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O-K Line: Railroad Collision at Southport, 1926
On the evening of November 18, 1926, a railcar of the Orleans-Kenner Traction Co. (popularly called the "O-K Line") was traveling through Southport when it was hit by the rear end of a Louisiana…
O-K Line: S. Rampart Station & Overview
The headquarters and downtown station of the Orleans-Kenner Electric Railway were located at 127 South Rampart Street between Canal Street and Tulane Avenue. Better known as the "O-K Line," it was…
O'Dwyer's Club
According to Al Kleindienst, a long-time resident of the Greater New Orleans Area, the O'Dwyer family opened a gambling club at 100 Jefferson Highway in 1949 called "O'Dwyer's." The O'Dwyer brothers…
Oak Street & Jefferson Gambling
Hank Staples of the Maple Leaf Bar discusses illicit gambling that took place along Oak Street prior to the 1960s.
Old Absinthe House and the Battle of New Orleans
The Old Absinthe House, a stucco building at the corner of Bourbon and Bienville Streets, is one of the oldest structures in New Orleans, dating to approximately 1806.
In the nineteenth century,…
Origins of Maple Leaf Bar
The Maple Leaf Bar, one of the city's longest operating music clubs, is a haven for local music and has been drawing crowds from New Orleans and throughout the world since the venue opened in…
Origins of New Orleans City Park
Before the French colonized Louisiana, Native Americans lived on the land that is now City Park. Bayou St. John, which runs through the park today, was part of a trade route commonly used by the…
Origins of the Patterson Airport
After the formation of the Wedell-Williams Air Service, Harry Williams established a base of operations on what was once Calumet Plantation by clearing a sugarcane field. This airport offered hangars…
Origins of the Wedell-Williams Air Service
In 1928, Harry Williams, lumberman and former mayor of Patterson, LA, met Menefee Airways pilot James (Jimmy) Wedell. Wedell gave Williams flying lessons. The two instantly became friends despite…
Orpheum Theater
Built in 1918 to replace the older Orpheum, the new Orpheum Theatre opened with great pomp and circumstance on February 5, 1921, with a matinee performance in the afternoon. [1] However, according to…
Oscar James Dunn
Black civil rights activist and Reconstruction Era politician, whom W.E.B. Du Bois called, "an unselfish, incorruptible, leader."
Our Lady of Sacred Heart Church and the Herriman Family
Now an empty lot and the site of two pop-up restaurants, this corner was once the location of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart church. It was here, on Sunday, October 17, that the cartoonist George Joseph…
Overview of the Newcomb College Washington Avenue Campus: A Brief History
After the 1889 purchase of the Burnside Place in the Garden District of the city, Mrs. Newcomb donated another $25,000 for repairs needed to make a home into a classroom building.
By June 1890,…
Palmer Park: The Name
Hamilton Square was renamed Palmer Park as a “testimony to the honor of the late B. M. Palmer” through a city ordinance on July 1902. Benjamin Morgan Palmer was pastor of New Orleans First…
Palmer Park Arch and Early Improvements
Palmer Park, previously full of briar bushes and not much else, underwent some major changes in the early 20th century. In 1910, Carrollton Avenue was dug out by hand and paved; the excess mud was put…
Palmer Park During the 1980s
The 1980s saw a notable decline in the park's prestige. Numerous residents wrote letters to the editor in the Times Picayune complaining about litter in the park; one letter was titled “Palmer Park…
Pass the Mayo: The Story of the South’s Legendary Spread: Blue Plate Mayonnaise Factory: A Cultural and Historic New Orleans Icon
Blue Plate Mayonnaise Factory was one of the exclusive producers of the once gourmet condiment that is loved and adored by people across the country. This is important to especially the denizens of…
Passing Gentilly Boulevard on the Bus to UNO in 1958
Gentilly Boulevard crosses the Elysian Fields bus route at the next traffic light after passing under Interstate-610. When the bus passed this stop on that Monday morning in 1958, it suddenly became a…
Pat O'Brien's
Located in the heart of the New Orleans French Quarter, Pat O’Brien’s is a prime destination for tourists who may not know its past as a popular speakeasy. On December 3, 1933, two days after the…
Pelican Stadium
In 1908, Pelican Park opened on South Carrollton Avenue, situated between Palmyra and Banks Streets. In 1915, sections of the stadium were dismantled and moved by mules to the corner of Tulane and…
Peristyle
The Peristyle was created as a platform for dancing while listening to music performances at the nearby band stand. It was originally called the paristyleum and cost $15,330 when erected in 1907. The…
Pitot House
The Pitot House was built in 1799 as a country home for Bartholemé Bosque. The Pitot House is named after James Pitot, who occupied the property from 1810 until 1819.
James Pitot was born in…
Plessy v. Ferguson
On June 7, 1892, a 30-year-old African-American man named Homer Plessy attempted to board a segregated East Louisiana Railroad passenger train car at Press and Royal Streets in New Orleans.…
Plessy's Legacies
In the immediate aftermath of Plessy v. Ferguson, the case itself received relatively little attention. Homer Plessy paid the twenty-five dollar fine for violating the Separate Car Act and went to…