Blake Pontchartrain: The Standard Life Insurance sign is a link to N. Claiborne's history as bustling thoroughfare in the Black community

Hey Blake,

I'm a fan of old signs and am curious about the one for Standard Life Insurance Co. on Claiborne near Kermit's Treme Mother-in-Law Lounge. What can you tell me about it?

Dear reader,

The former Standard Life Insurance building on N. Claiborne Avenue is a link to the history of that thoroughfare in the Black community.

Former New Orleans First Lady Sybil Morial, who grew up nearby in the 7th Ward, recalls Claiborne Avenue's importance in her 2015 memoir "Witness to Change: From Jim Crow to Political Empowerment."

"The avenue always teemed with activity," she wrote. "It was home to physicians' and dentists' offices, about five insurance companies, funeral parlors, a business school and a variety of small shops, including retail stores."

The Standard Life Insurance building was erected in the 1500 block of N. Claiborne in 1951. A postcard touts it as "modern in every detail," "air conditioned" and "designed and equipped to serve our large and growing clientele — our policy holders."

Standard Industrial Life Insurance Company of Louisiana, as it was officially known, was founded in 1924. It was one of at least a half dozen Black-owned life insurance companies at the time. Its president and medical director for many years was Sybil Morial's father, Dr. Clarence C. "C.C." Haydel Sr. His son-in-law, Mayor Ernest "Dutch" Morial, also served as the company's attorney early in his legal career.

In 1971, the company was purchased by well-known insurance executive E.J. Ourso. In the 1990s, the building on N. Claiborne was sold to the Black Arts National Diaspora, or BAND. Founded by G. Jeannette Hodge, the group used the property as an art museum, gallery and cultural arts center.

The property, now marked with graffiti, is currently owned by Treme Rose LLC.