Blathr Wayne Lorentz

One of the interesting things about the built environment in New Orleans is the way some buildings manage to survive.

Houses in New Orleans have to deal with termites, mold, rising damp, horrendous rainstorms, aggressive vegetation, and more.

Looking at buildings like these makes me wonder how many dozens of hurricanes theyʼve been through, but are still standing after a hundred or more years.

Meanwhile, the house I rented in Las Vegas needed major repairs just 20 years after it was built.

Such a nice, elegant French Quarter courtyard. Or, at least it would be if the Hotel Saint Marie didnʼt use it as a smoking lounge. I had to wait five minutes for the drifting smoke to clear to get a nice picture of the fountain.

Honestly, though, this is among the least of the Hotel Saint Marieʼs sins. Never again.