Officials broke ground on Lake Charles’ “dream come true” on Tuesday.

The Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu, to be located at 641 Enterprise Boulevard, will be the historical and cultural heartbeat of the Nellie Lutcher Cultural District. The 6,000-square-foot building will house hundreds of historic Mardi Gras costumes, as well as cultural exhibits, artifacts and animatronics — including a “wagging, talking dog” named Norah-Jean).

The project was announced in April 2023 after the museum was awarded a $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

“It seems like we’ve waited a long time, and good things are worth waiting for,” said  Anne Moniezun, president of Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu. “I can tell you that.”

The Mardi Gras Museum was originally exhibited in the Central School Arts & Humanities Center, starting in 1998. It was closed due to damages sustained by Hurricane Laura in 2020.

Kyle Edminston, president and CEO of Visit Lake Charles, said he believes the museum will be a symbol of the area’s rebirth.

“From COVID, from Hurricane Laura and Delta, now we’re going to rise and raise the new Mardi Gras museum here on this site,” he said.

Mayor Nic Hunter echoed this, stating Lake Charles is now focused on “today, tomorrow and the future.”

It’s important to the city that the project is impactful, so the museum is being built on repurposed vacant, partially adjudicated property in an area of town that “that needs some love.”

The lot is in the center of the Nellie Lutcher District, an area that his administration has turned its attention to over the past few years (in alignment with the Just Imagine SWLA 50-Year Resilience Master Plan).

The city created the Enterprise Boulevard Economic District to “honor” the area and “specifically to honor Nellie Lutcher,” he said. Lutcher was a renowned American R&B and jazz singer and pianist born and raised in Lake Charles.

“She was important to this community, she was important to this country and it was a promise that we would better honor her. We’re doing that every day.”

They are making headway. Across the street is the Nellie Lutcher Memorial Park, which opened in November last year and recently won the Louisiana Municipal Association Community Achievement award. Down the road is the Acadian Ambulance Regional Headquarters.

This mission to develop has led to tangible signs of a healing community.

“If you had walked down or visited this strip of Enterprise Blvd. six years ago, you would have seen a very different city,” Hunter said.

Luvertha August, Lake Charles councilmember, District B, said as the area becomes “beautiful,” “revitalized” and “active,” tourism will follow.

“Those coming on and off of I-10 will have something of interest,” she explained. “We have Popeye’s down the street. They can eat, they can come and look around. They can go to the park … and just have a respite from their travels. We want to make this a place where everyone can feel welcome.”

The museum is expected to open in late 2025.

The estimated total cost of the project is $3.5 million, and Moniezun said they have yet to reach their financial goal.

The public has the opportunity to contribute by purchasing personalized bricks or tiles that will be integrated into the museum’s design.