The West End was an escape from the city and heat from the 1850s.
The West End
This was originally presented to the West End Kiwanis Club. So much fun talking to hard-working volunteer groups! This one was fun, so it’s part two of our series on the Lakefront.
West End Park, 1940s. The entertainment district had been cleared in favor of green space. The Southern Yacht Club marina and Municipal Yacht Harbor aren’t there yet.
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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!
“The Gap Bridge” by Jeanette Boutall Ouest, via THNOC
West End from Bucktown
The “Gap Bridge,” captured in a watercolor painting by Jeanette Boutall Woest, 17-November-1968. Here’s the record entry from THNOC”
View of the wooden Gap Bridge in about 1915 bordered by Bruning’s (labeled John C. Bruning above sign) on the left, Martin’s Green House in the background on the right, and the White House (labeled Theodore Bruning above sign) in the foreground on the right.
By the time I was a kid in the 1960s, the Gap Bridge was known colloquially as the “Bucktown Bridge” It was the path of access to the West End restaurant/entertainment area from the East Jefferson side. Coming from Orleans Parish, one went up the start of Lakeshore Drive to Lake Marina Drive to W. Roadway.
Lakefront escapes
West End offered an escape from the heat of the city for over a century. Beginning in the 1860s, locals and visitors alike headed out to Lake Pontchartrain. There were three main entertainment districts along the lake: Milneburg (at the end of the Pontchartrain Railroad), Spanish Fort (at the mouth of Bayou St. John), and West End (at the end of the New Canal). Hotels, restaurants, casinos, and music venues opened in all three locations. They were great overnight/weekend getaway possibilities.
Getting to West End
The New Orleans City Railroad Company (operators of the mule-drawn incarnations of the Canal Street and Esplanade Avenue streetcar lines) provided steam train service from Canal and Rampart Streets out to West End. When streetcars switched to electric operation in the 1890s, so did the West End line.
As “Bucktown” in Jefferson Parish grew, the parish constructed the bridge to cover the “gap” between West End and Bucktown. While the present “gap” is the 17th Street Canal, things were different in the early 1900s. The “Metairie Pumping Station,” also known as Station 6, stood near Metairie Road. The canal extended north from there, but it fizzled out into swampy land from there. So, the “gap” was more marsh than a real waterway. The bridge crossed that marsh. Later, as the parish and USACE modernized the lake end of the canal, the bridge still connected the parish.
The restaurants
Three restaurants are visible in Ouest’s painting. On the left stands Bruning’s, operated by John C. Bruning. On the right are the Green House and White House. The restaurants on the right were long gone by the 1960s, but Bruning’s remained until the 1990s.
Fate of the Gap Bridge
The USACE demolished the bridge in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Abraham Shushan’s monuments marked Lakefront milestones.
New Basin Canal Lock monument, 1930
Shushan’s Monuments
Two 1930 photos of lakefront monuments. The late 1920s were a time of major improvements to the lakefront. Lake Pontchartrain seawall improved flood protection. So, the Levee Board* erected monuments to the “New Basin Canal Lock” and the “Lake Pontchartrain Sea-Wall.” Board president Abraham “Abe” Shushan supervised their placement.
Seawall
Abe Shushan inspects the seawall monument, 1930
The “Lake Pontchartrain Sea-Wall” was the finishing touch of a years-long series of land reclamation projects along the Orleans Parish lakefront. In 1915, the south shore of the lake went right up to Adams Street (now Allen Toussaint Boulevard). The Levee Board planned to drain the swampy ground and create new subdivisions. By 1930, the reclamation projects were completed.
The Levee Board built the finishing touch in 1929. Along with the stepped, concrete wall, they created Lakeshore Drive for access to recreational areas along the lakefront. Previous generations traveled out to the lakefront resorts at West End, Spanish Fort, and Milneburg via train/streetcar. With the completion of Lakeshore Drive, driving along the lake became a pleasant experience.
The monuments
Both of Shushan’s monuments contain the same text, with the name as the only change:
Constructed During the Administration of
HUEY P. LONG, Governor
by the
Board of Levee Commissioners
of the
Orleans Levee District
1930
The stones then list the members of the board and the various people who worked the projects. While John Riess built the lock, Orleans Dredging Company built the seawall.
Vanished
Shushan’s Monuments display Abe’s name, as president of the board. Shushan is seen in the seawall photo, inspecting the massive tablet. Abe got his start in his family’s business, Shushan Brothers. Shushan Brothers sold dry goods wholesale. Additionally, they operated retail toy stores. Abe left the business founded by his father and uncle, entering government as a strong supporter of Huey P. Long. He moved up in the Long organization. They arranged his appointment to the Levee Board.. Accordingly, the board named New Orleans Lakefront Airport (NOL) for Shushan. In 1935, the government indicted and tried him for tax fraud. Furthermore, they charged him with money laundering. While Shushan was acquitted, the Longs cut him loose. Although he was cleared, the trial exposed massive corruption. So, his name was removed from just about everything it was visible on, including these monuments.
1964 Transit Improvement Program ended the Canal streetcar line.
1964 Transit Improvement
Flyer updating riders on the 1964 Transit Improvement Program. New Orleans Public Service, Incorporated (NOPSI) planned the removal of streetcars from the Canal Street line for May 31, 1964. While advocacy groups organized in late 1963/early 1964 to oppose the program, it was too little, too late. The plans for this removal began in late 1959.
This flyer emphasizes the advantages of switching Canal to bus service. NOPSI rolled out new buses as part of this “improvement.” Those Flixible company buses were air-conditioned. Riders in Lakeview and Lakeshore could get on the bus close to the house and ride all the way into the CBD.
Phase 1
This flyer promotes the Phase 2 changes. In Phase 1 of 1964 Transit Improvement, the city cut back the width of the Canal Street neutral ground. This allowed for three traffic lanes on either side of the street. When streetcars returned to Canal Street in 2004, the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (NORTA, successor to NOPSI’s transit operations) built a single-track terminal at Canal Street and City Park Avenue. There was no space to re-create the two-track end of the line. So, at the time, New Orleanians approved these changes. Preservationists were caught off guard.
Phase 2
NOPSI immediately cut down the electric overhead wires on 31-May-1964, as part of Phase 2 of 1964 Transit Improvement. The city ripped up the streetcar tracks within weeks of the switch to buses. Additionally, the air-conditioning started on 31-May.
Express Buses
NOPSI expanded the “suburban” bus lines. They extended buses going to West End and Lakeview into downtown. Streetcars on the Canal line ended their runs at City Park Avenue. So, a rider living, say, off Fleur-de-Lis Avenue walked to Pontchartrain Blvd. They caught the bus to City Park Avenue, transferring there to the streetcar. While that doesn’t sound like a big deal, NOPSI discovered an opportunity. The rider starts on a bus with a/c, but switches to a hot, humid streetcar. If it’s raining, well, you get the idea.
Additionally, NOPSI offered an enhanced service, the “express” lines. Express 80 followed the Canal-Lake Vista (via Canal Boulevard) route. For an extra nickel, riders boarded Express 80 rather than the regular line. When the express bus reached City Park Avenue, Express 80 made no stops until Claiborne Avenue. Same for Express 81, which followed the Canal-Lakeshore via Pontchartrain Boulevard line. So that rider could not only stay on the bus from home, they got to the office that much quicker.
1964 Perspective
Downtown workers relied upon public transit so much more in 1964. When something is part of your day-to-day routine, improvements that enhance your experience are easy to sell. Preserving forty-year old streetcars didn’t seem like a big deal compared to not sweating through your clothes by the time you arrived at work.
Thanks to Aaron Handy, III, for this image of the flyer!
NOPSI 933, running on the West End Streetcar line. Undated photo, between 1948 and 1950. This is the end of the line, out by Lake Pontchartrain. The streetcar ran from the the river, up Canal Street, turning left (West) on City Park Avenue, then turning right (North), following the New Canal to the lakefront.
Since 1876
The New Orleans City Railroad Company opened the West End line in April, 1876. It originally ran from the Halfway House, on City Park Avenue, out to the lake. So, if you wanted to get out to West End, you took the Canal Street line to the end, then the West End line. Two months later, in June, 1876, service was extended to Carondelet and Canal Street.
Service for the first twenty-two years of operation was via steam locomotive. A steam engine was made to look like a tram, a streetcar. The line was electrified in 1898, three years after the Canal Line.
Out to the lake
The West End line’s peak was in the 1920s. NOPSI operated the American Car Company’s “Palace” cars on the Canal/Esplanade Belt, along with West End. During the Spring/Summer seasons, The Palace cars pulled unpowered Coleman trailers. So, small trains of two to four cars went out to the lake.
Streetcars and canals
The West End line ran next to the New Canal, for all but the last year of its operation. While the main street connecting Mid-City to West End was Pontchartrain Boulevard, on the West side of the canal, the streetcar ran along West End Boulevard, on the East side of the canal. Confusing? Welcome to New Orleans. The streetcar tracks didn’t cross the canal. The line ran up to the lake, just past Robert E. Lee (now Allen Toussaint) Bouelevard. The West End line connected with the Spanish Fort Shuttle line, after the direct-from-downtown Spanish Fort line was closed in 1911.
Post-WWII
The lakefront changed dramatically after 1940. The Orleans Parish Levee District reclaimed a massive amount of land and built the seawall in the 1920s and 1930s. By 1940, the US Army and Navy built hospitals in what are now the East and West Lakeshore subdivisions. The West End streetcar shifted from excursion service to commuter operation after 1940. NOPSI converted the line to buses in 1950.
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