Visible and Invisible New Orleans

I want to start out today by running through a few notable New Orleans landmarks: The new terminal at Louis Armstrong Airport.  The U.S Custom House. The gold/copper skin on the Superdome. The Civic Theater. The W New Orleans French Quarter Hotel. The Xavier University Dormitories. There are a whole lot more on this list too. If you’re wondering what the link is between all of them, it’s the construction company that built them, or in some cases re-built them. It’s a 50 year old family firm, called Gibbs Construction . Gibbs Construction was founded in 1976, by Larry Gibbs. 43 years later, In 2019, Larry’s daughter, Lauren, took over as owner and CEO of the company. Now, here’s a list of other New Orleans buildings. See if you can tell me what these have in common: The LaLaurie Mansion on Royal Street. The Hermann-Grima House. Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop. The Andrew Jackson Hotel. The Old Ursuline Convent. If you’re a New Orleanian, you’re probably saying, with as much nonchalance and more confidence than you have in today’s weather forecast, “Oh yeah, they’re all haunted.” Along with the French Quarter, fabulous food, and live music, the supernatural vibe that is a natural part of New Orleans is an element of the city people come here to experience. Most tourists – and locals by the way – learn about our haunted history courtesy of the oldest and largest ghost tour business in New Orleans - a company called, Haunted History Tours . Haunted History was co-founded in 1994 by partners Sidney and Kalila Smith. Today, Kalila is the sole owner of the company. Kalila is a leading authority on the subject of supernatural New Orleans. She’s the author of multiple books, including New Orleans Ghosts, Voodoo & Vampires, and Tales From The French Quarter. Her many TV appearances include CNN, Fox News, The Today Show, The Travel Channel and Discovery. She was a contributor to Sony's PlayStation II game Ghosthunter , and produced a PBS documentary on Southern hauntings. Visible & Invisible A lot of businesses have a lot in common. But some don’t. About the only way anybody could run a complex, multi-million dollar construction company is by having years of experience in the industry, which in Lauren's case she got to some degree by growing up in it. On the other hand, what’s made Kalila's business successful is the very opposite of continuity – it’s the ability to do something nobody had done before she came along and created it. Lauren and Kalila are wonderful examples of the multi-dimensional tapestry of our unique New Orleans economy, and vastly different but equally important contributors to it. Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at  Columns in Uptown New Orleans . You can find photos from this show by  Jill Lafleur at itsneworleans.com . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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