New Orleans: Gateway to the Americas
International Trade Mart, 1964 |
The International Trade Mart was chartered in 1945, first opened its doors in 1948, and in 1985, merged with International House to form the World Trade Center, a private, non-profit organization with a membership of 2,000 corporations and individuals dedicated to promoting international trade and the port of New Orleans. Like its predecessor organizations, the WTC continues to sponsor trade missions to Latin American and Carribean nations (and, indeed, to far-flung points of the globe), to conduct a variety of educational programs, conferences, seminars, and trade shows and to host dignitaries and other visitors from New Orleans' trade partner nations. The WTC's work is conducted from its 33-story headquarters at the foot of Canal Street, shown here under construction in 1964.[General Interest Photograph Collection, International Trade Mart Series]