Arabella Station

Arabella Station is a historic building on Magazine Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. The structure was originally developed as a carbarn, a facility used for storing and parking streetcars, and formed part of the infrastructure supporting the city's historic street railway system. It is also known by the names Arabella Carbarn and Upper Magazine Station or Upper Magazine Carbarn. The building was designed by New Orleans city engineer Linus W. Brown and constructed by the Youngstown Bridge Company. Its original transportation function made it an important utilitarian structure within the city's streetcar network, although it was not a passenger station in the conventional sense. As streetcar operations and infrastructure changed over time, the building was adapted for a new commercial use. Arabella Station was listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places on January 4, 1996. The designation recognizes its architectural and historical importance as a surviving streetcar-related structure in New Orleans. The building subsequently underwent adaptive reuse rather than being preserved solely as a transportation facility. A Whole Foods Market opened in the building in December 2002, bringing a large food retailer to the Uptown New Orleans area while retaining the historic structure. The site now combines the supermarket with off-street parking serving the market. Arabella Station is therefore best understood as a historic architectural and transportation landmark with a contemporary retail use, rather than as an operating consumer brand or independently managed commercial company.

Arabella Station was built as a carbarn for the storage and parking of streetcars in New Orleans. Its location on Magazine Street placed it within the city's Uptown transportation and commercial landscape. The structure was designed by Linus W. Brown, a New Orleans city engineer, and built by the Youngstown Bridge Company. Unlike a passenger depot, a carbarn primarily served operational needs by housing streetcars when they were not in service. The building is also identified in historical records as Arabella Carbarn and as Upper Magazine Station or Upper Magazine Carbarn. These names reflect its relationship to the streetcar system and its position along Magazine Street. Its survival provides evidence of the physical infrastructure that supported New Orleans's historic electric streetcar operations. On January 4, 1996, Arabella Station was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The listing formally recognized the building's historic significance and helped establish its importance as a preserved transportation-related structure. The building later received an adaptive commercial use. A Whole Foods Market opened there in December 2002, and the site also incorporated off-street parking for shoppers. The reuse allowed the historic building to remain part of the Uptown New Orleans community while no longer functioning as a streetcar storage facility.

• 2002

  Whole Foods Market adaptive reuse

  [1]Arabella Stationen.wikipedia.org

  A Whole Foods Market opened in the former carbarn in December 2002, accompanied by off-street parking for the store.

• 1996

  National Register listing

  [1]Arabella Stationen.wikipedia.org

  Arabella Station was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places on January 4, 1996.

• Construction as a streetcar carbarn

  [1]Arabella Stationen.wikipedia.org

  Arabella Station was designed by New Orleans city engineer Linus W. Brown and built by the Youngstown Bridge Company as a facility for storing and parking streetcars.

A preserved New Orleans streetcar-related landmark adapted for contemporary neighborhood retail.

• 2002

  Adaptive reuse as a neighborhood supermarketStrategy

  Background

  After its original streetcar-storage function ended, the historic building was repurposed for commercial use in Uptown New Orleans.

  Action taken

  Whole Foods Market opened in the building in December 2002, with off-street parking provided for the retail operation.

  Aftermath

  The site continued in active use while retaining its identity as a historic New Orleans transportation structure.

  Source

1. 1Arabella Stationen.wikipedia.org