Corner Businesses in New Orleans and the Naïve Commercial Art of Lester Carey
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Transcript of Corner Businesses in New Orleans and the Naïve Commercial Art of Lester Carey
Corner Businesses in New Orleans and the Naïve Commercial Art of Lester Carey
Anthony DelRosario
Preservation Technology
Professor Heather Knight
Master in Preservation Studies
Tulane School of Architecture
1 PRST 6720 - Preservation Technology – Professor Heather Knight – April 24, 20009
Anthony DelRosario – Masters of Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture
Introduction: Comfort in Decay
Looking at New Orleans after the levee failures after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 is
similar to rolling over a fallen tree that has been decaying. One sees countless things
that were previously hidden from view – things that some believe beautiful while others
may find ugly. These could be a house covered in cat’s claws vines (Figure 1), an
abandoned business with weathered signs (Figure 2), or a burned out car with graffiti
(Figure 3). I am in the group of those that see the unfortunate beauty in the destruction
around us in New Orleans.
For many months after my return to the post-disaster city, I was in a funk from a
five year relationship that ended as a Katrina casualty. I rode my bicycle to and from
work along St. Charles Avenue in pensive reflection. After a few months, I was
introduced to Flickr by a friend, Christopher Kirsch, who had been riding his scooter
around the Ninth Ward taking photographs of po-boy sandwiches on the many corner
buildings that served as the neighborhood store. Seeing his photographs and his nudge
to join Flickr helped knock me out of my post-Katrina funk. He also invited me to join
him in an art project of painting smashed cans to attach to telephone poles around the
city which he called the Can Project.
Fig. 1. covered house in Central City Fig. 2. Leroy’s Place in Gert Town Fig. 3. abandoned car in St. Claude
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These new artistic endeavors were the spark to jump-start a creative therapy to
kick me out of my doldrums. Instead of taking the usual route of St. Charles Avenue
from the Lower Garden District to Tulane University and back, I began to experiment
with my course. For a while, the new route was still near St. Charles – Carondelet,
Baronne, and Dryades. Eventually I found my way further and further into Central City –
into many neighborhoods that I had not been. My new muse of capturing the
unfortunate sights of the flooded neighborhoods led me to places that I would never
have ridden my bicycle before the storm. I now biked through the deserted C. J. Peete
Housing Projects, also known as the Magnolia Projects. There I found interesting
murals (Figures 6 & 7), decaying reminders of residents (Figure 4), and hidden street art
(Figure 5).
Throughout Central City, I also discovered many abandoned commercial
buildings, including many corner stores that had pictures and lettering similar to those
that my friend had found in other parts of the city. By comparing photographs, we
concluded that a single artist had painted many of these signs. Fortunately the artist
Fig. 4. C.J. Peete Housing Project Fig. 5. C.J. Peete Housing Project
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signed his name on a few works. The name found on several murals, including a mural
at C. J. Peete Housing Projects, was Lester Carey.
Around the same time that my eyes were opened to this entirely new way of
seeing the city, my friend and I also noticed street art (or graffiti) with the words “You Go
Girl” (Figure 8). These three words were often found on decaying crumbling buildings.
The artist seemed to also have an eye for the unfortunate beauty of post-flood New
Orleans – or as the artist wrote on an abandoned truck, “Comfort in Decay” (Figure 9).
From then on, we were inspired, or maybe obsessed, to find as much work by
Lester Carey and the person which we called You Go Girl. Works by both were
Fig. 6. Mural at C.J. Peete Housing Project Fig. 7. Mural at C.J. Peete Housing Project
Fig. 8. You Go Girl graffiti in Central City Fig. 9. Comfort in Decay by You Go Girl
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sometimes seen just blocks apart in the same neighborhood – a neighborhood with a
corner store, a neighborhood ravaged by the flood.
Down on the Corner, Out in the Street
New Orleans has long been a city of neighborhoods. These neighborhoods are
distinct from one another yet have a common bond, an “individual blend of residences,
groceries, bars, laundries, parks and po-boy shops that infuses a neighborhood with its
unique personality.” (Peck) For many decades, the corner store was the heart of the
neighborhood and the corner bar was the soul of the neighborhood. According to
Metropolis Magazine:
The corner store was the anchor of New Orleans neighborhoods for more than a
century. The convenience store for pedestrians, it was a place where people ran into
each other, and a place where bulletin boards made connections possible.
Bethany Rogers, in a radio interview on a story called “Charting New Orleans' Everyday
Landmarks,” said that corner bars are “where people trade information and pass down
stories and keep cultural traditions going.”
However, today these corner businesses are in peril or are already gone in many
areas of the city. For some neighborhoods, the corner store felt the blow long ago.
Chris Kirsch explained his opinion of the downfall of the corner store in an email:
the death of the corner store began when Kmart and Walmart moved in, scratch
that, it dates back to Schwegmann, before Schwegmann's it was all corner stores in
New Orleans, there were no super markets only corner stores.
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According to Blake Pontchartrain in Gambit, when the Schwegmann Brothers opened
their first “Giant Super Market” in 1946 on St. Claude Avenue, “the modern age of
grocery shopping in New Orleans had begun.” This led to the demise of a multitude of
corner stores in working class areas such the Bywater and the Irish Channel.
Most recently the ravages of the disaster of 2005 have directly or indirectly
destroyed many corner businesses. If the flooding did not completely ruin a corner
business, the flooding drastically changed the fabric of the neighborhood which in turn
affected the corner.
Throughout the more devastated areas of New Orleans, one can find empty lots
that were once the neighborhood store or neighborhood watering hole (Figures 10 &
11). In other parts of the city, the empty land is much more vast – areas where housing
projects once stood, areas with a significantly diminished population. Before the flood,
a housing project would often have a corner store within easy walking distance every
few blocks around its perimeter. Without the nearby clientele, a majority of these corner
businesses did not reopen.
Fig. 10. the Pub Lounge (abandoned) Fig. 11. the Pub Lounge (demolished)
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Delta Dawn
Delta Super Market was once such corner store that did not reopen after
Katrina. On Desire Street one block off Florida Avenue, the Delta Super Market (Figure
15) was a cornerstone of the neighborhood along with Club Desire just down the block.
Before August 2005, the large yellow building was a beacon in the area for someone
buying milk and eggs or someone buying cigarettes and beer. After the disaster of
2005, the building caught the eye of Chris Kirsch on one of his scooter/photography
outings. Here he found po-boys painted on one side of the building and a mural painted
by Lester Carey on another side of the building (Figures 12, 13 & 14). Chris often
returned to the building, one time with me while on a bicycle tour of the area. On a flickr
page with a set of photographs of the Delta Super Market, Chris tells what attracted him
there:
I've been here dozens of times since Hurricane Katrina, brought some of my friends
and Many a tourist here....It's quite (sic) here and I often just sit here and think of the
destruction and how New Orleans has changed since August 29th 2005.
I too returned several times. The building itself was not special. However, the yellow
walls, interesting paintings, and large sign gave a special presence to the area and to a
few people that discovered it in the era of K-Ville. (This block had been used as scenery
in the short-lived series. A building across the street from the Delta had been spray
painted with “K-Ville.”)
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In October 2008, three people in the New Orleans preservation/flickr scene
journeyed out early one morning to witness the demolition of the Delta (Figure 16).
These were Chris Kirsch, Karen Gadbois of Squandered Heritage (Figure 17), and
Michelle Kimball of the Preservation Resource Center. In an interview via email I asked
Karen what drew her to the demolition. She replied with a copied portion of her blog
post about the Delta. Her response came from this paragraph:
Some people fall in love with grand buildings and some fall in love with history.
Sometimes something just grabs you and won’t let you go. On my ride up to the
Delta I thought about how much I don’t know about history, and then I thought I don’t
know much about my liver and I depend on that every day. So maybe you don’t have
Figs. 12, 13 & 14. mural at Delta Super Market
Fig. 15. the Delta Super Market on Desire Street
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to know much about history to feel it programmed in your body like some somatic
impulse. At any rate if you follow my line of reasoning going to see the Delta torn
down was like a salmon swimming upstream I was pleased to find out at least 2
other people felt compelled enough to get up and go watch the Delta come down at
dawn.
Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign
Corner businesses in New Orleans are often associated with hand-painted
signs. A mom and pop business, especially in a poorer part of New Orleans where
corner stores flourish, often does not have the disposable income to spend on
expensive signage and relies on a cheaper solution of signs painted by hand on the wall
of the business (Figure 18 & 19). Photographer and writer Joe Baeder states:
Availability of a surface on which to paint is an essential of sign language.
Cardboard, a discarded piece of wood, the side of a box, a crate slat, a simple piece
of paper, or other scraps are familiar mediums for the sign producer. But perhaps
most familiar of all are the walls of buildings....Buildings have long served as
mediums for signage. (104)
Fig. 16. demolition of the Delta Super Market Fig. 17. Karen Gadbois deep in thought
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The building as sign is an easy and cheap solution – no need to buy more material and
no need to worry about attaching something to the building. Bill Harris, foreword
contributor to Talking Shops: Detroit Commercial Folk Art, makes the point that inner-
city African-American businesses “must often operate with financial handicaps,
including poor capital, elevated insurance rates, and the high cost of whole sale goods
bought in small quantities.” (8)
Due to the landscape and settlement patterns of the city, the poorer parts of the
city that contained the majority of hand-painted signs were some of the most devastated
areas. Hollygrove, Tremé, Lafitte, Pigeon Town, Central City, Gert Town, Desire,
Florida, St. Bernard, Seventh Ward, St. Roch., St. Claude – these are areas that took
on several feet of water; these are areas of predominantly African-American population;
these are areas that once had numerous corner businesses; these are areas that were
filled with unique signage. An untold number of corner stores, their walls, and their
signs have been since demolished. In Signs of New Orleans, Anne Giselson
contributes that "these signs are individual creations, impossible to authentically
replicate and as we learned the hard way a few years ago after the levee breaks, when
they are gone, they are gone." (7)
Fig. 18. Bayou Super Market in Central City Fig. 19. bar in Algiers
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To document the city, several people around town have been collecting images
including buildings and signs. These people include myself, Chris Kirsch, Michelle
Kimball, Karen Gadbois, and more flickr users as well local designer Tom Varisco who
compiled a book titled Signs of New Orleans. In an article in The Times-Picayune by
Angus Lind, Varisco said that he had the idea for his book before the Katrina. I asked
him what rekindled the flame to publish the book. He responded via email:
After the storm, I realized that we never know what will happen day to day or minute
to minute. I decided, after doing the SPOILED book, that I should ‘seize the day.’
He also said in the introduction that Signs of New Orleans "is an attempt to preserve
some of the city's unique words and images before they get painted over or destroyed
by the passage of time, another natural disaster or our own unreliable memories." (3)
Dave Clements, author of Talking Shops: Detroit Commercial Folk Art, reiterates the
idea in his preface:
Even more so than diners and roadside attractions, the images of America’s
changing commercial landscape are fleeting and should be documented, if not
preserved. The images are uniquely American, and for that reason alone their
existence deserves some cultural awareness. (5)
Many anonymously painted signs have been captured. Fortunately, not all of the signs
were left unsigned.
A few styles can be seen repeated in the signs of various corner businesses. A
common style is black lettering with red shadowing (or vice-versa) on white. This style
can be found on bars, on corner stores, and even at a parking lot at city hall. Some of
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these works are signed “By PAM,” which could be either a woman’s name or initials
(Figure 20). The most ubiquitous style is that of Lester Carey. Fortuitously Lester
signed some of his work –on murals at the C. J. Peete Housing Project and the Delta
Super Market and on the side of a corner store. Another repeated style is a non-
descript yet distinctive script that is on Brown Derby No. 1, Brown Derby No. 2, and
Brown Derby No. 3 and is often seen on other buildings along side Lester’s work (Figure
21).
In Signs of New Orleans, I found that the only sign maker represented more than
once was Lester Carey. I asked Tom Varisco if he had noticed that he had several
photographs of hand lettering by a single person. In an email he said that he could tell
that his favorite sign, Big Will Fried Chicken, was similar to another sign but he did not
recognize that any others were the same. From my count, over ten percent of the
eighty six images in Signs of New Orleans contain work by Lester Carey. One
photograph contained the two other styles mentioned previously.
Overlooking Lester's work can often be easy. I did not realize one photograph in
Signs of New Orleans was Lester's work until I saw the photograph on the website of
Fig. 20. sign “By PAM” Fig. 21. Lester Carey lettering next to “Brown Derby” lettering
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Tom's contributor, Jackson Hill. The signs of Lester almost hide in plain sight. Unless
one is consciously on the lookout for his work or interesting signage in general, one
would naturally be unaware of these signs. Many of the sign painters themselves do
not know the subtle impact of their work. Nick Marinello, another contributor to Signs of
New Orleans, added “Somewhere out there are the sign makers who, whether they
know it or not, are telling the continuing story of this city.” (9)
In Search of Lester
After searching for and photographing the works of Lester for several months, I
created a flickr group to gather the photographs of the works. In February 2008 I
started a pool on flickr called the Society to Preserve the Art of Lester Carey. Later in
the same week, I began to stop at the business with work by Lester to inquire about the
painter. First I asked at an auto repair shop (Figure 23) on South Miro near
Washington. One of the men working said some fellow pushing a Winn-Dixie cart
painted the sign. The next week I stopped to ask at a corner store in Central City, the
Baronne Grocery (Figure 22) at the corner of Philip, which had some recent work
painted by Lester. The man at the cash register did not know because his family had
purchased the business only a month previous. Next, I conducted some research in the
Special Collections library at Tulane. There I looked in telephone directories of New
Orleans from before 2005. I found an address for a Lester Carey on Broad Street near
Zulu headquarters but a barber and beauty shop was now at the address.
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On Good Friday 2008, I woke early on my day off to take a bicycle ride around
Central City to take photographs and to search for Lester. I stopped at a tire shop at the
corner of Felicity and Clara where a man was sitting in a chair in front of a sign painted
by Lester (Figure 24). I asked if he knew Lester, the sign painter. To my astonishment,
he told me that Lester was probably just down the block at the Keller Market (Figure
25). I introduced myself to the helpful man whose name was June, short for Junior.
After taking his picture in front of the tire shop sign, I headed to the Keller Market.
Inside, I found a man sitting at a table with a milk crate of what looked like art supplies
(Figure 26). He was a bit surprised when I asked if he was Lester Carey.
Fig. 22. Baronne Grocery Fig. 23. Louis Autoelectric on South Miro
Fig. 24. June at Turner’s Tire Shop at Felicity and Clara Fig. 25. Keller Market on Felicity at Magnolia
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Anthony DelRosario – Masters of Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture
After buying him breakfast, I talked with Lester for a while and called Chris to
come meet up with us at the market. For two hours, Lester took us on a walking tour of
Central City to see some of the buildings that he had painted (Figure 27). There were
quite a few places that neither Chris nor I had seen previously. Since the first meeting, I
bike by the area of the tire shop about every two or three weeks to check in with Lester
and often bring him paint or brushes.
Fig. 26. Lester Carey, Artist Fig. 27. cart with paint and cans Fig. 28. Lester in a Lester Carey t-shirt
Fig. 29. Lester with sister, Alice Fig. 30. Lester with June and sketch of a building
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Lester’s Story During the walking tour in March 2008 with Lester, Chris and I found out some
details of his life. Lester was born in New Orleans. He attended the University of New
Orleans, Louisiana State University, and Delgado Community College. Lester went to
Baton Rouge to attend school when he saw an advertisement from the university
seeking football players. Unfortunately, by the time he arrived in Baton Rouge, the
football team had been filled. He graduated from Delgado with a degree in commercial
art. From 1976 to 1989, Lester served the country in the Army, the Army Reserves, and
the Army National Guard. In 1982, he began painting signs on buildings such as corner
stores. One of the first stores that he painted was the Project Food Store on Martin
Luther King Boulevard at South Liberty. Lester also told me that he first painted the
Delta Super Market sometime in the 1980s. For some time in the 1990s, he worked at
the Green Project, an environmental non-profit.
Lester lived at First and Claiborne before the flood after which he ended up in
San Antonio for several months. While there he took some continuing education
classes. However, after having returned to New Orleans, Lester no longer had a place
to live. Since his return he has been mainly living on the streets making money by
recycling aluminum cans and other metal. He occasionally finds jobs to paint a
business (Figure 31) or to make meat board specials (poster boards with prices for the
deli area of a corner store) (Figure 32).
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Anthony DelRosario – Masters of Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture
Lester’s Style: Naïve Commercial Art Lester Carey’s art style is distinctively characteristic. His style is based in the
commercial art that he learned at Delgado yet contains his own unique interpretations.
Even without a signature on a sign, one could discern his style. One distinguishing
characteristic of Lester’s style is his combination of words in block lettering and words in
script lettering on the same sign, often with in a single phrase (Figures 33 & 34).
Another characteristic is his sense of space within a sign. Often words are crowded
together although there is enough room. Despite the training in commercial art, Lester’s
style would not be considered proper in the usual realm of design. An appropriate
description of Lester’s style is commercial folk art or naïve commercial art.
Fig. 31. Bread of Life on Jackson Ave Fig. 32. meat board specials in Project Food Store
Fig. 33. mixed lettering styles Fig. 34. mixed lettering styles
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Anthony DelRosario – Masters of Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture
A defining icon of Lester’s oeuvre is what has become known as the triangle
meat po-boy. This icon was a major lead to discovering Lester Carey. In an email,
Chris Kirsch said “I started noticing a lot of the ‘Triangular meat Po-Boys’ around and
figured it had to be the same artist.” The Delta Super Market with a triangle meat po-
boy on one wall and a mural signed by Lester Carey on another wall is where pieces of
the puzzle fell together for Chris. These paintings of po-boys by Lester look as if they
are sandwiches that contain sliced deli meat such as a square piece of ham which are
placed at an angle on the bread so that a piece sticks out and resembles a triangle.
(Figures 35-40)
Another, yet more subtle, key to distinguishing Lester’s style is his block lettering.
Some of the signs painted by Lester are just a line of block letters such as “NO
LOITERING.” A clue to his block lettering is the way Lester composes the letter R.
Where some painters might make the hump and angled leg of the R in one motion,
Figs. 35- 40. examples of the triangle meat
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Anthony DelRosario – Masters of Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture
Lester first makes a P and then adds the angled leg to finish of the R. Similarly, he
creates a letter B from a letter P (Figures 41 & 42). Another clue in the block lettering is
his letter O. Instead of starting at the top of the line and making the O in 360 degrees,
Lester makes to semi-circles (or near semi-circles) starting at the top of the line.
Without a triangle meat po-boy nearby or a word in script, close inspection of a couple
of letters will help identify the work of Lester.
Figs. 41 & 42. examples of R and B created from P
Fig. 43. flickr map of a selection of Lester Carey’s work throughout the city
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Anthony DelRosario – Masters of Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture
I’m citywide. In what neighborhood can one find hand-painted signs by Lester Carey? Better
yet, in what neighborhood can one not find work by Lester Carey? I asked Lester in
what neighborhoods he had painted. He proudly responded “I’m citywide.” (Figure 43)
The highest concentration of his naïve commercial art can be found in Central
City. With the C.J. Peete Housing Project (also known as Magnolia), the B.W. Cooper
Housing Project (also known as Calliope) , and the Guste Housing Project (also known
as Melpomene) in or just outside of Central City, there were many corner businesses
serving the area which needed signage. For years, Lester was the artist providing a
common thread among the businesses. Radiating out from Central City, Lester’s work
can be found upriver in Gert Town, Hollygrove, and Pigeon Town. Towards the river,
work can be found in the Lower Garden District, the Irish Channel, lower Uptown, and
River Garden (formerly the St. Thomas Housing Project). Towards the lake, work can
be found in Mid-City, Gentilly, and near the St. Bernard Housing Project. Downriver,
work can be found in Treme and Seventh Ward near the Lafitte and Iberville Housing
Projects, St. Roch., St. Claude, the Lower Ninth Ward, and near the Desire and Florida
Housing Projects. No examples of Lester’s work have been found in the Bywater, the
French Quarter, the Central Business District, and upper Uptown (from Jefferson to
Carrolton).
The Future The future of the corner store is in as much flux as the city of New Orleans. In
the non-flooded areas of the city, the corner store has already been in decline since the
introduction of Schwegmann’s Super Markets. The buildings survive mainly as housing
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Anthony DelRosario – Masters of Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture
today. In the flooded areas of the city, one sees several things happening to the
buildings that were once corner businesses. If the building was not destroyed in the
flood, was demolished after the flood, or is sitting in decay, then the building may have
been raised to meet flood elevation or renovated and has lost the inherent character
associated with a corner business building (Figure 44).
In many of the flooded areas, the population has diminished so much that corner stores
may never flourish again. In other flooded areas such as the Magnolia and B.W.
Cooper housing projects, new construction has begun to replace the demolished
housing projects (Figures 45 & 46). A new increase in population in these areas could
possibly help revive the corner businesses in the surrounding area. Thus, the
population of the neighborhood will dictate the chance of survival for the corner
business.
Fig. 44. after and before of former corner business
Fig. 45. demolition of C.J. Peete Housing Project Fig. 46. new construction at C.J. Peete
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Anthony DelRosario – Masters of Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture
The future of hand-painted signage depends on several factors. In many parts of
the city, hand-painted signs are inherently connected to the corner business. So, the
survival of hand-painted signage depends greatly on the survival of corner businesses.
Beyond the survival of the corner store, hand-painted signs are endangered by the
plastic and vinyl signs (Figure 47) that are cheaply available, often at no cost from
companies seeking free advertising (Giselson).
In addition, professional commercial hand painting is not practiced by very many
people in New Orleans. Mystic Blue Signs on Magazine Street carries on the tradition
but would be out of the price range of most corner businesses (Giselson). Some of the
self-taught and naïve commercial artists that are affordable for the typical corner
business may not have returned since the flood or may have stopped practicing the
trade. Two styles of hand lettering continue to be seen in the city, Lester Carey’s work
and the style previously described as a “non-descript yet distinctive script.” (Figure 48)
Lester continues to create signs but not in the same amount as before Hurricane
Katrina. He has been painting signage for a few businesses and has been creating the
poster board signs for the deli areas of corner stores. Unfortunately, he has been living
a rough life on the streets since returning from the evacuation after Katrina.
Fig. 47. vinyl sign in contrast to Lester’s work Fig. 48. recent new painting at Brown Derby No. 3
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Anthony DelRosario – Masters of Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture
I have been trying to help out Lester. I bring him paint and brushes and give him
a few dollars when he really needs money. Last November I spent some time with
Lester one day. My friend Bud and I picked him in Central City and took him to
breakfast at Two Sisters on Bienville, a soul food restaurant which he had painted
(Figure 49). Next we went to Draw-a-thon, a twenty four hour drawing party at the
Green Project (Figures 50 & 51). Afterwards, I dropped Lester off at a restaurant on
Chef Menteur where he had been painting a sign on the window (Figure 52).
Fig. 49. Lester at Two Sisters Fig. 50. Lester at Draw-a-thon
Fig. 52. Lester entering Mama Lu’s (he painted Lou’s instead of Lu’s)
Fig. 51. Draw-a-thon 2009
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Anthony DelRosario – Masters of Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture
Recently he checked into an outpatient program for military veterans on the
Westbank. He was in a program there to help him receive his Veterans Administration
benefit check. I ran into Lester this past Good Friday while he was on this side of the
river after taking the program’s shuttle to the V.A. hospital downtown. That afternoon I
drove him to a corner store on Washington Avenue (Figure 53) so that he could talk to
the owner about painting the building. While there, he made some poster boards for the
deli area (Figure 54). Also, on the way to the store we stopped at a house where a food
truck was parked so that he could talk to the owner (Figure 55).
However, I recently saw Lester back in Central City where he had been for a few
days without returning to the Westbank and had been spending time with the crowd that
hangs out at the liquor store across from the tire shop previously mentioned. Hopefully,
Lester will be able to stay in the program on the Westbank and start receiving his
Veterans Administration benefit check.
I plan to help Lester keep his unique style alive. I told Lester that the owner of
the Saint, a bar in the Lower Garden District, would like him to paint the outside. We
also discussed having him paint some canvases and have an art show.
Fig. 53. Nick’s Super Market Fig. 54. Lester making deli sign Fig. 55. Lester pointing out his Spiderman
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Commercial hand-painting is a dying trade. Without an apprentice sign painter
under his tutelage, Lester’s experience and enthusiasm may not be passed on to the
next generation. However, there will always be the self-taught painter and the need for
cheap painting. But to what extent, one cannot foresee. One thing for sure is that there
will not be another sign painter to cover as much ground as Lester Carey.
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Anthony DelRosario – Masters of Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture
Sources
Baeder, John. Sign Language: Street Signs as Folk Art. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1996.
Carey, Lester. interview with the author. March 2008.
Clements, Dave. Talking Shops: Detroit Commercial Folk Art. Detroit: Wayne State
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big-ideas-and-a-postscript>
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<http://www.squanderedheritage.com/2008/10/23/delta-dawn/>.
Giselson, Anne. electronic letter to the author. April 2009.
Kirsch, Christopher. “Delta Super Market” flickr photo set description.
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/skeletonkrewe/sets/72157606319794870/>.
Kirsch, Christopher. electronic letter to the author. April 2009.
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of New Orleans." The Times-Picayune 11 November 2008.
<http://blog.nola.com/anguslind/2008/11/tom_variscos_signs_of_new_orle.html>.
Peck, Renee. “New Orleans neighborhoods improve on the walkability index.” The
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<http://blog.nola.com/reneepeck/2009/02/new_orleans_neighborhoods_impr.html
>
ii PRST 6720 - Preservation Technology – Professor Heather Knight – April 24, 20009
Anthony DelRosario – Masters of Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture
Pontchartrain, Blake. "New Orleans Know-it-all." Gambit 24 May 2005.
<http://bestofneworleans.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A34566>
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National Public Radio 20 August 2008.
<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93790509>
Varisco, Tom. electronic letter to the author. April 2009.
---. Signs of New Orleans. New Orleans: Garrity Printing, 2008.
iii PRST 6720 - Preservation Technology – Professor Heather Knight – April 24, 20009
Anthony DelRosario – Masters of Preservation Studies - Tulane School of Architecture
Images
Figures 16 and 17 – Christopher Kirsch
Figure 44 – Karen Gadbois
Figure 45 – Nathan Tempey
Figure 48 – Bart Everson
All other photographs by the author.