Annual Meeting and Lecture
Renew, Restore, Reimagine:
Architectural Preservation at the Historic New Orlean's
533 Royal Street Campus
Lydia Blackmore
Decorative Arts Curator, Historic New Orleans Collection
21 September 2025
2 - 4:30 PM
Newell Christian Chapel
235 Lamarque Street
The Historic New Orleans Collection is undertaking a $30 million restoration project covering five buildings in the heart of the French Quarter. These historic buildings, spanning the 18th and 19th centuries, will be reimagined as a cohesive, accessible museum to share the history and culture of New Orleans. Throughout the construction process, priority has been placed on studying the architecture as a document of the past, carefully uncovering the layers and stories these buildings hold. Curator Lydia Blackmore will share some of the historic details uncovered and how they have inspired the vision for the future museum campus.
Our Speaker
Lydia Blackmore
Decorative Arts Curator
Historic New Orleans Collection
Lydia Blackmore is the decorative arts curator at the Historic New Orleans Collection. She earned an MA and certificate in museum studies from the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture at the University of Delaware; she also holds a degree in history from the College of William and Mary. As curator, Blackmore oversees research, acquisition, and preservation of decorative art, fine art, material culture, and design collections. She manages the Decorative Arts of the Gulf South project and is coordinating preservation projects at the historic 533 Royal Street campus.
In eleven years at HNOC, Blackmore has curated or cocurated several exhibitions, including Making Mardi Gras (2022), A Vanishing Bounty (2024), and Unknown Sitters (2024). Outside of HNOC, she is a member of the board of trustees of the Historic BK House & Gardens.
