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Government and States Building and Exhibits at the 1884 Cotton Centennial Exposition
To the right of where you sit was the Government and States Building, still partially under construction when the exposition opened. By January and February, 1885, however, most exhibits were in…
Special Departments in the Government and States Building at the 1884 Cotton Centennial Exposition
Much to the dismay of New Orleans women, management chose a northern celebrity to head the Woman's Department. However, Julia Ward Howe, author of the famed northern anthem, the "Battle Hymn of the…
Alley of Oaks and the 1884 Cotton Centennial Exposition
Continue on the path in the direction you have been traveling, along the Olmsted lagoon. Soon you arrive at one end of the Foucher alley of oaks, planted in the eighteenth century. Scores of…
Financial Failings of the 1884 Cotton Centennial Exposition
Stroll past the Newman bandstand to one last imaginative view of the vastness of the Main Building with the Mexican Mining Pavilion beside it. The golf course now occupies most of the grounds on which…
Segregation in City Park
Until 1958, all park amenities, including the playground, were restricted to white residents. African American children and families were banned from entering the park. In a 1995 interview, the late…
Avondale Marine Ways, Inc.
Founded in 1938 as Avondale Marine Ways, Inc., Avondale Shipyard has long been a centerpiece of the economy of New Orleans and much of Southeast Louisiana. From barges to Navy warships, to the oil…
Avondale Save Our Shipyard Campaign
In July 2010, Avondale Shipyard owner Northrup-Grumman announced that Avondale would be closed by the end of the year, moving all operations to Pascagoula, Mississippi. In September 2010, the…
Caroline Richardson Building
Originally built as a dormitory hall, Caroline Richardson was torn down to make room for Doris Hall. By 1958, there was no building called Caroline Richardson, though the original building was named…
St. Louis Cemetery No. 3
An 1848 city legislature act allowed the Catholic wardens to establish a new cemetery. Land along Bayou St. John, purchased from Evariste Blanc for $15,000, became St. Louis Cemetery #3. The cemetery…
Cabrini High School
Cabrini High School was named for Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, founder of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. Mother Cabrini was born in Italy and traveled to New York to provide catechism…
The Geological Formation of the Metairie-Gentilly Ridges
The winding nature of the Mississippi not only gave New Orleans its nickname: the Crescent City but also created the land you are standing on today.
Magnolia Bridge
Magnolia Bridge was built in 1908, when Bayou St. John was still a commercial waterway. It is a Pratt Truss bridge that originally pivoted at the center to allow commercial vessels and barges to pass…
Praline or "Pecan Candy"
Pralines are thought to have originated in seventeenth-century France when the chef of César, Duc de Choiseul, Comte du Plessis-Praslin coated almonds with sugar. While sugared nuts were already…
French Opera House
The fabulous French Opera House dominated a vastly different Bourbon Street than the gaudy strip of today. Designed by James Gallier Jr. and erected in 1859, the Opera House became the cultural…
Girod Cemetery
The Girod Cemetery was the city's oldest Protestant cemetery, opened by the wardens of Christ Church in 1822. The cemetery had fallen into disrepair by the time most of these photographs were taken.…
Napoleon House
Built upon the lot bequeathed to him by his brother, Mayor Nicolas Girod built the “Napoleon House” as a safe haven for Napoleon Bonaparte during his exile. Not being successful, the house eventually…
St. Mary's Assumption Catholic Church
St. Mary's Assumption was built by German Catholics in 1858 in Baroque-style architecture. A room behind the High Altar contains the Seelos Museum, which includes a shrine dedicated to the saint-to-be…
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…
Jackson Barracks
Jackson Barracks was established as a result of the Federal Fortifications Act, which was crafted in response to the War of 1812. Congress realized the lack of defense for coastal cities such as New…
Ridgewood Preparatory School
The Ridgewood Preparatory School for boys was founded in 1948 by Ottis O. Stuckey and Albert J. Kern. Its first campus was located at 221 North Line Avenue in Old Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans.…
Building Charity Hospital, Architect Leon Weiss
Leon C. Weiss was a well-known Louisiana architect whose firm Weiss, Dreyfous and Seiferth designed many significant public buildings and other structures throughout Louisiana.
Governor Huey P.…
Civil Defense Control Center
In the decade following World War II, the United States formulated a Civil Defense initiative that would attempt to preserve order during a nuclear attack.
In 1950, the Louisiana Legislature…
17th Street Canal Levee Breach in 2005
In 1965, Hurricane Betsy demonstrated that a major hurricane could overtop the earthen levees of the 17th Street Canal. So the Army Corps of Engineers recommended two cost-effective plans which were…
London Avenue Canal Levee Breach in 2005
In 1965, Hurricane Betsy demonstrated that a major hurricane could overtop the earthen levees of the London Avenue Canal. So the Army Corps of Engineers recommended two plans -- raising the height of…