The city of New Orleans is one of the most popular tourist destinations in North America, due to its delicious food, culture, Mardi Gras and great music.  The Riverwalk, located on the mighty Mississippi River adjacent to downtown and the French Quarter, was once an attraction for tourists visiting the city.

Since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005, the Riverwalk had been on a slow recovery for several years before a developer invested $80 million dollars to revamp the former Riverwalk Marketplace into the regions premier destination for shopping, dining and entertainment The Outlet Collection at Riverwalk.  The developer envisioned a portal entry that would attract tourist to enjoy the shopping, dining and entertainment venues.  This outlet portal will not only welcome tourists staying in New Orleans, but will be inviting to cruise ship passengers traveling in and out of the two cruise ship terminals at the Port of New Orleans.

The developer and designers were challenged with specifying a corrosion protection system for the entrance sign that would not only protect the structure from a humid, rainy, saltwater climate, but also be aesthetically pleasing in order to welcome tourists from all over the world. The Port of New Orleans is the home of two very busy Cruise Ship Terminals that see over 900,000 passengers each year. The structure was also designed to be flexible enough to add and remove nameplates of individual stores that come and go. This required a durable coating that could withstand handling without having to spend time and money on painting repairs. HDG was the obvious choice for a corrosion protection system that will provide a durable, low maintenance, aesthetically pleasing sign that will help attract tourism for the great city of New Orleans.