Adolph began his career as a pharmacist in his native New Orleans but at an early age caught the bug of saving and preserving old historic homes.   He began investing in rundown and neglected buildings in the cities Treme neighborhood — the second oldest neighborhood after the French Quarter. This was where Jazz began, so old Treme had a rich cultural history. But at the time, it was a crime ridden, drug-infested neighborhood. It had some fantastic old homes built in the 18 hundreds — with solid bones — if they could be saved before they rotted away.

When he met his wife Naydja in 1995, the dream team of preservationists was born. Naydja was a nurse. She loved rehabbing old homes — saying it was almost like saving a patient. The couple just clicked at the very time interest in historic preservation in New Orleans and other old cities was peaking. Jokes Adolph: “our dates were at Home Depot.”

 

“Our dates were at Home Depot.”

Adolph Bynum

They have remodeled countless old “Shotgun” and “Creole Cottage” homes, transforming and preserving old New Orleans neighborhoods. Their efforts and many others have helped turn the Treme back into the lively residential neighborhood it once was, helping save the classic old homes, and the culture of this wonderful American City.

You can meet Aldoph and Naydja in our Big Story under development called  “Heart & Soul.” And here is a preview of that program, featuring the “History Dream Team.”