by nolahistoryguy | Mar 12, 2021 | 1920s-1930s, Lakefront
Lake Pontchartrain seawall is the first level of flood protection in Orleans Parish.
Lake Pontchartrain Seawall
John Tibule Mendes photo of the Lake Pontchartrain Seawall, not long after its completion in 1932. The Orleans Levee Board (OLB) began the seawall project in 1930. Construction took about two and a half years.
Land Reclamation
Beginning in the 1920s, the OLB embarked on major land reclamation projects, from West End to the Industrial Canal. These projects resulted in the Lakeshore, Lake Vista, Lake Terrace, and Lake Oaks residential neighborhoods.
A great illustration of these reclamation projects is the Port Pontchartrain lighthouse at the end of Elysian Fields Avenue. The Pontchartrain Beach amusement park, built on reclaimed land, surrounded the lighthouse. Before the 1920s, that lighthouse stood in the lake, guiding ships and boats into the port.
Seawall construction
To build the Lake Pontchartrain Seawall. the OLB pushed the lake back from the shore line. Workers poured the eight-foot concrete wall. After the concrete set and cured, the water was released. This process continued until it reached the Industrial Canal.
Levees along the lake
While the Lake Pontchartrain Seawall was the first line of flood protection, OLB built levees behind it. The first levee began in 1930, as part of the seawall project. The levee/seawall design offered a good bit of lake shore recreation space. Shell roads became the fully-paved Lakeshore Drive we know now, in 1940. Since Lakeshore Drive lacked a flood protection purpose, that construction didn’t happen until the Great Depression and the WPA.
Levee expansion
The 1930 levee serviced the lakefront for thirty-five years. Hurricane Betsy topped that levee on August 27, 1965. OLB dramatically increased the size of the levee in the storm’s aftermath. They continued raising the levee into the 2000s. While Hurricane Katrina in 2005 didn’t top the levee, that storm focused OLB work on the outfall canals.
The photo
Mendes caught a section of the Lake Pontchartrain Seawall in its in-between phase. While the seawall is complete, the water hasn’t yet been released to its edge.
by nolahistoryguy | Feb 22, 2021 | Benjamin Franklin High, Gentilly, Lakefront
Benjamin Franklin High 1987 transitioned from Uptown to Lakefront.
Benjamin Franklin High 1987.
Dr. Everett C. Williams poses with OPSB member Mr. John Robbert and students of Benjamin Franklin High 1987. They stand behind an architectural model of the planned campus for the school, located on the University of New Orleans Lakefront Campus. (Students are unidentified; please comment if you know anybody!)
The city’s public school for gifted students, Benjamin Franklin High 1987 opened its doors for the first time for the 1957 school year. The Old Carrollton Courthouse (S. Carrollton Avenue, between Hampson and Maple Streets, Uptown), housed the school for just over thirty years. While Benjamin Franklin 1987 was originally segregated, it became the first Orleans Parish public school to desegrate, in 1963.
The original requirement for admission to this select school was an IQ of 120. Now, Franklin requires a more-formal admissions test of prospective students.
Notable Alumni
Alumni of note of Benjamin Franklin High 1987:
- Barry W. Ashe: Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana[99]
- David “Dee-1” Augustine: rapper[100]
- Lolis Eric Elie: former columnist at The Times-Picayune, TV writer for Treme and Hell on Wheels, author, award-winning documentary filmmaker, author of Smokestack Lightning: Adventures in the Heart of Barbecue Country (ISBN 1-58008-660-8)[101]
- Ted Frank: Director of the AEI Legal Center for the Public Interest[102]
- Jalila Jefferson-Bullock: Louisiana State Legislature – Representative, District 91: 2003-2007[103]
- Anya Kamenetz: freelance writer & columnist, author of Generation Debt (ISBN 978-1-59448-907-5)[104]
- David Kinch: chef and owner of Manresa restaurant in Los Gatos, California[105]
- Delfeayo Marsalis: jazz trombonist – attended Ben Franklin/NOCCA[106]
- Wynton Marsalis: Pulitzer Prize, nine-time Grammy Award winning musician – attended Ben Franklin/NOCCA[107]
- Jeffery Miller: jazz trombonist – attended Ben Franklin/NOCCA[108][109]
- James Nolan: poet, fiction writer, essayist, and translator[110]
- Wendell Pierce: actor, star of the HBO dramas The Wire and Treme[111]
- Wade Rathke: co-founder of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)[112]
- Cedric Richmond: U.S. Representative, Louisiana’s 2nd district: 2011-current; Louisiana State Representative, District 101: 1999-2010[113]
- Clint Smith: author and poet, known for his work in education, incarceration, and inequality[114]
- Richard (Dick) Talens, Entrepreneur, Celebrity Trainer, and Co-Founder Fitocracy
- Rosie Tran: Stand Up Comedian, Actress, Model, and podcast host.
- Walter Williams: Saturday Night Live writer, creator of Mr. Bill[115]
(Source: Wikipedia)
Move to Lakefront
The Orleans Parish School Board determined that the Old Carrollton Courthouse was no longer suitable for Franklin’s campus. They negotiated with the University of New Orleans and leased land for Franklin on the university’s Lakefront/Gentilly campus. Benjamin Franklin High moved to the new campus in the 1989-1990 school year.
The Photo
This photo is part of the Orleans Parish School Board collection at UNO. If you know anyone in this photo, please let us know, so we can improve the description.
by nolahistoryguy | Jan 25, 2021 | Gentilly, Lakefront, West End
Maison Blanche Swimsuits 1956 for Memorial Day sale.
Maison Blanche Swimsuits 1956
Swimsuits and other summer wear filled up almost an entire page of the Times-Picayune on 31-May-1956. Cotton swimsuits for $5.50, and in stock after Memorial Day? Whoa. Sixty-four years later, women stress over buying a swimsuit in January.
Summering in the late 1950s
Many New Orleans families packed up and headed to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in June. School’s out, and the heat rolled in. Central air-conditioning wasn’t nearly what it is now. So, Mom and the kids left town. Literally. Dad worked, of course, joining the family Friday night.
Folks who didn’t have the means to buy or rent a summer home, or a fishing camp down the bayou, managed with day trips. The Elysian Fields bus transported generations to Pontchartrain Beach for a day of sun and swim. Others chose the West End bus, for picnics at the park. Black families rode out to Lincoln Beach, on Hayne Blvd., in New Orleans East. Others chose the shelters maintained by the Orleans Parish Levee Board along the lake. Shelter No. 3, by the old Coast Guard station, featured a roped-off swimming area. Lifeguards manned watch stations there, by the entrance of Bayou St. John. Whichever escape the family desired, the right clothes were essential.
MB Stores
By 1956, Maison Blanche operated three stores. The Canal Street store always served as the flagship and corporate headquarters. The buyers chose lots of clothing for deeper discounts as summer approached. The stockrooms on the second floor emptied, filling the displays on the first floor. They buyers sent stock and brand lists to the art department. Messengers delivered ads to the paper.
Those buyers factored in stock levels of certain items for these sales. Not only did they consider shoppers on Canal Street, but folks in Mid-City and Gentilly. MB operated the store at S. Carrollton and Tulane, serving Mid-City and the growing Metairie subdivisions. In Gentilly, the store at Frenchmen and Gentilly Blvd. offered a closer alternative than Canal Street to families out there.
The Ad
The block-font “Maison Blanche” logo at the bottom of the page served as the “standard” for MB at the time. The top “MB” varied, depending on the artist.
by nolahistoryguy | May 18, 2020 | Lakefront, Lakeview, WWII
Lakefront Drive-In Theater, in 1940.
“Drive-in Theater” on Canal Blvd, 1940.
Lakefront Drive-In Theater
Last year, I presented a lecture at the National World War II Museum, entitled, Winning the War on the Lakefront. The talk started at West End and the New Canal, then moved along the lakefront to the Industrial Canal. Every time I’ve presented this lecture, folks in attendance asked about a facility in what is now the East Lakeshore subdivision. Turns out, it was a Lakefront Drive-in Theater.
The Army and Navy hospitals.
Aerial photo of Lagarde Army Hospital (bottom), and Naval Hospital New Orleans (top), 1940
The Orleans Levee Board reclaimed a great deal of land along the lakefront in the late 1920s. For reference, around 1910, the Mount Carmel Convent on Robert E. Lee Blvd had a fishing pier out front. It extended into the lake from almost the front door. The OLB reclaimed the area from there, up to where Lakeshore Drive is now.
The WPA made major improvements to the lakefront in 1938-1939. They built the seawall and Lakeshore drive. The reclaimed land belonged to the city. So, when the US Army and US Navy looked to build hospitals in New Orleans, the lakefront area appealed to them. The Army built Lagarde Army Hospital in what is now West Lakeshore. The Navy built Naval Hospital New Orleans on the other side of Canal Blvd. The breeze off Lake Pontchartrain cooled down the area at a time when air-conditioning was not ubiquitous. While the hospitals had different missions, they both benefited from the location.
What’s that thing?
Ad for the “Drive-in Theater,” 1940
I found some good aerial shots of the lakefront in 1940. They show the WPA improvements and the hospitals nicely. They also show a facility with a bunch of arcs, right behind Naval Hospital New Orleans. I dismissed it as maybe some kind of outdoor amphitheater, perhaps for concerts and other entertainment. Folks asked, “What’s that thing?” I replied with the outdoor entertainment answer.
Well, that answer wasn’t exactly wrong! I shared an Infrogmation photo of the bus stand at Canal and Robert E. Lee a couple of days ago. Arthur “Mardi Hardy” Hardy, musician, teacher, and local Carnival expert, replied to that image. Arthur said there was a drive-in movie theater, there on the other side of Canal Blvd, from the bus stand. He shared the ad (above) in the comment thread. The name of the place really was just, “Drive-In Theater.”
DING! That must be the “thing” behind Naval Hospital New Orleans. It makes sense, the quarter-circle pattern of the facility. Everything converges on the point of the right angle. That’s the screen. Public transportation to get out to the hospitals was limited (just the West End Streetcar). So, most folks drove out to there for work. Maybe stop and catch a movie before heading all the way home? Makes a lot of sense.
Movie Theater Project
I know Arthur has a book in progress on local movie theaters. So, I have yet another reason to buy it when it’s done. Thanks, Arthur!
by nolahistoryguy | Oct 11, 2018 | 1960s, 1960s, Gentilly, Lakefront, University of New Orleans
Hurricane Betsy showed how resilient and strong the Third Coast is.
Damage to the old NAS New Orleans buildings at then-LSUNO, 1965 (Courtesy Earl K. Long Library, University of New Orleans)
Hurricane Betsy
On 10-September-1965, Hurricane Betsy hit Grand Isle, Louisiana. The storm formed as a tropical depression on 27-August-1965, in the Caribbean, near French Guinea. After Grand Isle, Betsy crawled up the Mississippi River. The wind pushed “storm surge” water from Lake Pontchartrain into New Orleans. The monetary damage from Betsy surpassed $1B. Betsy was the first storm hitting that mark.
Damage to New Orleans
Classroom damage at then-LSUNO, 1965 (Courtesy Earl K. Long Library, University of New Orleans)
Betsy damaged New Orleans on three fronts. Water pushed by the storm’s winds topped the levees along the lakefront. That flooded the “levee board neighborhoods”, subdivisions between Robert E. Lee Boulevard and the lake. Surge in New Orleans East pushed into the Lower Ninth Ward. That surge, as well as flood walls from the south slammed St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes hard. Second, wind blew down trees, utility poles, large signs, etc. Those falling objects damaged houses and businesses. Roofs fell victim to wind as well. As if this wasn’t enough, Hurricane Betsy spawned tornadoes in Metairie and Jefferson. While tornadoes are more localized, they still inflicted tremendous damage in small areas.
Aftermath
Hurricane Betsy ran up a big tab. New Orleanians paid the bills. They city was wet but not defeated. The people were windblown, but fully intended to stay.
The US Army Corp of Engineers, along with the city, learned much from Betsy. They learned the levees along the lake needed to be much higher. The Corps raised the levees. We built new floodwalls. City Hall developed new evacuation strategies. All that work protected the city for almost forty years.
Katrina
Flood waters from Katrina swallow the Lakeview branch of NOPL, 2005 (courtesy Loyola University New Orleans)
Katrina hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast and New Orleans on 29-August-2005. The preparations of the late 1960s and 1970s, for the most part, held. Some failed, most notably the levees and floodwalls on the city’s outfall canals. Evacuation strategies worked, particularly the “contraflow” lane configurations on interstate highways around the metro area.
The city got wet. The people got windblown. New Orleans and the federal government paid the bill. The people recovered from the damage. Others moved here, strengthening the city. Even the Superdome area came back strong, after serving as the “shelter of last resort”. The Katrina Diaspora continues to affect the city’s culture. While city wrestles with gentrification and “new” influences, groups and neighborhoods preserve what was here before Katrina.
Florida
Folks on the Florida Gulf Coast tell similar stories of wind and rain. National writers would be best advised to take a deep breath and consult history before writing off any town on the Third Coast as “gone”.
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by nolahistoryguy | Aug 20, 2018 | 1920s-1930s, Early 20th Century, Lakefront, NOPSI, Streetcars
Spanish Fort Streetcar
Tracks running out on the Spanish Fort fishing pier, 1911. (Franck Studios)
Spanish Fort Streetcar
The amusements at Spanish Fort entertained New Orleanians, from the 1880s, up to the first incarnation of Pontchartrain Beach, in 1929. Going to the fort was a day trip, and a train service brought folks out to the lake. The train service ended in the late 1890s. Streetcar service began in 1911 and ran until the 1930s.
History
Heading out to Spanish Fort, 1912.
Fort Saint John, known to New Orleanians as the Spanish Fort, guarded the mouth of Bayou St. John at Lake Pontchartrain during the Spanish Colonial Period. While it never saw action, the fort played an important role in the War of 1812. Because Jackson assigned Lafitte’s gunners to the fort, the British chose to come at the city from Lake Borgne and St. Bernard Parish. They made no attempt to come down the bayou and Carondelet Canal. The US Army pushed the city’s defenses further out, building forts at the Rigolets and Chef Menteur Pass. By the time of the Southern Rebellion, Spanish Fort was a tourist attraction.
Amusement Area
Spanish Fort in New Orleans, “The Coney Island of the South”
After the end of Southern Rebellion, civilian government returned to New Orleans. Streetcar lines expanded across the city. Mules pulled these streetcars. The streetcar companies experimented with steam locomotives, but residents along the lines complained of the noise and smoke. Electric streetcars came to New Orleans in the mid 1890s.
Mules weren’t practical for getting out to the lakefront. To make the trip to West End or Spanish Fort in the 1870s-1880s, folks took steam trains. The railroad companies made the locomotives look like streetcars.
The Spanish Fort amusement area was popular. The location offered cool evening breezes. In general, temperatures were lower near the water. The combination attracted folks to come out for a swim, and to hear jazz, opera, and other music in the evenings.
The train service meant a trip to Spanish Fort was a long day trip, or, if you were out for the evening, an overnight excursion.
Ownership Change
“Plan Book” for the sale of Spanish Fort, 1911 (courtesy New Orleans Notarial Archives)
Spanish Fort declined in popularity in the 1900s. West End dominated as the lakefront destination of choice. The Spanish Fort area was sold in 1911, and the new owners convinced the New Orleans Railway and Light Company to offer electric streetcar service.
The Streetcar Line
Streetcars at the old Spanish Fort railroad station, ca 1911.
NO Rwy & Lt company originated the Spanish Fort line. The route:
- Start – S. Rampart, between Tulane and Canal
- Left turn onto Canal Street, outbound to City Park Avenue
- Left turn onto City Park Avenue to the Halfway House
- Right turn at the New Basin Canal, heading outbound next to the railroad right of way
- Right turn at Adams Avenue (now Robert E. Lee Blvd.)
- East on Adams to Spanish Fort.
- Left turn into the Spanish Fort Station (still there from railroad service)
The inbound/return route was a reversal of the outbound run.
The line operated seasonal service. More streetcars ran in the Spring through the Summer. In the Fall and Winter, Spanish Fort operated as “shuttle” service. Riders took West End to Adams Avenue and transferred to the shuttle cart that went to the fort. This shuttle service operated when the line started in March, 1911. The full service began in June, 1911.
When the new owners took over in 1911, they extended the streetcar tracks from the railroad station out along the fishing pier. A streetcar ran from the station stop that was usually the end of the line to the end of the pier.
The Streetcars
Barney and Smith streetcar, ca 1905 (NOPSI drawing)
NORwy&Lt operated double-truck streetcars on the Spanish Fort line. The Barney and Smith cars ran regularly, with some American Car Company cars also used. During the busy summer season, the powered streetcars pulled unpowered “trailer” cars.
End of Spanish Fort service
Main Gate of the Pontchartrain Beach amusement park, 1929
The Spanish Fort line terminated in 1932. By the 1920s, the fort’s popularity as an amusement destination declined. When the Batt family opened their Pontchartrain Beach amusement park on the eastern side of Bayou St. John, in 1929, ridership on the Spanish Fort line spiked up again. Pontchartrain Beach heavily advertised the Spanish Fort line as a way to get to the amusement park. “Right Next to Krauss!” The park moved to Milneburg in the 1930s, though. Without either the fort or Pontchartrain Beach, there was no reason to keep the line in operation.
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