving our musical culture, especially as it relates to jazz. That it hasn’t happened over decades of announcements and hope that never came to fruition would certainly lead to skepticism.

But I would have to support any effort that demonstrates a real action to preserve and restore South Rampart. Just getting the concept out to the general public—rather than just to preservationists and music people—and convincing the general public that it is their civic duty to support our heritage is a great way to actually make it happen. How can you help but applaud that idea?