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The Cemeteries Terminal
Bus Shelter for the Esplanade line, on Canal Boulevard.
The Cemeteries Terminal at the Foot of Canal
NORTA 2003, outbound, pauses before the Cemeteries Terminal, to let NORTA 2019 leave.
The Cemeteries Terminal expansion project begins just over a week from now. Let’s explore the history of Canal’s end of the line.
1861 to 1894 – Mule-Drawn Streetcars
Canal Street at St. Charles Avenue (left) and Royal Street (right), 1865 (Blessing photo)
The Canal Streetcar line opened in June of 1861. It ran from St. Charles Avenue and Canal, originally to the New Orleans City Railroad Company barn on Canal at N. White. In August, 1861, the line was extended to the cemeteries.
1901 to 1925 – Belt Service
“Palace” Car on a test run on the Esplanade Belt, 1911. (courtesy NOPL)
Ridin’ the Belt – The Canal Street and Esplanade Avenue lines operated as belt service from 1901 to 1925. Check out our podcast on belt operation. In addition to Canal/Esplanade, St. Charles and Tulane also operated as a belt.
1925 to 1951
Canal and City Park Avenue, before the left-turn tracks were ripped up, 1951.
Belt service on Canal/Esplanade was discontinued in 1925. The right-turn tracks were ripped up, but the left-turn remained, so streetcars on the West End line could head out to the lakefront.
1951 to 1964
Cemeteries Terminal, 1963 (Courtesy Streetcar Mike)
Cemeteries Terminal, 1951 (Franck Studios for NOPSI)
When the West End line converted to buses in 1948, the left-turn tracks on Canal Street were no longer needed. NOPSI and the city built a two-track terminal at the foot of Canal, then ripped up the turn tracks. In 1964, all the streetcar tracks on Canal Street were ripped up, after the last run of the Canal line.
2004 to Present
NOLA.com article on the Cemeteries Terminal expansion by Beau Evans.
NORTA announcement on the project.
Current bus terminal on Canal Boulevard.
Canal Boulevard at present has three bus-turn lanes in the first block.
Plan for extending Canal Street line into Canal Blvd. (NORTA drawing, photo courtesy Beau Evans, NOLA.com)
The plan for the Cemeteries Terminal expansion. The streetcar will turn right from Canal, loop around on Canal Boulevard, then return to Canal Street.
The Bulldog, a pub on Canal Blvd, directly across from the bus terminal.
One of the businesses near the construction is The Bulldog, a Canal Street watering hole.
Buy Edward’s Book!
New Orleans: The Canal Streetcar Line (Arcadia’s Images of America Series)
New Orleans: The Canal Streetcar Line
The clanging of a streetcar’s bell conjures images of a time when street railways were a normal part of life in the city. Historic Canal Street represents the common ground between old and new with buses driving alongside steel rails and electric wires that once guided streetcars.
New Orleans was one of the first cities to embrace street railways, and the city’s love affair with streetcars has never ceased. New Orleans: The Canal Streetcar Line showcases photographs, diagrams, and maps that detail the rail line from its origin and golden years, its decline and disappearance for almost 40 years, and its return to operation. From the French Quarter to the cemeteries, the Canal Line ran through the heart of the city and linked the Creole Faubourgs with the new neighborhoods that stretched to Lake Pontchartrain.
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