by nolahistoryguy | May 19, 2024 | 1920s-1930s, Gentilly, Hebrew Rest, L&N, Milneburg, Pontchartrain Beach, WWII
Before Elysian Fields took you to UNO, there was the Pontchartrain Railroad.
Elysian Fields in 1938
Photo of Gentilly Road at Elysian Fields, 1938. A Ford Model T truck heads westbound on Gentilly, Behind the truck is a dirt road which later becomes Elysian Fields Avenue. Prior to this, this Gentilly Road was the half-way point for the Pontchartrain Railroad (PRR). The PRR ran from Chartres Street in the Marigny up to Milneburg. The Louisville & Nashville discontinued the PRR in 1931. So, by 1938, the street had yet to replace the train tracks.
Hebrew Rest Cemetery is visible on the left. A consortium of Jewish congregations bought land on the Gentilly Ridge. The high ground of the ridge facilitated in-ground burials.
Railroad versus canal
The first link between the city and the lake was the combination of the Carondelet Canal and Bayou St. John. The Creoles built the canal in 1795. They leveraged the bayou to complete a waterway. The Anglo-Irish community built the second connection, the New Basin Canal. So, by the 1840s, both sides of Canal Street had a link to the lake.
Businessmen in Gentilly went in a different direction. While developers did consider a canal to the east of the city, linking Faubourg Marigny with the lake, they scrapped the plan. Instead, investors built a railroad from the established neighborhood and the lake. The PRR opened in 1831. Ships docked at Port Pontchartrain and trains took goods down to the riverfront. As Milneburg developed, passengers used the six-mile route to go to the lake for day trips.
L&N takes over
The PRR sold out to the New Orleans, Mobile and Texas Railroad in 1871. The Louisville & Nashville Railroad leased the PRR route in 1880. They bought it outright in 1881. The L&N bought the PRR to extend their system to the port of New Orleans. So, they didn’t really care much about Port Pontchartrain. So, the full run to Lake Pontchartrain became more passenger than cargo. Milneburg offered hotels, restaurants, and fishing camps to New Orleanians. By 1930, L&N lost interest in keeping up the full PRR route. The final trains to Milneburg ran in 1932.
Works Progress Administration
By the late 1930s, the tracks vanished. A dirt/shell road replaced the right-of-way. The neighborhood expanded at this time, laying the foundation for the Gentilly subdivisions that popped up after World War II. When the Works Progress Administration (WPA) came to New Orleans in 1939, paving roads in Gentilly ranked high on the project list. WPA created the grid of Gentilly streets as we know them in 1939-1940. Elysian Fields Avenue linked Gentilly Road to the new bath house facility built at Milneburg. They accepted Harry Batt, Jr.’s bid to move his amusement park from Bayou St. John and the lake to the end of Elysian Fields. NOPSI set up bus service from downtown to the new “Pontchartrain Beach” amusement area.
Sixteen years after this photo, post-war growth in Gentilly included the opening of Cor Jesu High School. The Brothers of the Sacred Heart built the school on Elysian Fields, in what was the land to the right of this photo.
The truck
I like to think the truck in this photo was one of the ones used by the Zuppardo family at this time. The Zuppardo’s started with a mule-drawn wagon, bringing over-ripe bananas from the port up into Gentilly. The business became profitable, and the family built a roadside stand on Gentilly Road. They replaced the wagons with trucks. Eventually the business became Zuppardo’s Supermarket. The family operated the store on the corner of Elysian Fields and Gentilly until Hurricane Katrina.
by nolahistoryguy | May 16, 2024 | 1900s - 1910s, CBD, Gentilly, Greenwood Cemetery, Lakeview, Metairie, Mid-City, Railroads, Southern Ralway
The current Norfolk Southern Back Belt dates back to the beginning of the 20th century.
Norfolk Southern Back Belt in 1918
Map of New Orleans Terminal Company (NOTC) trackage as of 30-June-1918. This path across Orleans Parish became known as the “Back Belt,” in comparison to the “Public Belt” route that hugs the river and services the wharves. The NOTC acquired the land for the Back Belt in the early 1900s. While I don’t have documentation, it’s likely no coincidence that merchant and developer Leon Fellman bought the 1201 block of Canal Street. Did he know about the plans of the railroad men? NOTC later merged with the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad, which in turn merged into the Southern Railway system in 1916. That’s how the route became part of the current Norfolk Southern System.
City bypass
The idea behind the Back Belt was to bypass most of the populated areas of Orleans Parish. The Back Belt originates in Jefferson Parish. It splits off of the former Illinois Central (now Canadian National) main line at Causeway Blvd. That’s the “Shrewsbury” reference on the map. It crossed the New Canal via a bascule bridge just north of Metairie Road. From there, the route crosses the city, then turns towards the river in St. Bernard Parish.
The city naturally developed in succeeding years. Lakeview and Gentilly caught up with the Back Belt by the 1920s. The Levee Board’s land reclamation projects in the 1920s opened up the area. As part of the Works Progress Administration projects of the Great Depression Era, the Back Belt expanded. WPA constructed underpasses at grade crossings throughout the city. So, once the route clears Carrollton Avenue in Metairie, there are no grade crossings for trains until they cross Lake Pontchartrain and reach Slidell.
The Terminal
Terminal Station, late 1910s
NOTC connected the Back Belt to downtown in 1908. They built Terminal Station at Canal and Basin Streets. The route ran adjacent to St. Louis Street through Mid-City. It linked up with the Back Belt at Greenwood Cemetery. Southern Railway used this connection for their “Bernadotte Yard,” so named because the yard started just below the connection point, at Bernadotte and St. Louis Streets.
Terminal Station operated from 1908 to 1954. The city constructed Union Passenger Terminal, shifting all passenger rail operations to the new station. The city demolished Terminal Station in 1956. The link to the Back Belt re-routed to follow the Pontchartrain Expressway. Today, Amtrak’s Crescent route uses that connection. The Back Belt continues to be incredibly busy, used by Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, CSX, Canadian National/KCS and Amtrak.
by nolahistoryguy | Jan 18, 2024 | 1880s, Metairie Cemetery, Mid-City
The Metairie Cemetery Entrance was at Metairie Road and Pontchartrain Boulevard in the 1880s.
Metairie Cemetery Entrance
Charles Roscoe Savage photo of Metairie Cemetery in the 1880s. BYU Digital Collections reference:
A view through a vine- covered archway of two men with their luggage at the base of a small mound with a statue on the top. Hand-tinted. Note: Written on the back- Transferred from P-167.
This entrance was for pedestrians. The Metairie Cemetery Association (MCA) constructed an automobile entrance on Pontchartrain Blvd. in the 1900s. The photographer stands with his back to the New Basin Canal. The tumulus seen through the vine-covered entrance arch is that of the Army of Tennessee (Louisiana Division). The equestrian statue on top is of Albert Sidney Johnson.
Evolution
This entrance evolved as visitors arrived in automobiles more than on foot. The cemetery had an access gate just west of the Metairie Road-Pontchartrain Blvd. entrance. This allowed hearses and other horse-drawn vehicles access. Automobiles required a better entrance. The MCA added one about twenty years after this photo. Pedestrians could still enter the cemetery from here. The MCA later removed the brick archway. They replaced it with a lower fence.
The city filled the New Basin Canal, starting in 1948. By 1949, the section by the cemetery was filled. The Pontchartrain Expressway consists of an overpass over Metairie Road. Out of concern for pedestrian safety, MCA locked the entrance permanently in the 1950s. The entrance is now accessible.
Modern view
With the archway/entrance gone, the cemetery developed the entrance area for more tombs. The most notable new construction is the Benson Tomb. It now stands to the left of where Savage stood for this photo.
Army of Tennessee (Louisiana Division)
This tumulus is one of several burial sites for rebels who fought in the Southern Rebellion. The most notable veteran interred here is P.G.T. Beauregard.
by nolahistoryguy | Nov 1, 2023 | Cemeteries, Treme
Our first #WatercolorWednesday is a cemetery scene.
Cemetery Scene by Goldman
Watercolor painting of a cemetery scene by Jeffrey H. Goldman of new Orleans. While the painting is a composite of New Orleans cemetery items, it’s not one specific place. The background suggests St. Louis Number One or Number Two, both in Treme.
There are five items in the foreground, before the wall. On the left is a “double” tomb. Behind it is an obelisk. the central item is a “triple” tomb whose lower vault is open. Next is a “single” tomb. On the right is a wall of “ovens.” These are mausoleum-style niches.
In the rear of the image stands a Creole house with a second-floor gallery. On the right is a sketch/outline of a church.
Single, Double, Triple
Goldman includes the three main types of tombs we see in New Orleans. The “single,” is the most expensive, since there can be only one burial per year. Families usually built “doubles,” so you can inter two loved ones at one time. When both vaults are occupied, the law requires the owners wait a year and a day since the most recent internment. The “triple,” three vaults, proved to be too expensive for most families.
“Ovens”
Many cemeteries build single-vault niches into their walls. These became known as “ovens.” This concept predates the classic mausoleum buildings of the 20th century.
The Obelisk
The obelisk in Goldman’s painting appears to be a “cenotaph,” a monument that is not an actual burial site. For example, the architect James Gallier was lost at sea with his wife. His son, James, Jr., erected a cenotaph to their memories in St. Louis Cemetery No. 3. Many families erect monuments to loved ones buried away from New Orleans. So, it’s appropriate that the artist include such a monument.
The artist
From Jeffrey Hugo Goldman’s obituary:
A native and lifelong resident of New Orleans. Graduated 1958 from Alcee Fortier High School, John McCrady School of Art, and Delgado Trade and Technical Institute. He received a masters degree in Architecture from Tulane University School of Architecture in 1975.
Mr. Goldman was a warm and generous individual who contributed without recognition to numerous cultural institutions in the City of New Orleans including Tulane School of Architecture, The D-Day Museum, The New Orleans Museum of Art and the Aquarium of the Americas to name a few.
When he passed, Mr. Goldman’s son donated a number of his paintings to THNOC.
by nolahistoryguy | Oct 19, 2023 | 1920s-1930s, Metairie Cemetery
The Guiseppe Vaccaro tomb stands on Metairie Avenue.
Vaccaro Tomb
Tomb of Guiseppe (Joseph) Vaccaro in Metairie Cemetery. The tomb stands on Metairie Avenue, which is part of the original “race track” section. The tomb was built in the 1920s. This Frank B. More photo is undated, but taken on the day of an interment. The Vaccaro Brothers, Guiseppe, Felix, and Luca, came to America with their father, Stefano. They started Vaccaro Brothers Company, a business to import coconuts and bananas from Honduras to New Orleans in 1899. That business later becomes the Dole Fruit Company.
Joseph built a “double” style tomb for his family. This allowed the owners to bury two family members within a year. Our law says a vault in an above-ground tomb may be re-used after a year and a day has passed since the last internment. So, if you have a double, hopefully the family doesn’t suffer extended tragedy.
Standard Fruit Company
The brothers re-organized the company as Standard Fruit Company in 1924. So, like Sam Zemurray’s United Fruit Company, the Vaccaros involved themselves in Central American Governments. They helped create the “Banana Republics.” To handle the increased volume of business, the Vaccaros bought almost every ice plant in the New Orleans area. Standard Fruit operated services to the ships transporting their bananas. They acquired their own ships in the early 1920s. The company changed its name in 1926 to Standard Fruit & Steamship Company.
Vaccaros to Dole
While the story is fascinating and we’ll come back to it, I’m just nicking this from Wikipedia, on why Dole Foods is traced back to the Vaccaros.
Standard Fruit continued operations until 1964 when it was purchased by Castle & Cooke, an agricultural and real estate company founded in 1851 by S. N. Castle and A. S. Cooke which had become one of the five largest companies operating in the Territory of Hawaii.[10] James Dole‘s Hawaiian Pineapple Company was a supplier of Castle & Cooke since 1906, and Castle & Cooke had been selling Dole branded bananas since 1927.[11] David H. Murdock bought the company in 1985 and in 1991 renamed Castle & Cooke to the Dole Food Company. Murdock split the two companies into two separate companies, Dole plc and Castle & Cooke, Inc., in 1995.[10]
The majority of the land and operations that became Dole Food Company was directly from Standard Fruit, leading to the Vaccaro brothers’ enterprise being considered the first incarnation of the Dole Food Company.[3]
So, the family faded as the company joined a conglomerate.
Thanks as always to the Earl K. Long Library at my alma mater, the University of New Orleans
by nolahistoryguy | Aug 25, 2023 | 1880s, French Quarter, Metairie Cemetery
The Traitor Davis died in New Orleans in 1899. The city gave him a grand funeral procession.
Funeral Procession of the Traitor Davis
Jefferson Davis died in the Garden District on December 6, 1889. They city held a massive funeral procession for Davis on 11-December. This is the Library of Congress summary for this photo of the procession:
Photo shows coffin in horse-drawn wagon as the “funeral procession for Jefferson Davis winds through the French Quarter in New Orleans on December 11, 1889. An estimated 200,000 people lined the streets. Davis died early on December 6, and over 70,000 people viewed his remains at New Orleans City Hall. The body was laid to rest in a vault in Metairie Cemetery, then was taken to Richmond in 1893 and reinterred at Hollywood Cemetery.” (Source: Papers of Jefferson Davis Web site at Rice University, 2009)
Additional notes
This is a concise summary of the event. Some additional notes:
Beauvoir
Davis’ last home was the Beauvoir Estate, on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in Biloxi. While he did not maintain a house in New Orleans, he was frequently the guest of White League families in the Garden District.
Metairie Cemetery
As mentioned in the LOC summary, the Traitor Davis was initially interred in Metairie, before being moved to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, VA. The specific location of Davis’ vault was in the Army of Northern Virginia (Louisiana Division) tumulus. He was interred in a vault near the entrance. Davis’ signature was engraved and inlaid with gold in the marble covering the vault. When he was re-interred, that vault was permanently sealed.
Royal Street, 1889
Streetcar tracks are visible in the photo, as are electric poles. While commercial electrification began in the mid-1880s, electrification of street rail was still a few years away. The main line using the streetcar tracks at this time was the “Jackson Depot” line. this later morphed into the Desire line by the 1920s.
The Jackson Depot line ran from Canal and St. Charles Street, up to Delord (later Howard), making its way to the New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern Railroad (later Illinois Central) station on Clio Street. It wound its way back to Carondelet Street, crossed to the downtown side and Bourbon Street, terminating at the Pontchartrain Railroad/L&N station on Elysian Fields. It then returned via Royal Street.
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