A few years later, the building's occupants were primarily oil-related businesses, keeping company with one of the primary tenants, Tidewater, Inc., the New Orleans-based offshore service company. Tidewater, for which the building was named, and Northwestern Mutual life Insurance Co., owned 100% equity interest in the building through a joint venture, according to Ken Tamblyn, executive vice president and chief financial officer for Tidewater.
"The building enjoyed a high level of occupancy," said Tamblyn, until the mid-1980s, when the oil bust found tenants leaving. In the early 1990s, Tidewater and Northwestern Mutual officials agreed to donate the building. Tulane University Medical Center was expanding its operations in the area and was quickly identified as a good recipient, said Tamblyn. Both sides negotiated and the deal was done; in 1993, Tulane became the owner of Tidewater Place and Tulane University Medical Center departments began calling it home.
"The building always needed a larger owner/tenant. That's why it's so well-suited for Tulane," says Tamblyn.
Now, as the century prepares to close, the Tidewater Place building is once again enjoying a full house, according to Earl Bihlmeyer, senior associate vice chancellor for facilities and services. The School of Medicine now occupies five floors and by year's end, says Bihlmeyer, the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (SPHTM) will have completely vacated its home in the Texaco Building and will become Tidewater Place's principal tenant. Many of the school's best bench science faculty will continue work in the J. Bennett Johnston Health and Environmental Research Building, says Dean Paul K. Whelton.
Bihlmeyer praises Tidewater Place's design and structure, which allows for economical and flexible renovations of space. As well, the facilities height and downlink and uplink antennae are perfect for the SPHTM's distance education needs. Plans are underway to update the building and to give it more of a campus feel. Julie Brown, architect and facility consultant to the SPHTM, promises more color and warmth for the entrance. Already, the school's logo is etched in the glass doors at the front of the building, elevators are outfitted in Tulane's signature blue and green, and Bihlmeyer says that the red letter T (for Tidewater) that adorns the top of the building will be Tulane green in the near future.
And now, thanks to a generous donation by the Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation - a fitting tribute to the building's designer in whose name the foundation was established - a new auditoria complex is slated for the building. The complex - designed for lectures and presentations, classes and social gatherings - will feature a large (270-seat) auditorium, a smaller 56- seat auditorium and a large reception area. The complex is one of Whelton's top priorities.
"This generous gift by the Diboll Foundation will allow us to showcase public health presentations, conduct large classes in state-of-the-art facilities, host meetings for the community and create a setting for cultural exhibits and receptions in the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine," notes Whelton. "It will be a magnificent asset to the school and one which will have a lasting impact on our ability to implement the school's mission."