Hugh Ricks
CSA Museum, New Orleans
Tue May 8 23:39:24 2001


According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune of May 8, 2001, The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, has acquired the property housing the Confederate Museum at 929 Camp Street in New Orleans. The museum was established in 1893 and has been housed in the same location since that time. It is the largest depository of Civil War memorabilia in the country, with the exception of the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, VA.
Ogden owns the property situated on both sides of the Confederate Museum. Ogden has owned and operated a site on the upriver side of the Confederate Museum for a few years, but they have recently begun an expansion by building a new facility on the down-river side.

According to The Times-Picayune report, an agreement between the Ogden Museum and Confederate Museum allowed for a fire escape to be built at the rear of the Confederate Museum, between the two Ogden properties. And, although the negotiations seemed to be rather simple, the two sides came to loggerheads, accusing each other of creating delays and making new demands.

The Ogden people say that they were "surprised" that the 110 year-old building which the Confederate Museum occupies was actually owned by Tulane University, and that Tulane was willing to sell it.

In December of this year, the University of New Orleans (associated with the Ogden Museum) acquired the property from Tulane University for $425,000. Elizabeth Williams, executive director of the University of New Orleans Foundation, says:
"It was never our intention to get anything more than a passage (presumably referring to the fire escape), but now that we had to get title, that changed the ballgame."

Ogden Director Richard Gruber says that he would like to blend PORTIONS of the Confederate Museum collection into the Ogden museum collection and use the old Confederate Museum as a sort of "specialized" art gallery.

James Carriere, attorney for the Confederate Museum, had this to say:

"They said that they would integrate our museum into thiers, but there would be no flags, no uniforms and no guns. It's too politically incorrect."