Gretna gears up to save the post office, again

For nearly 70 years, the people in Gretna, Louisiana, did their postal business at a beautiful post office built in 1936. It had a New Deal mural entitled “Steamboats on the Mississippi,” painted by Stuart R. Purser in 1939.

In 2003 the Postal Service announced that it wanted to close the post office and sell the building. The city of Gretna responded. It bought the historic building (which is now being renovated), and offered to convert an old train depot, just a block away, into a post office. According to nola.com, renovations of the station were done using $100,000 in city and state money. Then the city gave the Postal Service a sweet deal — $11,000 a year for the 900-square-foot space.

11. Gretna Cultural Center for the Arts

The Cultural Center, once the Gretna Post Office on Huey P. Long Avenue and 4th Street is a handsome example of Depression-era architecture. It was constructed in 1936, after its relocation from an old building at 619 2nd Street.

The U.S. Post Office Department renovated and extended the building in 1963, making it more than twice its original size. It served the community until 2003, when the United States Postal Service closed the office and planned to sell the building. In anticipation of preserving and restoring the building as a historic landmark, the City Council approved the purchase by the City of Gretna on October 10, 2006 with financial assistance provided by Jefferson Parish.

Exterior restoration was completed in 2008 and all interior renovations needed to convert the building into a cultural center were finished in 2016. In its renovation, the building was configured as a black box theater, which is a simple performance space that varies in size with black walls and a flat floor. The simplicity of the space is used to create a flexible stage and audience interaction. The black box is a relatively recent innovation in theatre.  The Gretna Cultural Center for the Arts, with a capacity of 60-75 seated or 125 for a reception includes a warming kitchen for catering ease and backstage dressing rooms. The lobby is beautifully appointed with painted canvases of Gretna landmarks and period wall coverings.

The center is available for rent as a special event venue and as a theater for live performances. Call 504.363.1552 for rental information.