Fourth Jacob Haight and Mary Meek Morrison Memorial Lecture

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The Vieux Carré Property Owners, Residents & Associates, Inc., The Historic New Orleans Collection, and Friends of the Vieux Carré Commission announce the presentation of the fourth Jacob Haight and Mary Meek Morrison Lecture. Delivering the lecture is Gregory B. Free, restoration-preservation specialist and designer from Austin, Texas. Titled “American Gulf: An Architectural Story,” the illustrated presentation will be held at 6 p.m. on Sunday, March 2nd. The location is the Williams Research Center of The Historic New Orleans Collection, 410 Chartres Street.

According to Free, the presentation “focuses on the many connections across the 1500-2000 mile stretch of the Gulf of Mexico, from Key West, Florida to Brownsville, Texas and even beyond to Veracruz, Mexico, that produced a varied, but amazingly cohesive new architecture in the colonial world. Here is a strong case to be made for an alternative or "creole-centric" study of American architecture--beginning south of our border and traveling north--as opposed to the standard Anglo-centric canon. The mixture of so many cultures in one relatively concentrated area resulted in unique architectural forms. Just like the variety of foods from this culturally vital region, the architectural "gumbo" of the Gulf Coast tells many stories.” The presentation will highlight new discoveries that show New Orleans' and Louisiana's influence was even greater than previously known.

The Jacob and Mary Morrison Memorial Lecture addresses topics in historic preservation. The Morrisons were longtime residents of the Vieux Carré and ardent and tireless advocates for its preservation. Beginning in the 1930s and for decades following, the couple was in the vanguard of advancing preservation legislation and raising public awareness of issues in historic preservation. Previous Morrision lecturers are Pratt Cassity, Jr. (2002), Ed McMahon (2003), and Anthony M. Tung (2006).

More about the speaker, Gregory Free

Gregory Free is a restoration-preservation specialist and designer in private practice in Austin, Texas. Prior to the establishment of his firm in 1983, he served as Executive Director of the Texas Historical Foundation, the statewide non-profit organization for historic preservation. A native of the Deep South, he was Restoration-Preservation Specialist for the State of Mississippi for many years, directing the restoration of the Mississippi State Capitol (1903) in Jackson, and the Manship House (1857), a state house museum, both of which were awarded national recognition, as well as dozens of projects in Natchez, Meridian, Jackson, and the Gulf Coast.

Current and recent projects in Texas include the Waterloo Compound (1850s-1880s), Mayfield Park House and Gardens (1870-1920), the Bell House (1859), all in Austin; the Palace Theatre (1936), in Georgetown, the Elgin Union Depot (1903), the “City by the Sea Museum” (1910) in Palacios, the Lyric Theatre, (1914), Coggin Academy (1876) and Mims Auditorium all in Brownwood, and the Stillman House (1851) in Brownsville.. One of his most memorable Gulf Coast projects was the transporting and conservation of Walter Anderson’s “Little Room” to his namesake Museum in Ocean Springs, MS. He is currently consulting on the conservation of the Walter Anderson Community Center murals, which depict the history of the Gulf Coast.

Mr. Free received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in American History from the University of Alabama, and his Masters of Science Degree in Historic Preservation from the Graduate School of Architecture and Planning, Columbia University, New York City. In addition, he studied architectural history, preservation, and decorative arts at the Attingham Summer School, Shropshire, England. He was selected as President of the Heritage Society of Austin, for the millennium years, and serves on the Board of Directors of Texas Folklife Resources. He is a recipient of a research grant from the Samuel Kress Foundation for his current work on architecture along the American Gulf.

http://www.vcpora.org/article.php?story=20080221083042980