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Arch Roof streetcars at the Cemeteries 1963 #StreetcarMonday
Arch Roof Streetcars stack up at the Cemeteries Terminal, 1963 Arch Roof Streetcars in 1963 The 1923-vintage 800- and 900-series arch roof streetcars serviced the Canal line starting in the 1930s. Prior to 1935, the American Car Company's "Palace" cars ran on Canal....
2-8-0 Steam Locomotives in Gentilly #TrainThursday
2-8-0 Steam Locomotives operated regularly in Gentilly 2-8-0 Steam Locomotives We mentioned the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad (NO&NE) last week, in our discussion of Homer Plessy's ticket to Covington. Plessy was arrested at Press Street Station. That...
Rapp’s Luggage, 604 Canal Street #fadingsignsNOLA
Rapp's Luggage still sells leather goods and luggage in Metairie Rapp's Luggage George Rapp came to New Orleans from Germany, just at the end of the Civil War. He got settled and entered the leather goods business. By 1865, he put together the means to purchase Mack's...
Homer Plessy – The trip to Covington he never took
Homer Plessy bought a ticket to travel to Covington, LA, but never left New Orleans. Homer Plessy In 1892, the Comite des Citoyens (Citizens Committee), an organization of civil rights activists, wanted to challange the Separate Car Act, a bill passed by the Louisiana...
Race Screens on NOPSI 930 – Segregation on New Orleans transit
Race Screens on NOPSI 930 were typical on the 800 and 900 streetcars. Race Screens Jim Crow segregation began in the 1890s. They started in the wake of the landmark Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision. It comes as no surprise that the city where Homer Plessy and...
Canal-Baronne Transit Operations, 1906 #StreetcarMonday
Canal-Baronne Transit Operations were important at the turn of the 20th Century. Canal-Baronne Transit Single-truck streetcars along Canal Street in 1906. This postcard shows common Canal Street operations at the time. We're eleven years into the electric era here....
Cash Boys kept the money moving on Canal Street
Cash Boys moved the money before cash registers Cash Boys Cash Boys were employees of large dry goods and department stores. Before cash registers, these stores puzzled over how to control money on the sales floor. Cash drawers meant money spread out everywhere....
Sears Feibleman’s, Fellman’s, Canal Street, Baronne Street
Sears, Feibleman's and Canal Street retail. Sears, Feibleman's and Canal Street With Sears, Roebuck all but closing down nationwide, let's look back at how Sears came to New Orleans. The Chicago company acquired stores owned by the Feibleman family, most notably,...
Southern Railway – Pontchartrain Expressway #TrainThursday
Southern Railway, now Norfolk Southern, maintains the #BackBelt railroad connection. Southern Railway The New Orleans and North Eastern (NONE) Railroad connected New Orleans with Meridian, Mississippi, in 1883. NONE operated from Terminal Station, located at Canal and...
Basin Street – Southern Railway Switching and Steam #TrainThursday
Basin Street was the location of Terminal Station Basin Street Terminal Station serviced Southern Railway and the Gulf, Mobile, and Ohio Railroad, from 1908 to 1954. Travelers and shoppers on Canal Street saw the arched facade of the building. Those keeping the trains...
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