Newsletter

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Déjà Vu right here in the 'hood:

There are some very happy folks around Magazine and Felicity these days. After staring at the derelict building on the downtown-river corner of Magazine and Richard (1578) for the past 25 years, there is a renaissance taking place.

Jane Murdoch, daughter of Kate Briggs whom Jawn has known forever in Coliseum Square circles, has undertaken this huge project. Jane is no neophyte when it comes to historic renovation, having done the Bridge Lounge, an upscale drinking emporium in the 1200 block of Magazine and the building housing a new "Sweet Shop" at the corner of Magazine and Terpsichore. This latter project she did so that she and other moms with kids at the International School of Louisiana (formerly Andrew Jackson School) would have a place to hang out.

Seeing the building spring back to life caused Jawn to have a flashback, a déjà vu Magazine Street style if you will. Flashback to the Summer of 1964. Jawn, a teenager with a full head of hair, had just finished his first year of college. He and his grade school/high school friend, David Pointer (not the Uptown David Pointer many of you know but his distant cousin), decided on a late Summer outing before returning to the books. The total dudes took off in David's Austin Healy convertible and headed first to Dauphin Island and then to New Orleans.

Roaring into the French Quarter they decided to pay what was then considered an extravagant rate of $14 per night to stay at the Maison de Ville on Toulouse Street.

Like so many visitors to be encountered at the flower shop decades later, the dudes heard that Magazine Street was the funky place to shop, so they headed toward Uptown in the August heat. They were young back then, but even so it was quite a hike. Arriving at Magazine and Richard, the first sign of commercial activity they saw after coming through some truly sketchy areas, they encountered a Mr. Sanchez, the same guy who would later have the somewhat questionable auction house/antique store in the old Woolsworth building near Napoleon Avenue.

1578 Magazine wasn't really a retail operation, but Sanchez was there dipping shutters and doors. "They got this idea of doing over the old houses," he explained. "So I just dip these things and they are ready to go again."

The dudes had spent their energy by this point. They went another hundred feet or so to the building now occupied by The Cat Practice. There they found a totally eccentric guy with some antiques of dubious value. With that the guys decided it was time to call a cab and head back to the Quarter.

Since it was in its sleazy, barroom mode, 1601 Magazine didn't really register in Jawn's mind then. It would be 20 years later, 1984, when he would return to a greatly changed building and neighborhood.

There's not much more known about the 1578 Magazine building. From folks who have roots in the area we have heard that it was the neighborhood drugstore for much of its existence.

During the time the flower shop has been its neighbor there have been two shaky occupants. Ten or so years ago there was a hit or miss cosmetic makeover so that a chiropractic clinic could inhabit the space. It turned out that it was a Medicaid scam with 30 or 40 neighborhood kids "treated" every 15 minutes. Eventually someone "blew the whistle," television news crews appeared, and the clinic was no more.

After another vacant period a guy named Vic from Lakeview bought the building. After an initial burst of energy, his renovation stalled, and the building languished again for a period of years. Supposedly the building was a retail outlet for Mexican wrought iron designs Vic imported for sale. Never was a customer spotted to our knowledge, even during the final clearance sale.

So, now the neighborhood waits to see what new incarnation will take place. Jane is sure to upgrade the property significantly, though anything would be a big step forward.

Care and Handling of........ Star of Bethlehem!

Origins
Although nearly 150 ornithogalum species are known, fewer than five are regularly used as cut flowers. The flower's common name, Star of Bethlehem, is often applied to three of these blooms, despite their distinct differences. Ornithogalum thyrsoides, also commonly called chincerinchee, has dense, many-flowered blooms of white to creamy-white and is the flower sometimes associated with the Christmas holidays. Oumbellatum sports 30 or fewer glistening white flowers atop an open, flat-topped cluster, while Oarabicum features pearly up-facing flowers with a prominent shining black ovary on short, compact, pyramid-shaped racemes. The fourth species commonly used as a cut flower is Osaundersiae, which is similar to Oarabicum in that it features a decorative, beadlike ovary at the flower's center.

These bulbous, perennial herbs are natives of Africa, Europe and west Asia, and derive their name from the Greek words ornis, meaning "bird," and gala, meaning "milk." Although the name appears to reference the flowers' milky-white colors, its specific application is unknown.

Availability and Vase Life
Year round.
1-2 weeks.

Design Uses
Make attractive line-flower elements in a variety of designs. They continue to grow after the cut, so leave room in the arrangement to accommodate.

A few things we've been doing lately......

As the year approaches it's close, we'd like to thank all of our old friends and welcome our new ones.

It's been a topsy turvey year with the economy. We've held on, with your help, and we look forward to many, many more years of flowers and friends.

We're staying optimistic, how could you not, what with the Saints heading toward the Super Bowl and all!!

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Copyright © 2009 Harkins Florist

07/01/2010