blake
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Questions for Blake: askblake@gambitweekly.com
N JOINO IN FEE! G LIM ITED ONLYTIME
ALSO FEATURING
A COMPLETE CARDIO & STRENGTH TRAINING CENTER & PERSONAL TRAINING
2917 MAGAZINE ST. • SUITE 202
504-896-2200 • www.salvationstudio.com
live entertainment & dinner 7 nights a week Pianist Sun., Mon. & Tues 7-10 PM
Friday, July 22 Judy Spellman Jazz Trio 9:30 PM
Saturday, July 23 The Legendary Luther Kent & His Quartet 9:30 PM
830 conti st. (in the prince conti hotel) 504.586.0972 • 800.699.7711
www.thebombayclub.com
HEY BLAKE, IN FRONT OF THE FEET FIRST SHOP AT 4119 MAGAZINE ST., I NOTICED THE NAME ITZKOVITCH IN SIDEWALK TILES. THE TOP OF THE BUILDING ALSO HAS A SPOT WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE SAME WORD WAS. DO YOU KNOW WHO THIS WAS? CAROL STEADMAN
DEAR CAROL, That address was the furniture store of Charles Itzkovitch. He made the newspaper in September 1939 when, at the age of 68, he was hit by a car while crossing Magazine Street. Itzkovitch, who was then retired, was on the way home from visiting his sons Morris and Louis, who operated the store. Itzkovitch died several weeks later as a result of his injuries. HEY BLAKE, ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO, MAYOR MARTIN BEHRMAN ACQUIRED TWO GYMS FOR THE LOCAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS. ONE WAS UPTOWN’S BEHRMAN GYM, THE HISTORIC OLD SOUTHERN ATHLETIC CLUB. WHAT CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE DOWNTOWN WILTZ GYM?
Gambit > bestofneworleans.com > JUlY 19 > 2011
KEN DUCOTE
08
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DEAR KEN, In 1912, the New Orleans School Board purchased the building and adjoining lots at 3037 N. Rampart St. Prior to this, the building had been the Phoenix Athletic club for 25 years. Before that, it was the quarters for the Arnoult Rifle Club. Originally, however, it was constructed as a residence. This converted building was to be the newest gymnasium for use by downtown children. It was officially opened on Oct. 22, 1912, but at that time, it didn’t have a name. The next year it was named the Wiltz Gymnasium after Louis A. Wiltz, governor of Louisiana from 1880-1881. The facility was never ideal, so it wasn’t a complete disaster when the hurricane of Sept. 29, 1915, leveled the old building. The gymnasium was completely rebuilt in 1916. A beautiful hardwood gymnasium floor was installed, and the framework was bolted into a concrete frame to make it rat-proof and hurricane-proof. In addition, there was a 60-by-80-foot swimming pool, the first large swimming pool in the city entirely in the open air.
The Wiltz gym, rebuilt in 1916 after the original building was damaged in a hurricane a year earlier, was sold in 2010. PHOTO BY KANDACE POWER GRAVES
Many athletic competitions were held in the gym, and even bathing beauty contests, but eventually the old building was closed. In 1980, the Orleans Parish School Board first considered the question of selling the old gym along with other properties. Finally, in July 2010, the Wiltz Gym was put up for auction and purchased by John Hazard for $230,000. HEY BLAKE, CAN YOU GIVE US SOME HISTORY ABOUT THE BUILDING ON THE CORNER OF MAGAZINE AND THIRD STREETS? I KNOW IT WAS THE FORMER SITE OF THE LATIN AMERICAN CLUB AND IS THE PRESENT SITE OF TRACEY’S. I’VE ALSO HEARD IT WAS A SCHOOL OF DANCE AND MAY HAVE BEEN A BROTHEL IN THE 1970S. SHANE THERIOT
DEAR SHANE, Throughout the 1950s and to this day, the address at 2604 Magazine St. has never been anything but a place for drinking. In the 1960s and early 1970s, it was Tracey’s, established in 1949. Then it was La Bamba Bar for two years, and for a year in 1974 it was the Rancho Club. The next year it became the Siboney Club. In 1976, the name changed to the Rio Linde Bar for two years, and then it turned into the Latin American Bar. The Latin American Bar stayed in business for more than 20 years. In 2008, it became the Irish Garden Cocktail Lounge. Tracey’s reopened in 2010.