Mr. Marco Rasi regularly shares his photography on social media. He uses a drone to get some great aerial shots. This photo of St. Louis No. 3 is no exception. The drone hovers over the Bayou St. John side of the cemetery, towards the back (closer to the Deutsches Haus than Esplanade Avenue. The dome of Our Lady of the Rosary Church hovers, background, right. The church stands half a block down Esplanade Ave. from the cemetery’s main entrance.
So, I’m going to hush for a moment so you can take in this gorgeous scene. Don’t continue until after you look at the image for a minute or two.
Nighttime
Night in one of our cities of the dead offers opportunities for contemplation, dreams, and stories. Unlike St. Louis No. 1, this cemetery’s layout is much more orderly. New Orleans required more burial grounds by the mid-19th century. So, the city council granted the Archdiocese of New Orleans a permit to build a cemetery at the bayou end of Esplanade Avenue.
They named the cemetery to honor St. Louis, King of France, just as its two predecessors (on Basin Street and three blocks back from Number 1, towards Claiborne). While the name indicates an affinity with the two Creole cemeteries, Number 3 reflects the ethnic diversity of New Orleans in the 1850s and post-rebellion. Most plots here are “double” tombs. There are larger, “society” tombs as well. Many of them are for Catholic religious orders. The archdiocese also maintains a mausoleum for the city’s priests. Additionally, the local Greek Orthodox community owns a mausoleum here for their loved ones.
Catholic racism
My family’s tomb is here in St. Louis Cemetery No. 3. The deed for that double tomb includes a “race covenant” that specifies any futures cannot sell the tomb to Black folks. Of course, changes in the law invalidated that covenant, but it’s still a stark reminder of the desires of some residents.
In Podcast 49 we talk about some of the coolest – the Palace Streetcars.
Double-Truck Palace Streetcars
Part 3 of our 4-part series on early streetcars in New Orleans presents the Palace streetcars from the turn of the 20th century. Manufactured by the St. Louis Car Company, the semi-convertible, double-truck, Palace cars picked up their name because of their smooth ride. The local transit company, New Orleans City Railway Company, had a relationship with the St. Louis Car Company. NOCRR purchased their first electric streetcars from them. By 1901, NOCRR needed larger streetcars. So, they turned again to St. Louis. The company sold them their semi-convertible. The city took delivery on the Palace cars starting in 1902.
New Orleans City RR Company 043, one of the first Palace streetcars delivered in 1902. These cars were originally open-vestibule. You can see the motorman standing at the controls outside of the cabin. The Palace cars had wood frames with a steel underframe. The grates over the lower part of the windows blocked passengers from putting their hands outside.
New Orleans Railway & Light Company (NORwy&Lt) 025 was one of the original Palace cars. This John Tibule Mendes photo shows 025 running on the Dauphine line on Mardi Gras, 1918. The company re-built the Palace cars later that year, closing in the end vestibules and making other modifications.
Blueprints
Blueprint of the “1918 Remodeling” of the Palace cars by NORwy&Lt. At this time, the company also re-numbered the cars. They assigned these cars 600- and 700-series numbers.
St. Louis World’s Fair 1904
St. Louis Car Company designed the Palace cars for use at the Louisiana Purchase Centennial Exposition in 1904. The exposition grounds featured a 10-mile streetcar route around the perimeter. Palace cars brought visitors around the exhibits and pavillions.
Zoom-in of the exhibition map showing the “Intramural Railway.”
Canal/Esplanade Belts
The first Palace cars ran on the Canal Line. When more cars arrived in 1903, they went to work on the Esplanade line. The two lines began “belt” service. We outline the route in Podcast Episode 10, “Riding the Belt.”
This 1918 image shows NORwy&Lt 630, running on the Canal Belt. The streetcar heads down City Park Avenue, towards Bayou St. John. It turns left at the bayou, onto Wisner, then a quick right, onto the Esplanade Avenue bridge. From there, the line continued down Esplanade to N. Rampart.
This Franck Studios photo shows a Palace streetcar on Esplanade Avenue. The company ran this streetcar to document the clearances on the neutral ground, in response to a lawsuit. The car’s roll sign is set for “WEST END.” Date: 8-October-1921.
1929 Strike
This photo shows the remains of a Palace car burned on Canal Street 7-July-1929. The company brought out a single streetcar operated by management employees. Motormen, conductors, and supporters turned it over and set it afire.
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.
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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
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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!
New Orleans became a base for regiments like the 42nd Massachusetts Infantry.
42nd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment
Illustration of the New Orleans headquarters of the 42nd Massachusetts Infantry, 1863. The regiment set up shop in Gentilly. They staged here for actions outside of New Orleans, most notably Port Hudson and Bayou Teche.
Description from The Historic New Orleans Collection:
View of a wood and log military building during the Civil War. In front of it are Union soldiers in military uniforms and horses. The building is located in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans. It was headquarters of the 42nd Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteers during the occupation of New Orleans.
So, at this time, Gentilly was well outside the city proper.
Bayou Gentilly
The 42nd Massachusetts operated out of the swampy mess that was the merge of bayous in what is now Mid-City New Orleans. Bayou Metairie fizzled out when it merged with Bayou St. John. The waterway continued east, but as Bayou Gentilly. The regiment chose high ground we refer to as the Gentilly Ridge. along the water.
The Union forces recognized the importance of Bayou St. John. The combination of the bayou and the Carondelet Canal provided a navigable waterway linking Faubourg Treme and the French Quarter to Lake Pontchartrain. That waterway concerned the US Army greatly during the War of 1812. While the overall situation was different in the 1860s, the Union forces did due diligence. In the first half of 1863, the 42nd Massachusetts performed picket duties along Bayou St. John, up to the lake.
Successes of the 42nd
The 42nd provided engineering and support services to Union forces moving north and west from New Orleans. Their success in this regard demonstrates the utter failure of the CSA Army and Navy in the Gulf. New Orleans provided the Union with a well-supplied staging area. They engaged the CSA from both directions in the West.
Additionally, the 42nd contributed to the formation of the 1st Louisiana Engineers, a USCT unit.
Palace Streetcar on a test run on Esplanade Avenue, 1921.
Comfortable Streetcars!
New Orleans Railway and Light (NORwy&Lt) 605, running outbound on Esplanade Avenue, 8-October-1921. This photo is part of a set shot by Franck Studios for the Rail Department. The note references a civil court case number. NORwy&Lt purchased the “Palace” streetcars from the American Car Company in 1905. These streetcars ran at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. They impressed the NORwy&Lt’s Rail Department. They ran these cars on the Canal Street and Esplanade Avenue lines. The Palace cars also ran out to West End.
Palace Streetcar on Esplanade
While the Palace streetcars offered the most comfortable ride of any in New Orleans, operation on Esplanade Avenue was tricky. That street’s neutral ground was small. The branches of the old oak trees converged over the center. NORwy&Lt avoided cutting down the trees, but encountered close calls with branches. This run of car 605 documented the clearances along Esplanade Avenue.
The Canal and Esplanade lines operated in “belt service” at this time. One line ran continuously in one direction, the other line in the opposite direction.So, a round trip involved taking both lines. Since the streetcars didn’t have to terminate and change directions, their running time improved.
The car’s roll board shows West End, rather than the two lines running the belt. The Palace cars also ran out to West End. They traveled up Canal Street outbound, turned onto City Park, then turned up on West End Boulevard, heading out to the lake. For this run, 605’s last “revenue run” was on West End. The motorman didn’t bother changing the sign.
The man sitting at the back of the streetcar on this run is likely a Rail Department employee from Canal Station. He’s wearing civilian clothes. The other man in the photo is the conductor. He wears the standard uniform.
NOPSI
Two years after this run, NORwy&Lt re-organized into New Orleans Public Service, Incorporated (NOPSI). NOPSI was then acquired by EBASCO, a division of General Electric. NOPSI later became part of Middle South Utilities, which is now Entergy.
Santa Fe Restaurant on Frenchmen Street, before it moved to Faubourg St. John.
Santa Fe Restaurant
Advertisement postcard for Santa Fe Restaurant, from October, 2006. Santa Fe, at 801 Frenchmen Street, overlooked Washington Square Park in Faubourg Marigny. Later, Santa Fe moved to Esplanade Avenue in Faubourg St. John.
Washington Square Park
This patch of green space in Faubourg Marigny dates back to Bernard de Marigny de Mandeville. The heir to the Marigny Plantation, Bernard subdivided the plantation in 1806. Whether it was Bernard of his surveyors/planners that made the decision, the plan included a public park, bounded by Frenchmen, Royal, Dauphine, and Elysian Fields. So, Santa Fe offered a view of the park.
The city owns Washington Square park. So, it’s publicly accessible green space. That’s important in any neighborhood. Additionally, the city allows special events in the square. Production companies regularly use the square for films and television. The HBO series, “Treme” featured the square as a meeting place for regular characters. Musicians gathered at the square. They branched out from there, busking on corners in the French Quarter. The current show, NCIS: New Orleans, presents Washington Square as an outdoor, socially-distant, concert venue.
Santa Fe Restaurant to Faubourg St. John
Gabrielle, a popular restaurant along Esplanade Avenue in the FSJ neighborhood, closed after Hurricane Katrina. Their location at 3201 Esplanade, near the Fair Grounds racetrack, stood empty. Santa Fe Restaurant moved on that location. While the Marigny offered a historic locale, the Esplanade Avenue building gave them more parking. It also placed them directly in the path of Jazz Fest attendees.
The food
Santa Fe Restaurant offers quality Mexican/Tex-Mex fare. They also serve margaritas, by the glass or the pitcher. Their outdoor seating gives diners a great place to sit, eat, drink, and watch the world go by. Going back to Gabrielle, I’ve always found the acoustics of the building harsh. So, we jump at outdoor tables. It’s a great place for a #daydrinking lunch!
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