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TriPod Xtras: Architect Al Ledner

Al Ledner outside of the Cointreau home he designed out on Park Island in New Orleans.
Roy Beeson
Al Ledner outside of the Cointreau home he designed out on Park Island in New Orleans.

TriPod Xtras: Architect Al Ledner

TriPod: New Orleans at 300 brings us another edition of TriPod Xtras. Host Laine Kaplan-Levenson sat down with 92 year old Architect Al Ledner. Ledner graduated from the Tulane School of Architecture, and briefly left his hometown of New Orleans to study with Frank Lloyd Wright. He has buildings all around the country, and is known in New Orleans for the homes he built on Park Island in Bayou St. John, including the Cointreau home.

Laine and Mr. Ledner met there before a party being held for the accomplished architect, to talk about his life and career, starting with what makes this mid-century residence a 'modern' design. 

TriPod is a production of WWNO New Orleans public radio in collaboration with the Historic New Orleans Collection and the University of New Orleans Midlo Center for New Orleans studies. Special thanks to Evan Christopher for the opening theme music. Catch TriPod on the air Thursdays during Morning Edition and again on Mondays during All Things Considered. You can hear TriPod anytime, anywhere by subscribing to the podcast on itunes, and give the show a review! Tripod is also on facebookInstagram and twitter at @tripodnola.

Copyright 2016 WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio

Laine Kaplan-Levenson
Laine Kaplan-Levenson is a producer and reporter for NPR's Throughline podcast. Before joining the Throughline team, they were the host and producer of WWNO's award-winning history podcast TriPod: New Orleans at 300, as well as WWNO/WRKF's award-winning political podcast Sticky Wicket. Before podcasting, they were a founding reporter for WWNO's Coastal Desk, and covered land loss, fisheries, water management, and all things Louisiana coast. Kaplan-Levenson has contributed to NPR, This American Life, Marketplace, Latino USA, Oxford American (print), Here and Now, The World, 70 Million, and Nancy, among other national outlets. They served as a host and producer of Last Call, a multiracial collective of queer artists and archivists, and freelanced as a storytelling and podcast consultant, workshop instructor, and facilitator of student-produced audio projects. Kaplan-Levenson is also the founder and host of the live storytelling series, Bring Your Own. They like to play music and occasionally DJ under the moniker DJ Swimteam.