Fort Pike, 27100 Chef Menteur Highway, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, LA

2014 Charles E. Peterson Prize, Second Place

Significance: Fort Pike was the first of the Third System Fortifications. Considered part of the "Monroe forts of the 1st class," the fort was one of the many forts planned by President James Monroe in order to defend the United States' great cities and vulnerable waterways that led into the interior of the nation. Fort Pike and its sister fort, Fort McComb, were the first permanent American structures reflecting a defensive position on land and water defense. Strategically placed near the site of old Fort Petite Coquilles to guard the passage known as The Rigolets, Fort Pike lies on a peninsula between Lakes Borgne and Pontchartrain. Both lakes provide access to the city of New Orleans and openings into the Mississippi River. With this sensitive location, Fort Pike was responsible for the protection of a major port city and our Nation's interior. When first constructed, the fort was separated from The Rigolets by a narrow strip of land between the inner and outer moat. Today this narrow strip no longer exists leaving the main part of the fort exposed to wave action from The Rigolets, which in turn is accelerating the deterioration of the fort (Castille, 1-3). Within the last 140 years, the shoreline along The Rigolets has receded as much as 500 feet in some locations, and as much as 200 feet in the vicinity of Fort Pike (Groene).

The significance of HABS documentation of Fort Pike is threefold: its architectural significance to military fortifications, its historical significance to coastal fortifications, and finally, its perilous condition within the coastal eco-system of Louisiana. If the present predictions regarding coastal land loss and global climate change hold true, Fort Pike is at risk, at a minimum, of being more severely damaged and at a maximum, completely destroyed and erased. Some professionals have already begun to take action in the preservation efforts towards Fort Pike. John Milner Associates, a team of architects and archeologists based out of Alexandria, Virginia, provided designs for the fort and its site. Most significantly the team designed wooden structures that sit in the corner casemates of the fort and work to stabilize the structure in the event of further structural deterioration.

The HABS documentation would create a permanent archive of the structure and would contribute to the legacy and record of Louisiana's coastal built environment and the United States' system of coastal defense fortifications.

Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N2095

Survey number: HABS LA-204

Building/structure dates: 1819-1826 Initial Construction

Building/structure dates: after. 1840- before. 1849 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: after. 1850- before. 1855 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1868-1869 Subsequent Work

National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 72000557

forts and fortifications moats casemates citadels terrepleins military facilities war military indian conflicts war civil war state parks and reserves prisoners of war african americans indians of north america ironwork barrel vaults louisiana kathleen autilio james bennett simon bernard lindsay boley james canales william h chase nathaniel frank james gadsden historic american buildings survey alyce howe john milner associates ethan jordan ursula emery mcclure kossen miller peter morte james f osborne jim osborne monica perez zebulon montgomery pike landon pugh reagan rispone mark schara karl schmidt joseph gilbert totten us army corps of engineers chef menteur highway new orleans orleans parish fort pike jail prison architectural diagrams floor layout architectural plan library of congress building plans national register of historic places

1933 - 1970

Library of Congress

https://www.loc.gov/

No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html