Podcast 63 presents the Allard Plantation, now New Orleans City Park.
Julius Robert Hoening’s 1898 painting by titled “Plantation and Oak Tree“ (Allard Plantation).
The Allard Plantation
The land along Bayou St. John, from Lake Pontchartrain to the “Great Portage” attracted members of Bienville’s exploration party from the first trips they made to what would be their Crescent City colony. While most of the French worked to establish the city, a few individuals broke off, heading back up the bayou, living with the indigenous. Small shacks evolve into farms, eventually becoming full plantations by the time of Spanish control.
One of those farms that becomes a plantation was owned by the Allard family. It’s the origin story of our beloved City Park.
Many families bury their loved ones in-ground. It’s more than just “the water table.”
Branighan family coping in St. Patrick Cemetery Number One (Edward Branley photo)
For the most part, we bury our dead above ground in New Orleans. The conventional wisdom on this practice is, “the water table is too high.” As is the case with many “conventional” wisdoms, yes-and-no. Yes, we have a high water table. No, it doesn’t mean you can’t do in-ground burials here. You just have to make sure the coffin doesn’t pop up on a heavy-rain/flood day.
High ground
There’s a trend with cemeteries in New Orleans. They’re built on (relatively) high ground. The original St. Peter Cemetery, at the back of the Vieux Carré, is higher than the neighborhoods along the Old Portage. The Metairie Ridge, at the foot of Canal Street, also stands higher than the surrounding neighborhood. Additionally, the Metairie Ridge was well out of town when the archdiocese and Firemen’s Benevolent began cemetery construction there. That extra distance allayed fears of the spread of yellow fever.
The Gentilly Ridge also appealed to congregations looking for cemetery locations. The archdiocese expanded to the end of Esplanade Avenue, building St. Louis Number Three at Bayou St. John. Jewish congregations chose Gentilly Road, along the route of the Pontchartrain Railroad. This later became Elysian Fields Avenue.
Tradition and expense
For Jewish New Orleanians, the desire for in-ground burials was a religious one. For Christians, cost was the driving factor. St. Patrick’s church parish, located in the American Sector, Faubourg Ste. Marie, desired a burial ground separate from the Creole cemeteries. They opened St. Patrick Cemetery Number One on Canal Street in 1841. There were a large number of in-ground burials in St. Patrick Number One. The Irish community was, at the time, not well-off. They were immigrants who worked the riverfront, as well as jobs owners of the enslaved would not allow their property to do. It would be a generation or two before the Irish developed the means to build above-ground tombs in numbers. Additionally, New Orleanians in the 1840s-1850s feared disease epidemics. Burying yellow fever victims in the ground put folks at ease.
Higher Ground
Even though cemeteries were built on the ridges, extra measures were taken to maintain safety and dignity. In-ground burials were done using “copings.” Rather than just digging a hole and lowing the coffin, a concrete rectangle was built around the grave. This “coping” raised the ground for the grave by a foot or more. This ensured that excessive flooding wouldn’t push coffins up.
St. Patrick’s parish purchased a parcel of land that started at Banks Street and extended across Canal Street and City Park Avenue, into Lakeview, next to Canal Boulevard. So, the section between Canal and City Park became St. Patrick’s Number Two, and the third section, Number Three. As concerns over disease ebbed and the Irish acquired more financial means, more classic, above-ground tombs appeared in these extensions.
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!
Tulane and Carrollton in 1947. The photographer stands on Tulane Avenue, looking west. The streetcar tracks curve over to S. Carrollton Avenue here, for the Tulane and St. Charles Belt lines.
By 1964, the location morphed into a Budget Store, as MB Airline took over as the western suburban store.
Pelican Stadium
Home of the New Orleans Pelcans and New Orleans Black Pelicans (Negro League). This photo is from 1951, as work begins on ripping up the streetcar tracks on Tulane Avenue.
Wider shot showing the closure of the New Basin Canal as construction begins on the Pontchartrain Expressway.
Railroads
Illinois Central’s Panama Limited, stopping at the Carollton Station.
The Carrollton Interchangei, 1964. The buildings in the background are Mid-City Baptist Church (left) and Jesuit High School (right).
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!
In Podcast 50 we discuss the other double-truck streetcars that ran in New Orleans.
Brill semi-convertible streetcar, 1916
“Other” Double-Truck Streetcars
Part 4 of our 4-part series on early electric streetcars in New Orleans presents the other double-truck models. This includes the Pullman Company, “1899” Americans, Brill Semi-convertibles, Barney & Smith, and Morris cars.
The St. Charles Street Railroad Company purchased Pullman double-trucks. They operated them on the Clio line, when that line crossed Canal. The line originated at the St. Charles Hotel and ran to the Pontchartrain Railroad terminal on Elysian Fields Avenue. Note this company is not the New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad Company that ran the Carrollton/St. Charles line.
“1899” Americans
The “1899” streetcars by American Car Company were operated by the New Orleans City Railroad Comany (NOCRR – second incarnation).
Blueprints
Brill Semi-Convertibles
Morris Cars, named for Master Mechanic E. J. Morris at the Canal Shops.
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!
City Park Line connected Mid-City and the French Quarter.
NOTE: article updated slightly on 1-March-2025.
Trackless Trolley on the City Park Line, 1964s (courtesy NOPL)
City Park Line
The Orleans Railroad Company opened the City Park line on July 1, 1898. It connected the French Quarter with Mid-City, mostly via Dumaine Street. Orleans RR merged into New Orleans Railway and Light in 1910, along with the other streetcar companies. NORwy&Lt combined the French Market line with City Park (both ex-Orleans RR). The rollboards said “French Market-City Park” in 1921. While the route didn’t change, the line’s name returned to just City Park at that time.
The Route
The original route, 1898:
Outbound
Start at Canal Street and Exchange Place
Up Canal to Dauphine Street
Turn on Dauphine to Dumaine
Left on Dumaine, then up Dumaine to City Park Avenue
Inbound
Down Dumaine to N. Rendon
N. Rendon to Ursulines
Ursulines to Burgundy
Turn onto Canal at Burgundy
Terminate at Canal and Exchange
In 1910, the route expanded. Instead of turning on Burgundy, City Park continued down Ursulines to Decatur. So, it then continued to Canal, via Decatur and N. Peters. In 1932, NOPSI re-routed City Park, turning the line on Royal to terminate on Canal. This route remained until the line was discontinued in the 1970s.
Streetcars on City Park
Orleans Railroad ran Ford, Bacon, and Davis (FB&D) single-trucks on City Park. Their cars bore a red-and-cream livery. New Orleans Railwayy and Light Company (NORwy&Lt) replaced the single-trucks with double-truck “Palace” cars in the mid-1910s. NOPSI later replaced the Palaces with 800/900s.
The red livery used by Orleans RR and New Orleans City Railroad are the heritage behind the “red ladies” of the modern Riverfront and Canal Street lines. The red-and-cream also evolved into the darker, maroon and cream used by NOPSI on the older White and GM buses, as well as the trolley buses (see photo at the top).
Buses and Trackless Trolleys
NOPSI discontinued streetcar operation on City Park in 1941. They switched to buses. City Park was one of the last lines switched before WWII. The War Department turned down other conversions. Buses required gasoline and rubber. Both of those were needed for the war effort.
In 1949, NOPSI replaced buses on City Park with trackless trolleys. They never removed the overhead wires on the route. Trackless Trolleys ran on City Park until 1964. So, buses returned to the line then. NOPSI discontinued the City Park line completely in the 1970s.
Downtown Backatown
The City Park line serviced the “Downtown Backatown” neighborhoods. Like the Desire line, the name indicated the termination point. The streetcars ran on Dumaine Street, through Treme, into Mid-City. Since the line went to Canal Street, City Park carried commuters into work. The line serviced the Quarter as well, particularly Burgundy Street. Armstrong Park blocked the Dumaine portion of the route. I remember seeing the City Park buses at the route’s terminating point as I rode past Dumaine Street on the Esplanade line.
The Photo
When Aaron Handy III shared this photo in a Facebook group, the City Park rollboard brought back memories of riding home from Brother Martin in the 1970s. While I never rode the line, I was fascinated that there were streetcars going all the way out to the park, in-between Canal Street and Esplanade. This photo looks to be part of the Dorothy Violet Gulledge collection at the New Orleans Public Libaray.
In the 1960s, Canal Street buses changed downtown.
Canal Street buses
From: 1965: NOPSI photo of a GM GMC TDH5303 bus. It’s running on the Canal-Lakeshore line, outbound, passing through the 1000 block of Canal Street. This photo dates to about a year after the conversion of Canal to bus service. The vintage-1923 arch roof streetcars ceased operation on Canal in May of 1964.
Cemeteries, Lake Vista, Lakeshore
So much can be said about the buses on Canal, and there are a few other items to be unpacked on this image. Let’s focus on the three Canal bus lines, post-streetcar. I rode those lines in both directions for the five years I attended Brother Martin High School in Gentilly. While my dad, who worked at the University of New Orleans, drove me to school in the morning, I rode public transit home. NOPSI provided two basic routes west from Gentilly. The Broad Street line ran from out in Da East, then Gentilly Blvd. The line turned onto Broad Street, just after passing Dillard University, continuing all the way to Lowerline, uptown. The other option using Gentilly Blvd. was the Carrollton line. Both of these lines crossed Canal. So, we would hop off and catch one of the three Canal lines to City Park Avenue. We caught the Veterans bus from there.
Lakeview
Then there was the second route, through Lakeview. We took the Cartier line from Mirabeau and Elysian Fields to Spanish Fort. The Cartier line started at Franklin and Mirabeau. It was, for all intents and purposes, a school bus route, passing by several elementary schools, F. W. Gregory Junior High, and John F. Kennedy Senior High. So at Spanish Fort, we transferred to the Canal (Lake Vista via Canal Blvd.) That line began its inbound run there. We’d ride Lake Vista to Toussaint and Canal Blvd. While the bus turned inbound on Canal Blvd., we got off and transferred to the line from this photo, Canal (Lakeshore via Pontchartrain Blvd.)
The Canal Lakeshore bus ran outbound on West End, turned right on Toussaint, then left on Canal Blvd. It terminated at the lake. For its outbound run, the line returned to Toussaint and went down Pontchartrain Blvd. So, we caught the inbound Lakeshore and rode it to Veterans, where we would pick up the Veterans.
Suburban transition
Cor Jesu and St. Aloysius High Schools didn’t have a lot of boys from Metairie attending the schools. As suburban expansion grew, the combined Brother Martin High appealed to a number of Crusader and Kingsmen families who moved out to Metairie. We kids from #themetrys were still a minority of the student body, back in the 70s. As the transition grew (now, most Crusaders live in Metairie and Kenner), the school offered school bus service, so families didn’t have to rely on less-reliable public buses.
To continued…
We’ll have more to say about this image in a couple of other posts. Thanks to Aaron Handy, III, for sharing this image to one of the bus fan groups on Facebook and triggering my memories!
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