The German-American Cultural Center (GACC) museum in Gretna recently opened its doors and welcomed two special guests, the German consul general from Houston and the honorary consul based here in New Orleans.
On Dec. 17, during his visit to southeast Louisiana, Consul General Thomas H. Meister stopped in Gretna. Meister, whose office is in Houston, covers the states of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico for the German government.
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Established to honor the German immigrants who founded Gretna, Louisiana, in 1836, the German-American Cultural Center has a free museum with historic photographs of Gretna and McDonoghville as well as educational displays about the German founders and their way of life.
The center’s building, at 519 Huey P. Long Avenue in Gretna, celebrates those German roots with large, colorful exterior murals that were painted by famed muralist, Robert Dafford of Lafayette, Louisiana.
Built in 1911 and part of Gretna’s National Historic District, the building originally was a primary school. Its history also includes serving as a hospital during the Spanish flu epidemic in 1918, a welding school that trained both men and women during World War II and as headquarters of the Jefferson Parish School Board.
The GACC has occupied the building for 21 years with its museum, a large room for meetings with members of the Friends of the GACC, and a genealogy research room that is also open to the public.
The center is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday. Visitors must use face coverings and practice social distancing during this time.
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