Mandeville City Council approves sprinkler system for Dew Drop

TheDew Drop Jazz Hall in Mandeville, billed as the world's oldest virtually unaltered rural jazz dance hall, will get a minor alteration. The City Council Thursday night authorized Mayor Donald Villere to sign a contract for the installation of a fire suppression system at the rustic music house on Lamarque Street near Lake Pontchartrain.

The city had estimated the cost of the project at $35,000. Bids were solicited from three fire suppression contractors, but only one responded - Jefferson Sprinkler Inc. - with a bid of $32,625. The resolution approved by the council clears the way for the contract to be enacted with Jefferson Sprinkler.

Councilman Rick Danielson said the fire suppression system is a "much needed improvement" for the 119-year-old structure. Earlier this year, carpenters were brought in to firm up the building's frame and straighten its bowed walls.

The wooden music hall was built in 1895 as a home base for the Dew Drop Social and Benevolent Association. The unpainted wooden building has no air conditioning or heating, no restrooms, no insulation and no bricks and mortar, except for its pillars. It has electricity provided by a single construction utility line.

The building was donated to the city ofMandeville in 2000. The rustic hall is operated and maintained by Friends of the Dew Drop. The non-profit organization stages about twelve concerts a year at the hall, divided between spring and fall seasons.

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Mandeville City Council approves sprinkler system for Dew Drop