On September 24th, 2026, the Vieux Carré Residents, Property Owners and Associates will hold the biannual Schwartz Gage Award and Luncheon at Latrobe’s. This year’s recipient of the preservation award will be Anthony C. Marino for his years of service to the Vieux Carré community.

Anthony “Tony” C. Marino has served countless French Quarter and preservation organizations, including French Quarter Management District (Treasurer, 2011-2015), Vieux Carré Alliance (founding member and President, 2004), VCPORA (President, 2000-2004), the Ernest “Dutch” Morial Administration’s French Quarter Task Force, French Quarter Citizens, Patio Planters, Preservation Resource Center, and more. His work and achievements in the vieux Carré are numerous. In 1984, he helped create the very first French Quarter Festival, and his restoration of his Greek Revival townhouse at 1028 Bourbon St. was recognized the Vieux Carré Commission and other organizations and publications. He is the current President of the Louisiana Landmarks Society, and the founder of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization St. Joseph Altar Society on Bourbon Street. His annual St. Joseph’s Day altar has brought the Vieux Carré community together for decades.

Jackie  Eugenie Chavanne Schwartz  & Grace Chavanne Gage

The Schwartz-Gage Award is named for these two sisters, whose foresight, leadership, and dedication were major factors in the preservation of the Vieux Carré.

 Grace moved to the Vieux Carre in 1942, when she became involved in the French Quarter’s art scene, community service, and politics.  Her sister Eugenie followed soon thereafter, moving into the neighborhood in 1944.  Both were active members of VCPORA, serving on the board, and numerous committees, and actively participating in public meetings, hearings, and advocacy efforts.  In 1993, Eugenie received the Elizabeth T. Werlein Award, the highest honor offered by the Vieux Carre Commission.

 Over the years, Grace and Eugenie, at times individually but usually together, were involved in every major preservation battle that was fought in the Vieux Carre.  But their true contributions to preservation was their ceaseless participation in the often small, unsung, and unglamorous tasks which they undertook with no goal other than the betterment of the city’s historic neighborhoods.  They were familiar faces to the Vieux Carre Commission, City Planning Commission, and City Council, where they spoke often on preservation, planning, and quality of life matters.  They recognized that poor land use decisions, even those that seemed minor, could chip away, bit by bit, at the essence of a delicate, living historic district such as the Vieux Carre.  These women took a long view, and for decades demonstrated an uncanny ability to get to the heart of a preservation issue – and persuade others to join them.  Their ceaseless commitment still serves as an example to the rest of us.

 In recognition of the contributions of Eugenie Schwartz and Grace Gage, the Vieux Carre Property Owners, Residents and Associates created an award in their names and confers it biannually on a person who has made outstanding contributions to the preservation of the French Quarter.

Past Schwartz-Gage Recipients

2003 – Jean Boebel

 2005 – Freddie Pincus

 2009 – Nathan Chapman                                   

 2011 – Stuart Smith

 2013 – Ray Boudreaux & Steven Scalia

 2015 – Ann Masson

  2017 – Bill Borah

  2023- Jackie Clarkson

2024– Robert Cangelosi Jr..

Schwartz-Gage Past Honorees

Robert Cangelosi Jr.

Join VCPORA in honoring Architect Robert Cangelosi Jr. as this year’s Schwartz-Gage Award recipient! Robby is president of Koch and Wilson Architects, an architectural historian, and a licensed architect. Robby is also the co-editor of the New Orleans Architecture series books, including Volume VII: Jefferson City, Volume IX: Carrollton, and Volume VIII: University Section. He has worked on many buildings in the Quarter and is known for his great contributions in protecting and preserving the French Quarter’s unique architecture.

Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson, former New Orleans City Council member and Louisiana state representative, is the 2023 recipient of the Schwartz-Gage Award for the preservation of the French Quarter, which is bestowed by the Vieux Carré Property Owners, Residents and Associates (VCPORA) every two years. Jackie Clarkson represented the French Quarter while serving as District C council member and continued to support the historic neighborhood in her capacity as an at-large council member and author of the City of New Orleans Master Plan. She fought to make sure the Master Plan included protections for the French Quarter. Throughout her 24 years as an elected official, Ms. Clarkson was well known for her honesty, hard work, and around-the-clock availability.

 “Over the decades, many elected officials have supported the historic preservation of the French Quarter, but no one has done it quite on the level of Jackie Clarkson,” explains VCPORA President Nathan Chapman. “This is the first time VCPORA is awarding its lifetime Schwartz-Gage Award to someone who held public office.”