Tony Gelderman's love for historic architecture began as a child, walking to Trinity Episcopal School from his home on Camp Street in the Garden District.

He remembers being enamored by the grand old houses, noticing the details that might have escaped other kids, and always considered himself a frustrated architect.

As an adult, and throughout a 40-year legal career, he and his wife, Katherine, became active in local preservation circles, restoring a Garden District mansion, an Art Deco-era apartment complex in Baton Rouge and a historic building in the Warehouse District.

Now, as he nears retirement, Gelderman is turning his passion into what will likely become a full-time gig for many years: purchasing the historic Poor Clare’s Monastery near Audubon Park. He plans to turn the near

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