Lary Hesdorffer

A native of Monroe, Louisiana, Lary Hesdorffer is the Director of the Vieux Carre Commission (VCC). A 1974 graduate of the Tulane University School of Architecture, his career with the City of New Orleans began in 1975 when he was hired first as a Building Inspector for the same agency. Within a month he was promoted to Building Plans Examiner/Staff Architect and later served as the commission's Assistant Director. Following his first tenure with the VCC, he shifted attention to other areas of the city as the Staff Architect for the Neighborhood Commercial Revitalization Unit, a part of the Mayor's Office. Then in 1982, he went to work for the New Orleans and Central Business District Historic District Landmarks Commissions (HDLC), first as Deputy Director and later in the position of Executive Director.

In 1997 he moved to Atlanta to become Senior Director of Properties for the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, a private, not-for-profit, historic preservation organization. The Georgia Trust engages in a myriad of broad-based preservation programs and activities and boasts the largest membership of any statewide preservation group in the nation. His main focus with the Georgia Trust was the restoration, programming and operations of its three historic house museum properties.

In the spring of 2003, he returned to New Orleans when he was appointed by Mayor C. Ray Nagin to head the staff of the Vieux Carre Commission.

During his career, Hesdorffer has appeared as guest speaker before a wide variety of professional, educational and civic groups concerned with architecture and historic preservation. He has served as a guest critic for architectural design classes and competitions and has authored numerous articles about historic buildings, preservation and planning.