Milne Boys Home Campus Renovations

Constructed under the Works Progress Administration program from 1933 to 1937, the former Milne Boys Home is a 17 acre campus in the Gentilly neighborhood of New
Orleans. Orphanage, educational, and recreational functions were mirrored symmetrically about a central axis, epitomizing the “separate but equal” legacy of Jim Crow through architecture and site design.

In 2008 Waggonner & Ball developed a Comprehensive Damage Report to assess FEMA funding for the Hurricane Katrina-damaged buildings. Three original classical masonry buildings–the center Administration Building and the North and South Residential Cottages–
were restored. The former Administration Building is now the headquarters for the New Orleans Recreational Department Commission.

The project also included renovations to the circa 1962 mid-century modern gymnasium, designed with two separate spaces segregated by race. After renovations, a new entrance lobby reconnects all functions. Renovations include seven classrooms, a fitness center, an activity room, locker room, toilet facilities, and on-site green infrastructure with parking areas and adjacent bioswales that slow, hold, and clean stormwater runoff to alleviate flooding.

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