User:MyersJam/Penn Street

Penn Street is a one-block street. The street is a one way for a left turn. It is connected to Perdido Street to the North and Poydras Street to the South. It stretches out across the lanes of Poydras. It serves as a backstreet. It is located in the Central Business District. The street name has been nominated for renaming due to its controversial background. The Louisiana government is looking to convert the name from Penn Street to Dr. Sara Mayo Street.

About the Street
November 5, 1845 John Gleises filed an application to have Penn St. opened in a straight line to Perdido St. The street was then deemed to open where it was previously terminated. Currently Penn Street is the back street to a Homewood Suite New Orleans and Dee's Coffee Shop on its right. To the left it holds an entrance to a parking garage. There's also a large building that includes business such as; Stone Pigman Walter Wittman Law Firm, Kean Miller LLP, Wesley M. Plaisance, and City Greens salad shop.

Renaming of Penn Street
On December 2, 1840 a street west side of Gravier, square from Poydras to Perdido was named Penn St. The street was originally named after Davidson Bradfute Penn. Born on March 13,1835 in Lynchburg, Virginia. Penn died on November 15, 1902 in New, Orleans Louisiana. He was an important businessman who served as a colonel in the Louisiana Infantry during the Civil War. May 1861, he became Captain of the Virginia Guards of Orleans Parish of the 7th Louisiana Infantry. May of the next year, he was Major of the Regiment. He was then promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in June. November 1863, he was placed in the Old Capitol Prison in Washington DC and remained there for the remainder of the war. He participated in battles such as, the Seven Days, Sharpsburg, and Fredericksburg. Penn was right in the center of Louisiana politics post-war. He was the lieutenant governor who lead the uprising of the White League on September 14, 1874. He supported the opposition of Reconstruction and held a very important role in the White League. The White League partook in the "Battle of Liberty Place". This included the White League taking armed action against the (Republican)Reconstruction government.

Government officials of New Orleans are thinking about naming the street after Dr. Sara Mayo. The street would then be called Dr. Sara Mayo Street. Her and a half-dozen other female physicians, established the New Orleans Hospital and Dispensary for Women and Children. The hospital opened its doors in 1905 in a small building at 1823 Annunciation in the Irish Channel. Offering specialized services such as: internal medicine; surgery; pediatrics; dermatology; gynecology; neurology; obstetrics; and dentistry, the hospital began on $25 capital, borrowed furniture, and eight patients.The hospitals main mission was to provide service for the disadvantaged. Dr. Mayo reconfigured the role and expectations of women in the early 1900s society. During this time, the medical field was dominated by men and she wanted to help alleviate the injustices promoted by them. She was known as a physician and humanitarian reformer. She earned her medical degree with a specialty in surgery at the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania. Her dedication to the healthcare field improved the lives of thousands of disadvantaged women and children in New Orleans. Dr.Mayo served for many years as a doctor at the St. Anna’s Asylum for destitute women and children and was a member of the staff at Touro Infirmary and the Baptist Hospital. She was the first female medical professional to be awarded the New Orleans Times-Picayune ‘Loving Cup’ for outstanding civic service.