NEW ORLEANS (press release) – The City of New Orleans has been named to Irreplaceable America, a new list from World Monuments Fund (WMF) recognizing 10 historic places across the United States whose preservation is essential to the richness and complexity of American history as the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. From landmarks of public health and colonial architecture to sites central to Black history, Indigenous heritage, and artistic experimentation, the initiative spotlights places facing urgent preservation needs.
New Orleans is the only city included on the 2026 Irreplaceable America list. Rather than highlighting a single landmark, the nomination frames the city as an irreplaceable living cultural landscape: a place where historic neighborhoods, vernacular architecture, public traditions, water, culture and daily life are inseparable.
The local nomination was initiated by Kristin Gisleson Palmer, Executive Director of the Preservation Resource Center, to make the case that the entire city — not a single monument, building or district — is the irreplaceable site. PRC worked with the Historic Preservation program in Tulane’s School of Architecture and Built Environment, Louisiana Landmarks Society, The Ella Project and The Water Collaborative to develop the submission and highlight the relationship among architecture, culture, water, community stability and traditional skills.
“We are thrilled that the World Monuments Fund chose the City of New Orleans to be included within its Irreplaceable America initiative in honor of our country’s 250th birthday,” says Ashlye Keaton, co-founder of The Ella Project. “It was an honor to work with the Preservation Resource Center to nominate the City for this important designation, which “underscores the vital importance of preserving heritage places that encompass the multifaceted history of the United States.” Significantly, unlike the other selected sites, all of which were physical buildings, the entire City of New Orleans was singled out as a place that is worthy of the kind of consideration and resources needed to ensure that its cultural ecosystem can thrive into the future. This should be a clear signal to civic leaders, policy makers and the general public to pay greater attention to the existential threats to New Orleans’s identity, authenticity, and legacy. We have a duty to protect our city from erosion and to cherish it by taking action before it’s too late.”
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