Ad of the Week – advertising blasts from the past!
How you can help NOLA History Guy – Things you can do right now!
NOLA Six Word Writing Challenge – Exercise your imagination!
A Little History… The Butcher’s Market, 1864
The Butcher’s Market, 1864. Marshall Dunham Collection, courtesy LSU Libraries Special Collections.
View of the Butcher’s Market section of the French Market, 1864. This photo is part of the Marshall Dunham Collection, courtesy LSU Library, Special Collections. This is one of the earliest photographs of the French Market. The photographer stands directly across from Jackson Square, looking downriver. For reference, this is the current location of Oscar Dunn Park.
The Market
The French Market originated with the indigenous tribes of the area. The French and Spanish constructed permanent buildings, and the structures in this photo date from 1813.
Butchers
The front set of buildings were the Halles de Boucheries, the Butchers’ Market. Farmers raised cattle and hogs away from the city, on open land along Bayou St. John, as well as down in St. Bernard Parish. The butchers bought whole sides of beef from the farmers, then cut them to order in stalls here in the market. The Butcher’s market opened before dawn. Shoppers came out early to get the best cuts of the day. By 11am or so, the heat of the day reached the point where the butchers closed their stalls. After buying meat, shoppers continued down the market to the produce vendors, then across the street to the bakers and dry grocery stores.
Construction
The lumber in the foreground is likely for one of the railroad buildings that went up here as the riverfront returned to its pre-war levels. Railroads operated in New Orleans since 1831 (the Pontchartrain Railroad). Tracks did not connect train stations and rail yards between Uptown and the Marigny until after the Civil War. We’re seeing the beginning of that process here.
Coffee
A Twentieth century photo of this building would show us the world-famous Cafe du Monde coffee shop. Coffee stands operated in the market in the 1860s, but they were not classic sit-down cafes. Workers in the market and along the riverfront walked up to windows (“stands”) to buy their coffee. Women pushed carts up and down Decatur Street, also selling coffee.
After the war, the city desired to “gentrify” the area around Jackson Square. They pushed the butcher’s stalls back from St. Ann Street. Cafe du Monde leased the front of the Butcher’s Market. This added to the appeal of living near the square.
Marshall Dunham
This photo is part of the personal collection of Marshall Dunham, a Union soldier from New York. He came down to New Orleans during the war, eventually being promoted to the rank of Sergeant-Major. He then received a commission as a First Lieutenant in the 77th Regiment, USCT. He collected many photos of the city, particularly from the photographer S. T. Blessing.
Next week, Thursday 17-September-2026, Derby and I will present The Forgotten Front – How New Orleans and the Gulf South Shaped the American Revolution. This is part of our Third Thursday Lecture Series at the Jefferson Parish Library, East Bank Regional Branch, 4747 W. Napoleon Avenue, Metairie. We’ll start at 7pm, and it’s free and open to the public.
We have so much fun with our tag-team talks!
Talk at the Deutsches Haus on 20-September!
Vintage Ad of the Week
“Pompano Pontchartrain Amandine” at Brennan’s French Restaurant, 417 Royal Street. Ad in the Times-Picayune, 10-September-1957. Note the branding the restaurant used at the time, “French Restaurant.” Brennan’s is, of course, Still There More!
How You Can Help NOLA History Guy
Things you can do RIGHT NOW to help us out!
Buy my books! Edward Branley is the author of six books on New Orleans history. They’re available from local booksellers and all the usual online suspects.
Buy me a Coffee on Ko-fi dot com. I just love this concept as a way to say thank you/tip creators you enjoy. Our idea of monetization is buying books and having us come to speak. If you see me at a coffee shop, stop and say hi. Otherwise, I’ll raise coffee cup to you if you treat me.
Become a patron. Yes, we’re on Patreon. A lot of creators use the platform for direct monetization, and that’s great for them. We don’t have “exclusive content” for patrons. Still, if you think our history stuff is worth a dollar a month, go join!
The Dauphine streetcar line later changed its name to St. Claude.
Dauphine Streetcar Line
The New Orleans City Railroad Company (NOCRR) opened the Canal and Esplanade streetcar lines in April of 1861. They expanded streetcar service to the “down river” side of Canal Street. By July of 1861, the company inaugurated the Dauphine line. The line originally bore the name “Rampart and Dauphine.” They shortened the name to make maps and route signs clearer.
The original route
Robinson Atlas, 1883
Outbound
Start at the Clay Statue (Canal/Royal/St. Charles)
Outbound on Canal Street to N. Rampart
Turn on N. Rampart to Esplanade.
Right-turn on Esplanade, then left on Dauphine
Continue outbound on Dauphine to Poland Avenue
Left-turn on Poland, up to the car barn at N. Rampart.
Inbound
Robinson Atlas, 1883
Departs the car barn at N. Rampart Street and Poland Avenue.
Inbound N. Rampart directly to Canal Street
Left-turn on Canal Street to turntable at the Clay Statue..
NOCRR electrified Dauphine in December, 1894. This shifted how streetcars behaved at either terminus. Mule-driven cars required a loop around the block or a turntable to change directions. (Turntables: think the San Francisco cable cars. Position the streetcar on a turntable. Instead of pushing the car to move the turntable, the operator walked the mule just off the turntable.) Electric streetcars use the poles on the roof to change directions. In 1898, the line used the newly-constructed loop around Liberty Place at the head of Canal Street. Streetcars circled the cop-killer monument. So, when Dauphine electrified, the streetcars made a left-turn on Rampart, headed to the river on Canal. They looped around and returned to Rampart, where the streetcars made a right-turn for the outbound run.
While the Dauphine line serviced the French Quarter, it didn’t travel its namesake street until after it crossed Esplanade Avenue. So, in terms of the Quarter, the line offered an alternative to Quarter residents who lived above Bourbon Street.
Out to the sugar refinery
The New Orleans Railway & Light Company (NORwy&Lt) operated transit in the city from 1905 until NOPSI took over in 1922. In 1910, they extended the Dauphine line down to the American Sugar Refinery in St. Bernard Parish. Opening of the Industrial Canal altered the route in 1922. The line used the bridge at St. Claude, then turned towards N. Peters to the refinery.
Equipment
NOCRR operated Stephenson “bobtail” cars on the Dauphine streetcar line before electrification. The first electrics on the line were 1894 Brills. “Palace” double-trucks upgraded the line by 1915. The photo shows NORwy&Lt 025, a Palace car, operating outbound on the line.
Name change
NOPSI changed the name of the line to St. Claude in 1926. Since the Industrial Canal pulled the route away from Dauphine Street, this change better reflected its path.
Four Ways to Support NOLA History Guy
Buy my books! Edward Branley is the author of six books on New Orleans history. They’re available from local booksellers and all the usual online suspects.
Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi dot com. I just love this concept as a way to say thank you/tip creators you enjoy. Our idea of monetization is buying books and having us come to speak. If you see me at a coffee shop, stop and say hi. Otherwise, I’ll raise coffee cup to you if you treat me.
Become a patron. Yes, we’re on Patreon. A lot of creators use the platform for direct monetization, and that’s great for them. We don’t have “exclusive content” for patrons. Still, if you think our history stuff is worth a dollar a month, go join!
Abraham Shwartz and the family store are the origins of Maison Blanche Department Store.
Maison Blanche Origins – Abraham Shwartz
The story of the iconic store at 901 Canal Street begins with the father of the founder. Simon J. Shwartz of MB fame was the youngest son of Abraham Shwartz, a Jewish immigrant to New Orleans. Shwartz partnered with other retailers before opening his own store on Canal Street. That store led to his son moving up the street to start his own place.
Construction of Shushan Airport was part of a larger capital project proposed in 1922. The main component of the package was the seawall. The seawall functioned as a sort of dam along the lake shore. It ran from West End to the Industrial Canal. Construction of the seawall enabled the Orleans Levee Board to drain the water behind the seawall, then develop it. As we discussed in Podcast 51, Winning the War on the Lakefront, much of the reclaimed land became military installations during the run-up to World War II.
25 Chartres Street
Abraham partnered up with his brother-in-law, Simon Kaufman, in Shwartz, Kaufman, & Co., at 25 Chartres Street. This store was in the 100 block of Chartres, just off Canal Street.
161 Canal Street
161 Canal Street – Look for DH Holmes, the 4-story building on the right. Then go three doors up, that’s A. Shwartz & Son. The church on the left is Christ Episcopal, at Canal and Dauphine.
Four Ways to Support NOLA History Guy
Buy my books! Edward Branley is the author of six books on New Orleans history. They’re available from local booksellers and all the usual online suspects.
Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi dot com. I just love this concept as a way to say thank you/tip creators you enjoy. Our idea of monetization is buying books and having us come to speak. If you see me at a coffee shop, stop and say hi. Otherwise, I’ll raise coffee cup to you if you treat me.
Become a patron. Yes, we’re on Patreon. A lot of creators use the platform for direct monetization, and that’s great for them. We don’t have “exclusive content” for patrons. Still, if you think our history stuff is worth a dollar a month, go join!
Many locals say “New Basin Canal,” but the Coast Guard just calls it the “New Canal.”
The New Canal in 1864
Photograph of the turning basin for the “New Canal,” located at S. Rampart Street and Howard Avenue. Construction of the canal began in 1831. In spite of the original intent of city planners, there never was a canal built on Canal Street. Instead, the Creole community living in the Vieux Carre constructed a canal that followed the “Old Portage.” This was the foot path that led from the end of Bayou St. John to the city. This was more logical than digging a canal from the river to the lake. The Spanish Colonial government built what became known as the Carondelet Canal in 1795.
The Anglo-Irish Americans who lived on the uptown side of Canal Street, however, wanted their own access to Lake Pontchartrain. So, they began a project to dig a canal from S. Rampart Street out to what is now West End. By 1838, the canal was able to support small boats. Dredging of the canal continued into the mid-1840s, when it became commercially useful.
New/Old
The New Canal (as opposed to the “old” Carondelet Canal) was constructed primarily by Irish immigrants. While the claims that 10,000 workers died of yellow fever while building the canal are grossly exaggerated, the disease as well as accidents and such did cost the lives of many men.
This photo shows the turning basin in 1864. It’s part of the Marshall Dunham collection. Dunham worked for McPherson & Oliver, who were located at No. 132 Canal Street. New Orleans returned to regular commercial operations after the Union occupied the city in 1862. The Union navy lifted the naval blockade. By 1864, the port was an important staging base for the Union Army to move into the Western theater of operations in the Civil War. The photo shows the triangular shape of the turning basin.
With the completion of the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (Industrial Canal) in the 1920s, the importance of the New Canal diminished. It was filled in after World War II, and is now the location of the Pontchartrain Expressway. Only a few blocks of the canal’s entrance at Lake Pontchartrain remain.
Podcast 47 is the first of a four-part series on early New Orleans street railways. We’re talking about streetcars that pre-date our iconic arch roof streetcars from 1923, and the red streetcars from 2004. Beginning with the origins of public transit with omnibuses to steam railroad lines, to mule-drawn streetcars, we present getting around before electrification.
The New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad (NO&CRR) launched the first street rail line, from Baronne Street to Carrollton in 1835. This was a steam-powered line. This 1830s illustration of the Carrollton Hotel shows the steam locomotive for the Carrollton line on the left.
As Uptown expanded, residents complained about the smoke and noise of the train. NO&CRR switched from steam railroad operations to mule-drawn streetcars in the 1840s. They used Stephenson Co. “bobtail” streetcars pulled by mules.
Downtown Bobtails
p
The New Orleans City Railrod Company (NOCRR) inaugurated the Canal and Esplanade lines in 1861. While trying other streetcar models, they quickly settled on the Stephenson bobtails as well.
Facilities
After switching from steam power to mule power, NO&CRR built a barn at St. Charles and Napoleon Avenues. This is the layout of that corner, via the Robinson Atlas of 1883.
Esplanade streetcar approaching the Esplanade barn, 1864
Esplanade Station, 1883
Four Ways to Support NOLA History Guy
Buy my books! Edward Branley is the author of six books on New Orleans history. They’re available from local booksellers and all the usual online suspects.
Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi dot com. I just love this concept as a way to say thank you/tip creators you enjoy. Our idea of monetization is buying books and having us come to speak. If you see me at a coffee shop, stop and say hi. Otherwise, I’ll raise coffee cup to you if you treat me.
Become a patron. Yes, we’re on Patreon. A lot of creators use the platform for direct monetization, and that’s great for them. We don’t have “exclusive content” for patrons. Still, if you think our history stuff is worth a dollar a month, go join!
Podcast 44 features a Boyd Cruise painting of “The Levee” on the Mississippi River.
“The Levee” by Boyd Cruise
Alvik Boyd Cruise painted this exciting and busy waterfront scene in 1959. While THNOC dates the setting as 1859 (probably a typo from the actual date the artist created it), the inclusion of the Steamboat Fashion puts it at 1865-1866. While so many of Cruise’s paintings focus on particular homes and buildings, this one casts a wider net. Instead of capturing the feel of a particular building in time for a Historic American Building Survey, the artist re-creates the activity in the port, mid-19th century.
This painting shows activity in the second-largest port in the US in the 1800s. What’s particularly interesting is that Cruise details the port after the Civil War. When we think of 1865, images of the destruction and horrors of war often come to mind. Many forget that the direct participation of New Orleans in the war ended in 1862. By 1865, the Mississippi was open to riverboat activity from Vicksburg to New Orleans. With the war over, investors contracted shipbuilders to get more boats in the water that would transport cotton from plantations to the port for export.
Cotton
Bales of cotton stand on the dock. They await loading onto ocean-going ships for export. These steamboats brought “raw” cotton from plantations to New Orleans. Those big bales were too bulky for export. So, cotton factors purchased the bales from ship captains. They transported the cotton to industrial pressing plants. Think of a trash compactor in a home kitchen, but on a much larger scale. They returned the compressed bales seen in the painting to the dock. Ocean-going vessels transported those bales up the Atlantic coast and to Europe.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.
Recent Comments