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JC Ellis Memories
JC Ellis Memories of my elementary school days. JC Ellis Memories I've been working on de-cluttering my home office this week. In the back of my desk drawer, I found a ziplok bag with a bunch of stuff from my childhood. Boy Scout medals and patches, assorted pins and...
The S.S. Officer’s Armchair by Daniel Lee #bookreview
The S.S. Officer's Armchair by Daniel Lee offers insight into life in Nazi Germany. The S.S. Officer's Armchair This book is the story of Robert Griesinger. Griesinger was born in 1906, in Stuttgart, which was then part of the Kingdom of Württemberg. He entered the...
New Orleans Brewing – a brief history of a long NOLA tradition
New Orleans brewing dates back to the earliest German families in the city. ED note: This article originally appeared at GoNOLA.com in 2012. Updated with different images and some additional history. New Orleans Brewing The German celebration of Oktoberfest is defined...
NOLA History Guy Podcast 20-June-2020 – Katy Morlas Shannon Part 2
NOLA History Guy Podcast 20-June-2020 is part two of our interview with Katy Morlas Shannon NOLA History Guy Podcast 20-June-2020 Just one segment this week, which is part two of our talk with historian and author Katy Morlas Shannon. We had such a good time talking,...
Flixible buses ended the Canal streetcar line
Flixible buses that ended the Canal Streetcar. Flixible buses Aaron Handy III posted this photo a while back: "Inbound NOPSI Flxible New Look 194, assigned to Canal-Cemeteries, and a piggybacking colleague, both of the 1964 F2D6V-401-1 fleet (194 was next-to-last of...
Lakefront Drive-In Theater 1940
Lakefront Drive-In Theater, in 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...
NOLA History Guy Podcast 16-May-2020 – Katy Shannon Part I
NOLA History Guy Podcast 16-May-2020 is part one of our interview with Katy Morlas Shannon NOLA History Guy Podcast 16-May-2020 Two segments on a longer edition of NOLA History Guy Podcast this week. First is our pick of the week from Today in New Orleans History....
Milneburg 1927 – Pontchartrain Railroad
Milneburg 1927, and the Orleans Levee Board Milneburg 1927 Photo of what is now the intersection of Elysian Fields Avenue and Robert E. Boulevard, 4-March-1927. Photo shot by an unidentified photographer for the Orleans Levee Board. The Orleans Levee Board shot a lot...
NOLA History Guy Podcast 05-April-2020 D. H. Holmes, Streetcars
NOLA History Guy Podcast 05-April-2020 presents the first of a four-part series on the Riverfront Streetcar line. NOLA History Guy Podcast 05-April-2020 Two segments on NOLA History Guy Podcast 05-April-2020, our pick of the week from NewOrleansPast.com, and the start...
Southern Rebellion Zoom – images from recent weeks
Zoom I did an informal talk on Zoom yesterday, sharing some images from Antebellum to Reconstruction in New Orleans. Had a fun chat! Video Here. (MP4 file) Enjoy!
Transit Maintenance – NOLA History Guy Podcast 2020-03-22
Transit maintenance on Canal Street is our photo breakdown this week Transit Maintenance This is a wonderful photo, just to enjoy. It offers a lot to break down as well. The scene is 1901 or 1902, Canal Street, right by the rear of the Liberty Monument. Prior to...
Zoom Talk 2020-03-19 – Golden Age of Canal Street
Zoom Talk 2020-03-19 https://www.dropbox.com/s/e0mrfn3mftjm4dz/zoom_0.mp4?dl=0 I've presented this talk to several groups in the last year or so. With everyone holed up because of Covid-19, I did the talk yesterday (19-March) via Zoom. It's a bit long, because I was...
Colorized Sherman – William Tecumseh Sherman and staff
Colorized Sherman and his staff during the Southern Rebellion Colorized Sherman I just love good colorization of old photos. Came across this one today, via a group I moderate (and I encourage you to consider) on the Book of Zucker, Vintage America Uncovered. The...
Southern Rebellion Irish – NOLA History Guy Podcast
Southern Rebellion Irish - talking about the Irish socially in Antebellum New Orleans Southern Rebellion Irish While a number of Irish families in New Orleans rose to the upper levels of society by the Southern Rebellion, those in the city who wanted to maintain an...
Cemetery Scene with Railroad Tracks
Cemetery scene with railroad tracks along I-10. (cross-posted to Pontchartrain Railroad - N Scale) Cemetery Scene Local architect and artist Jeffrey H. Goldman painted this "Cemetery Scene" in 1985. It depicts a cemetery from the other side of a single railroad track....
Canal Street Shopping 1895
Canal Street Shopping 1895 - before the department stores Canal Street Shopping 1895 1895 was part of an interesting transitional time for Canal Street. Christ Episcopal sold their third church, at Dauphine and Canal, in 1884. The Mercier family bought the property....
Closing Time during the Southern Rebellion 1864
Closing time severely restricted New Orleans businesses. Closing Time 1864 Last week, during the CFP National Championship game, some guy on Da Twittah complained that the game was too long. He said folks at the game wouldn't get out until after closing time in New...
Royal Street Photo Breakdown – NOLA History Guy Podcast
Royal Street Photo Breakdown on this week's podcast! Royal Street Photo Breakdown Derby Gisclair shared a neat photo from 1916 earlier this week on social media. The photographer stands in the middle of the 100 block of Royal Street, looking down into the 200 block....
Spanish Map 1798 – Copied/translated in 1875
Spanish Map 1798 is a copy image created in 1875. Spanish Map 1798 My friend Derby Gisclair posts old New Orleans images that catch his eye daily on social media. I love this, because the more of us that promote the city's history, the more people come around to the...
Hickory Creek Private Railcar on the New Orleans #BackBelt
Hickory Creek is an ex-New York Central observation car. Hickory Creek on the #BackBelt The ex-New York Central car, Hickory Creek, brought up the rear on the Amtrak Crescent, on its way to Penn Station on 30-December-2019. I don't know the details of this particular...
Streetcar Ticket – New Orleans & Carrollton Railroad 1868
Streetcar Ticket for the St. Charles Line Streetcar Ticket from 1868 Riders paid for their fare in the 1860s by purchasing a streetcar ticket. This was the style of the ticket for the New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad Company (NO&CRR) in 1868. While the...
Walgreens Book Signing on Canal Street 13-December!
Stop by my Walgreens Book Signing! Walgreens Book Signing 13-December Stop by the Walgreens Drug Store, 900 Canal Street, on Friday, December 13th, and buy my books! I'll be signing New Orleans: The Canal Streetcar Line, and New Orleans Jazz, from 3pm-5pm. I'll also...
JC Restaurant in #TheMetrys – #FlashbackFriday
JC Restaurant and Bar, 601 Veterans in #themetrys (x-posted to YatCuisine) JC Restaurant This restaurant was located at 601 Veterans Boulevard, in Metairie. This Franck Studios photo, shot on 9-January-1960, shows how this main drag of Metairie was still...
Zuppardo’s Family Supermarket – From Economical to Metairie
Zuppardo's Family Supermarket opens new, expanded store in #themetrys! (x-posted to YatCuisine) Zuppardo's Family Supermarket - My grocery I've been going to Zuppardo's Supermarket, either the old store on Elysian Fields and Gentilly, or the Metairie store at...
Krauss Service Building along Basin Street, 1951
The Krauss Service Building more than doubled the size of the Canal Street favorite. Krauss Service Building 1951 When Leon Fellman built the storefront that became Krauss Department Store, the original two-story building didn't extend even half-way back in the 1201...
Bayou Brief – NOLA History Guy and nonprofit journalism
NOLA History Guy's new connection to the Bayou Brief Bayou Brief I'm pleased to announce that I'm accepting a position with the Bayou Brief. Lamar's dubbed me, Creative Content and Social Media Director. I'll be taking the lead on the publication's social media...
Canal Terminal 1941 – Street Level #StreetcarMonday
The Liberty Monument defined Canal Terminal 1941 Canal Terminal 1941 A NOPSI arch-roof streetcar makes the turn around Liberty Place. This charming photo from 1941 shows one of our classic "green" streetcars circling around the Liberty Monument. After completing the...
Gulf Wind – Louisville and Nashville service New Orleans to Jacksonville
Connecting New Orleans to Florida via the Gulf Wind From 1949 to 1971, the Louisville and Nashville operated passenger service from New Orleans to Jacksonville, Florida, via their Gulf Wind train. While the service sounded like a classic "name train," it was actually...
Desire Streetcar 19-December-1947 #StreetcarMonday
NOPSI 866 as a Desire Streetcar 19-December-1947 Desire Streetcar 19-December-1947 NOPSI 866, in the barn on 19-December, 1947. The note at the bottom says "Stiglets Case," meaning Franck Studios shot the photo as part of a lawsuit. NOPSI lawyers used Franck Studios...
NOLA History Guy Podcast 27-July-2019 Krauss and Trains
Department stores and train stations on Basin Street on NOLA History Guy Podcast 27-July-2019 NOLA History Guy Podcast 27-July-2019 Two segments on NOLA History Guy Podcast 27-July-2019. First, our "Today In New Orleans History" for 20-July, and then we'll unpack a...
NOLA History Guy Podcast 29-June-2019 – Lenfant’s plus photo unpack
This week's pic for "Today in New Orleans" on NOLA History Guy Podcast 29-June-2019 NOLA History Guy Podcast 29-June-2019 A Lakeview flashback for the NewOrleansPast.com pick this week, along with a photo unpack for NOLA History Guy Podcast 29-June-2019. Also, a brief...
NOLA History Guy Podcast 22-June-2019 – WWI, Voudou
Two short segments on NOLA History Guy Podcast 22-June-2019 NOLA History Guy Podcast 22-June-2019 We're back after a week off, while we celebrated LT Firstborn's master's degree! The submariner earned a master's in Military History from the US Army Command and General...
WWII Lunchbox Lecture Wednesday June 19th by NOLA History Guy
UPDATE: Here's the link to the Facebook Live version of my talk last week at the National World War II Museum. Come see NOLA History Guy at the National WWII Museum for a WWII Lunchbox Lecture WWII Lunchbox Lecture Edward Branley presents a WWII Lunchbox Lecture, this...
NOLA History Guy Podcast 8-June-2019 – Industrial Canal and USCT
Two short-form pieces this week on NOLA History Guy Podcast 8-June-2019 NOLA History Guy Podcast 8-June-2019 We hope you enjoyed our conversations with Derby Gisclair over the last two weeks. Back to short-form this week, with our pick from Today in New Orleans...
Krauss Department Store 1910 – The store’s first expansion
Krauss Department Store 1910 - the first expansion of the 1903 building. Krauss Department Store 1910 Leon Fellman built the two-story building at Canal and Basin Streets in 1902. He leased it to the Krauss brothers. They opened "a veritable trade palace" that...
Streetcars Canals Baseball #StreetcarMonday in Mid-City
Streetcars Canals Baseball in Mid-City New Orleans Streetcars, Canals, Baseball! In one of our podcast conversations with Derby Gisclair, we discussed aerial photos of Heinemann Park/Pelican Stadium. Derby explains the neighborhood around the stadium used by the...
NOLA History Guy Podcast 1-June-2019 – Baseball in New Orleans
Talking baseball! Derby Gisclair conversation on NOLA History Guy Podcast 1-June-2019 NOLA History Guy Podcast 1-June-2019 We have a LONG "long-form" podcast today! It's our second conversation with S. Derby Gisclair, author and historian, about his book, Baseball in...
NOPSI Patriotic Support – Memorial Day Memory #StreetcarMonday
During World War II, NOPSI Patriotic Support traveled the street rails. NOPSI Patriotic Support When America went to war in Europe, New Orleans stepped up and did her part to support the cause. In World War I, the retailers on Canal Street regularly used their...
NOLA History Guy Podcast 25-May-2019 Doberge and Baseball
Talking Baseball on NOLA History Guy Podcast 25-May-2019 Early Baseball in New Orleans by S. Derby Gisclair NOLA History Guy Podcast 25-May-2019 Our first long-form pod in a while! We feature this week a conversation with S. Derby Gisclair on his book, Early Baseball...
Bus Stop Iroquois Street Gentilly before the Seminary
Riders wait for the Broad line at a bus stop Iroquois Street Gentilly Bus Stop Iroquois Street Gentilly Bus stop at Gentilly Blvd. and Iroquois Street, 10-Jun-1946. This Franck Studios photo has a court docket number in the corner. I haven't looked up why NOPSI...
NOLA History Guy Podcast 18-May-2019 – French Market and The Beast
More Southern Rebellion in NOLA History Guy Podcast 18-May-2019 NOLA History Guy Podcast 18-May-2019 Two segments as we've been doing for NOLA History Guy Podcast 18-May-2019. We discuss the French Market and Mayor Cantrell's ideas on re-vamping the market in the...
1945 Streetcar Track Map offers insight into changes #StreetcarMonday
A not-to-scale 1945 streetcar track map shows many changes in the system. 1945 streetcar track map I found this 1945 streetcar track map on a blog called "NOLAgraphy." That blog appears to be in suspended animation. 1945 NOPSI highlights This diagram shows only...
NOPSI Bus roll signs – buses on #StreetcarMonday
NOPSI bus roll signs remind me of my high school years NOPSI bus roll signs A different story today for #StreetCarMonday. Aaron Handy shared several "roll signs" from NOPSI buses to the Vintage New Orleans Transit group a while back. Through some Facebook strangeness,...
NOLA History Guy Podcast 4-May-2019 – Streetcars and Spoons
Talking green streetcars and Benjamin Butler in NOLA History Guy Podcast 4-May-2019. NOLA History Guy Podcast 4-May-2019 Two segments this week. We talk about our pick of the week from Today in New Orleans History. Then we "unpack" a photo from 1960. May 1, 1862 While...
New Foodie Group on Facebook – YatCuisine (the group)
Because of the uncertainty surrounding The Advocate's nuking of the Times-Picayune, I've created a new food/beverage/dining/culture group on the Book of Face. We don't know what's going to happen to the T-P's "Where NOLA Eats" group, since The Advocate's social media...
Times-Picayune Farewell – preserving the memories
The Times-Picayune Farewell begins. I have concerns. (cross-posted to YatPundit.com) Times-Picayune Farewell The phone delivered a tweet with a story about The Advocate acquiring the Times-Picayune yesterday afternoon. I feel a sense of anxiety and urgency over this...
Bernadotte Street Yard in Mid-City #TrainThursday
The Bernadotte Street Yard ran from Canal Blvd. to Jefferson Davis Parkway Bernadotte Street Yard Throughout the first half of the 20th Century, the portion of Mid-City that ran from Jefferson Davis Parkway to City Park Avenue was much narrower than the neighborhood...
Screen Porch Houses harken back to before central a/c
If you didn't have air-condition or a lot of fans, you might have lived in screen porch houses growing up. (cross-posted to Eloquent Profanity) Screen porch houses Before central air-conditioning became part of everyday home life, screen porch houses lined the blocks...
Steamboat President – the last years in New Orleans
The last years of the Steamboat President in New Orleans Steamboat President Midland Barge Company built the President in 1924. The steamboat operated in overnight packet service, running from Cincinnati to Louisville. Streckfus Steamers acquired the steamboat in...
NOPSI Maps from the past #StreetcarMonday
Bus and streetcar routes in New Orleans were laid out in NOPSI Maps. NOPSI Maps Maps of the local transit system are essential for riders. While those maps are most often found online these days, proper paper maps existed for generations before handheld devices with...
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