Former Pan American Building (New Orleans, Louisiana)

 office building, NRHP - National Register of Historic Places

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Constructed in 1952, and designed by Skidmore Owings and Merrill, this building marks a turning point in New Orleans corporate architecture. The building is one of the first corporate buildings in New Orleans to adapt the international style to local conditions. Employing a skin of metal fins to block the sun and a steel structure that allow spans of over 60’, the building marks a turning point in corporate local modernist architecture. Originally located in a residential district, the Pan American building rises to a mere 6 stories with a 2-story plinth in the back.

After the Pan American Life Insurance Co. constructed a new office space in the CBD, this building became an annex for City Hall. It is currently being renovated to house administrative offices for the VA Hospital Campus.