A view of downtown New Orleans across the Mississippi River from the rooftop. Although plans are in place, like many other sites, the naval complex remains abandoned. Other proposals for the naval complex have included creating a film and educational complex in a joint venture with the city of New Orleans. Targets were placed throughout one floor of the complex used for SWAT training. The proposal could have a $300 million impact on the region. Terry Ebbert and businessman Bill Ryan, to redevelop the naval complex into a “resiliency center.” The center would manage regional disasters, a cruise ship terminal, lodging, and amenities such as grocery and retail stores. In 2016, the city of New Orleans selected a former New Orleans homeland security chief, Col. The naval complex was used for multiple training sessions and support, not just for the US Navy, but also for other federal agencies. The shuttered base appears to be empty and forgotten these days with knee high weeds and a graffiti covered exterior. After vacating the site in 2011, the Navy posted a small security detail staff with a caretaker who ensures the property is secured and maintained. The Marine Corps Reserve headquarters was moved to the neighboring Algiers complex. The NFPAMA manages Orleans Marina, South Shore Harbor Marina, New Orleans Lakefront Airport (NOLA), the Lake Vista Community Center (LVCC) and land leases along the New Basin Canal (NBC), as well. This resulted in the Navy moving its headquarters to Virginia and its personnel functions to Tennessee. The first meeting of the Board was held on Octoand since that time, the Management Authority has overseen the resurgence of the Lakefront. In May 2005, the Defense Department decided to close the Naval Support Activity during a Base Realignment and Closure Round, or BRAC. Edward Hebert Defense Complex, after the New Orleans Congressman who served a stint as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. In the early 1970s, the naval complex was renamed the F. The site overlooks the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Industrial Canal. The administrative base tenants included the national headquarters for the Navy Reserve and Marine Corps Reserve. It would be able to be mobilized in 5 days notice. Cape Knox remains docked behind the naval complex in a ready reserve status. The Army transferred ownership to the Navy, and along with the neighboring Algiers base on the West Bank, the site became the Naval Support Activity (NSA New Orleans) in 1966. As World War II began, the lease was canceled and the naval complex reverted back to complete use by the military as the New Orleans Port of Embarkation.īetween 19, the naval complex progressed from a U.S. The New Orleans transient camp closed in March 1936, after being open for two years. They trained, sheltered, and worked almost 25,000 New Orleans residents that lost their homes during the Great Depression. The men were pulled off the streets and given a role in the Navy as soldiers.ĭuring the 1930s, there were only three such centers in existence in the United States. The Louisiana Emergency Relief Administration, later the WPA, opened the naval complex as a transient camp a year after the complex was placed in maintenance status. The naval complex was in full operation until June 1933, when it was placed in a maintenance status by the U.S. The massive site spreads over both sides of the Mississippi River, making it the largest in New Orleans. The Bywater facility on Poland Avenue was home to nearly 3900 active-duty and 2,700 civilian personnel. While in operation, the naval complex had extensive recreational facilities, 1,800 parking spaces, 1 million square feet of air-conditioned office space and a parade ground. Army originally built the 1.5 million square foot logistics center for the U.S. “Every second I was in there I was about to kill it, let’s get out of here, but we just kept going further and further until we eventually saw everything,” says Kennedy.Naval Support Activity (NSA New Orleans) is a massive complex of three, six-story buildings that tower over the East Bank of the Mississippi River. The shelter was used during Hurricane Betsy in 1965 and since then has been abandoned for almost 40 years. He says the Office of Civil Defense built the shelter in the 1960s during the height of the Cold War. “They built this underground to hold almost 300 people, and the idea was you could take shelter there if you had enough warning, survive a bomb blast and actually run New Orleans from this shelter,” says University of New Orleans history department chair Robert Dupont.ĭupont calls the Lakeview bomb shelter a “reflection of the times.” But old photographs from city archives paint a much different picture. The twists and turns in Kennedy’s video showcase an underground world far removed from our own. “We thought other people might want to see this, so that’s why we recorded it,” says Kennedy. LAKEVIEW (WGNO) – New Orleans adventurer Mike Kennedy and his two friends explored the abandoned bomb shelter in Lakeview back in 2006. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated.
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