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New Orleans (local pronunciations: , , or ) (French: La Nouvelle-Orléans, pronounced in standard French accent) (Spanish: Nueva Orleans), is a major United States port city and historically the largest city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is in southeastern Louisiana along the Mississippi River, just south of Lake Pontchartrain, and is coextensive with Orleans Parish. New Orleans is named after Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, Regent of France, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. New Orleans is known for its multicultural heritage as well as its music and cuisine. It is considered the birthplace of jazz.•• Its status as a world-famous tourist destination is due in part to its architecture and its annual Mardi Gras and other celebrations. It is often called the "most unique city" in America. *, *, *, * The city's several nicknames are illustrative. Crescent City alludes to the course of the Mississippi River around and through the city; The Big Easy was possibly a reference by musicians in the early 1900s to the relative ease of finding work there, but most New Orleanians attribute the term to the city being more carefree and slowed down than cities like New York (the Big Apple); and 'The City that Care Forgot" refers to the outwardly easy-going, carefree nature of many of the residents.••• The New Orleans Metropolitan Area, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, currently includes seven Parishes: Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, Plaquemines, St. Tammany, St. Charles, and St. John the Baptist; with a total population of 1.4 million, making it the 35th largest Metropolitan Statistical Area in the United States. The metro area suffered a loss of population as a result of hurricane Katrina in August 2005. As of December 2005 the metro area's population was estimated at 950,000 but as of August 2006 the metro area's population has rebounded to 1.2 million, making it the largest metropolitan area in the state once again. * The 2000 U.S. census put New Orleans' population at 484,674, but Hurricane Katrina in 2005 caused the city's evacuation. After the extensive damage caused by the levee failures, many residents have not yet returned. The current population is estimated at 187,525 as of October of 2006, although this estimate has been disputed by mayor C. Ray Nagin and other population demographers in the city since the Louisiana Recovery Authority's count of the population did not count the massive number of residents residing in FEMA provided housing (between 50,000 to 100,000) in the New Orleans area, nor did they count the 17,000 migrant workers who have chosen to make New Orleans their permanent home. *
History Beginnings New Orleans was founded in 1718 by the French Mississippi Company as la Nouvelle-Orléans, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville. The site was selected because of its relatively high elevation along the flood-prone banks of the Lower Mississippi River and its location adjacent to a Native American trading route and portage between the river and Lake Pontchartrain. In 1723, New Orleans became the third capital of French colonial Louisiana, following Biloxi (1720), and Mobile (1702). In 1763, the French colony was ceded to the Spanish Empire and remained under Spanish control for 40 years. Most of the surviving architecture of the French Quarter dates from this Spanish period. Louisiana reverted to French control in 1801, but two years later Napoleon sold it to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase. The city grew rapidly, with influxes of Americans, French and Creole French. During the War of 1812 the British sent a force to conquer the city. The British were defeated by American forces led by Andrew Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815. A peace treaty had been signed between the United States and Britain on December 24, 1814, but news of the treaty did not reach the United States in time to prevent the battle from occurring. By 1840, New Orleans had become by far the wealthiest city in the nation, and was also ranked as the third most populous city, being beaten by Baltimore by only 119 people. Since that time, the city has become the thirteenth poorest large city in the Nation. Up until 1960 New Orleans had consistently been ranked in the top fifteen largest Cities in the U.S. but since that time, the city has shrunk to the thirty-fifth largest city in the U.S. The population of the city doubled in the 1830s, and by 1840 the city's population was over 100,000—one of the largest cities in the U.S. Population growth was frequently interrupted by yellow fever epidemics, the last of which occurred in 1905. As a principal port, New Orleans had a leading role in the slave trade, while at the same time having the most prosperous community of free persons of color in the South. Early in the American Civil War New Orleans was captured by the Union. This action spared the city the destruction suffered by many other cities of the American South. Twentieth Century In the early 20th century, New Orleans was a progressive major city whose most portentous development was a drainage plan devised by engineer and inventor A. Baldwin Wood. Urban development theretofore was largely limited to higher ground along natural river levees and bayous. Wood's pump system allowed the city to expand into low-lying areas. Over the 20th century, rapid subsidence, both natural and human-induced, left these newly-populated areas several feet below sea level.•• New Orleans was vulnerable to flooding even before the age of negative elevation. In the late 20th century, however, scientists and New Orleans residents gradually became aware of the city's increased vulnerability. Hurricane Betsy in 1965 had killed dozens of residents even though the majority of the city remained dry. The rain-induced 1995 flood demonstrated the weakness of the pumping system. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
New Orleans Revival Even though some areas of New Orleans remain in ruin, depending significantly on the area visited, the city itself is in for a big revival. The "Bayou Classic", the battle between Southern University and Grambling State University, have recently made a commitment to the New Orleans area. As of October 2006 the Essence Music Festival made a commitment to return to New Orleans in July of 2007, so has the National Football League and the National Basketball Association, even granting New Orleans the 2008 NBA All Star game, joining the major tourist attractions such as Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, etc which never left. Most of the displaced residents are currently waiting for grants from the Louisiana Recovery Authority's Road Home program as well as the 2006 hurricane season to officially end before making a commitment. Estimates by New Orleans mayor C. Ray Nagin puts the repopulation efforts between three to five years taking into account the pace at which the Road Home grants are being distributed and the time it will take for the majority of construction. Geography and climate New Orleans is located at (29.964722, -90.070556) on the banks of the Mississippi River, approximately 100 miles upriver from the Gulf of Mexico. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 907 km² (350.2 mi²). 467.6 km² (180.6 mi²) of it is land and 439.4 km² (169.7 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 48.45% water. The city is located in the Mississippi Plain, mostly between the Mississippi River in the south and Lake Pontchartrain in the north. The area along the river is characterized by ridges and hollows. Fields atop the ridges along the river are referred to as the "frontlands." The land contour slopes away from the frontlands to the "backlands", comprised of clay and silt. The city of New Orleans has the lowest elevation in the state of Louisiana, and the third lowest point in the United States, after Death Valley and the Salton Sea.• Much of the city is one to ten feet (0.3 to 3 m) below sea level. Areas above sea level are primarily adjacent to the Mississippi River. These were the areas developed before 1900. Rainwater is pumped into Lake Pontchartrain via a series of canals lined by levees, dikes, and floodwalls. Because of the city's high water table, most houses do not have basements. In the cemeteries, most crypts are above ground. The city has considered passing a building code that would require all new residences being constructed on negatively elevated ground to have a garage and storage level on the first floor to protect people's living spaces from floodwaters. Cityscape
Major Roads Adjacent Parishes Climate
Demographics Note: Many Hurricane Katrina evacuees, though they have not returned, remain residents of the city. Projections of the city's eventual population following reconstruction are highly speculative. The 2000 U.S. Census figures presented here are the most recent verifiable data for the city's population. A January 2006 survey pegged the population at approximately 190,000.•• Population estimates as of June 2006 pegged the population at approximately 225,000. As of the census of 2000, there were 484,674 people, 188,251 households, and 112,950 families residing in the city. The most recent (2004) population estimate for the city is 462,269. The population density was 1,036.4/km² (2,684.3/mi²). There were 215,091 housing units at an average density of 459.9/km² (1,191.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 67.25% African American, 28.05% White, 0.20% Native American, 2.26% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.93% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. 3.06% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The population of Greater New Orleans stood at 1,337,726 in 2000, making it the 35th largest metropolitan area in the United States. These population statistics are based on legal residents of the city. But due to the enormous annual tourist flow, the number of people inside the city at a given time, such as Mardi Gras season, tends to exceed these numbers sometimes by the hundreds of thousands. There were 188,251 households out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.8% were married couples living together, 24.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 40% were non-families, 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.23. The age distribution of the city's population is 26.7% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,133, and the median income for a family was $32,338. Males had a median income of $30,862 versus $23,768 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,258. 27.9% of the population and 23.7% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 40.3% of those under the age of 18 and 19.3% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. The population of New Orleans peaked in 1960. Since then, suburban parishes such as Jefferson and St. Tammany have increased in population. An analysis by Brown University sociologist John R. Logan in January of 2006• suggests that as many as 50% of whites and 80% of blacks displaced by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath may relocate permanently. A more recent study by the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) completed in October 2006 estimates that the city is currently about 44% white and 46% black. The LRA concludes that 187,525 people are living in New Orleans compared to 484,674 pre-Katrina.• Government New Orleans has a mayor-council government. The city council consists of five councilmembers who are elected by district and two at large councilmembers. Mayor C. Ray Nagin, Jr. was elected in May 2002, and was reelected in the mayoral election of April 22, 2006. The New Orleans Police Department provides professional police services to the public in order to maintain order and protect life and property. The Orleans Parish Civil Sheriff's Office serves papers involving lawsuits and provides security for the Civil District Court and Juvenile Courts. The Criminal Sheriff's Office maintains the parish prison system, provides security for the Criminal District Court, and provides backup for various New Orleans Police Department patrols. The city of New Orleans and the parish of Orleans operate as a merged city-parish government. Before the city of New Orleans became co-extensive with Orleans Parish, Orleans Parish was home to numerous smaller communities. Some of these communities within Orleans Parish have historically had separate identities from the city of New Orleans, such as Irish Bayou and Carrollton . The original City of New Orleans was comprised of what are now the 1st through 9th wards. The City of Lafayette (including the Garden District) was added in 1852 as the 10th and 11th wards. In 1870, Jefferson City, including Faubourg Bouligny and much of the Audubon and University areas, was annexed as the 12th, 13th, and 14th wards. Algiers, on the West Bank of the Mississippi, was also annexed in 1870, becoming the 15th ward. Four years later, Orleans Parish ceased being separate from the city of New Orleans when the city of Carrollton was annexed as the 16th and 17th wards. However, to this day, the USPS still recognizes and accepts mailings which are addressed to Carrollton, LA, as legal and will deliver them to the ZIP code 70118. New Orleans' government is now largely centralized in the City Council and Mayor's office, but it maintains a number of relics from earlier systems when various sections of the city ran much of their affairs separately. For example, New Orleans has seven elected tax assessors, each with their own staff, representing various districts of the city, rather than one centralized office. See also: Economy New Orleans is one of the most visited cities in the United States, and tourism is a major staple in the area's economy. Approximately 14 million people visit New Orleans each year. The city's colorful Carnival celebrations (leading up to mardi gras or "Fat Tuesday", the feast day before "Ash Wednesday") during the pre-Lenten season, centered (for tourists at least) on the French Quarter, draw particularly large crowds. Other major tourist events and attractions in the city include the Sugar Bowl, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (popularly known by locals as "Jazz Fest"), Voodoo Music Experience, Southern Decadence (one of the largest annual Gay/Lesbian celebrations in the world), and the Essence Festival, not to mention sporting events including Super Bowls and NCAA final fours. New Orleans is also an industrial and distribution center, and the busiest port system in the world by gross tonnage. The Port of New Orleans is the largest U.S. port for several major commodities including rubber, cement and coffee. The Port of South Louisiana, also based in the New Orleans area, is the world's busiest in terms of bulk tonnage; and when combined with the Port of N.O., forms the 4th largest port system in volume handled. Like Houston, Texas, New Orleans is located in proximity to the Gulf of Mexico and the many oil rigs lying just offshore. Louisiana ranks 5th in oil production and 8th in reserves. Louisiana is also home to two of the four Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) storage facilities: West Hackberry in Cameron Parish and Bayou Choctaw in Iberville Parish, Louisiana. Other infrastructure includes 17 petroleum refineries with a combined crude oil distillation capacity of nearly 2.8 million barrels per calendar day, the second highest in the nation after Texas. Louisiana has numerous ports including the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), which is capable of receiving ultra large oil tankers. Natural gas and electricity dominate the home heating market with similar market shares totaling about 47 percent each. With all of the product to distribute, Louisiana is home to many major pipelines supplying the nation: Crude Oil - Chevron, BP, Texaco, Shell, Exxon, Scurloch-Permian, Mid-Valley, Calumet, Conoco, Koch, Unocal, Dept. of Energy, Locap. Product - TEPPCO, Colonial, Chevron, Shell, Plantation, Explorer, Texaco, Collins, BP. Liquefied Petroleum Gas - Dixie, TEPPCO, Black Lake, Koch, Chevron, Dynegy, Kinder, Dow, Bridgeline, FMP, Tejas, Texaco, UTP. * There are a substantial number of energy companies that have their regional headquarters in the city, including BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Shell Oil Company. The city is the home and worldwide headquarters of two Fortune 500 companies: Entergy Corporation, an energy and infrastructure providing company, and Freeport-McMoRan, a copper and gold exploration company. The federal government has a significant presence in the area. The NASA Michoud Assembly Facility is located in the eastern portion of Orleans Parish. The facility is operated by Lockheed-Martin and is a large manufacturing facility where external fuel tanks for space shuttles are produced. The Michoud Assembly Facility also houses the National Finance Center operated by the USDA. In recent years, in an effort to diversify her economy, New Orleans has become known as "Hollywood South". Many large budget and critically acclaimed feature films have been made in and around New Orleans over the last few years, such as Ray, Runaway Jury, The Pelican Brief, The Skeleton Key, Glory Road, All the King's Men, Déjà Vu, Last Holiday, Failure to Launch, and countless other full-length films and documentaries. Other companies with a significant presence or base in New Orleans include the worldwide headquarters of Entergy Corporation and its subsidiaries, BellSouth, IBM, Navtech, Harrah's (downtown casino), Popeye's Fried Chicken, Zatarain's, Whitney Bank (corp. HQ), Capital One (banking HQ), Southern Comfort, Tidewater (Corp. HQ), McMoran Exploration(worldwide corporate HQ) and Energy Partners (corp.HQ). Most major corporations that had offices or headquarters in New Orleans have returned post-Katrina. Also, over 95% of businesses whose annual income is over $20,000,000 have come back. Crime & Police New Orleans has a high violent crime rate. Its homicide rate has consistently ranked in the top five of large cities in the country since the 1980s along with Detroit, St. Louis, and Atlanta. In 1994, 421 people were killed (85.8 per 100,000 people), a homicide rate which has not been matched by any major US city to date. However, Detroit came very close one year with 416 killings.• The homicide rate rose and fell year to year throughout the late 1990s, but the overall trend from 1994 to 1999 was a steady reduction in homicides. From 1999 to 2004, the homicide rate again increased. New Orleans had the highest murder rate of any major American city in 2002 (53.3 per 100,000 people), and again retained the highest murder rate in 2003, with 275 murders according to this report. Violent crime is a serious problem for New Orleans residents, especially African American, yet far less of a problem for tourists. Reports show that almost 90% of Whites living within the city limits felt safe in their surroundings, while only about 25% of Blacks felt safe in their surroundings. As in other U.S. cities of comparable size, the incidence of homicide and other violent crimes is highly concentrated in certain city neighborhoods, such as housing projects, that are sites of open air drug trade. Most murder victims have criminal records. In 2003, most victims in New Orleans were killed within three months of their last arrest. The statistics state that only about 9% of murder victims in 2004 year were of European or Asian Ancestry. The crime is primarily black on black drug related. link The homicide rate for the New Orleans metropolitan statistical area, which includes the suburbs, was 24.4 per 100,000 in 2002. After Hurricane Katrina, media attention focused on the reduced violent crime rate following the exodus of many New Orleanians. That trend is beginning to reverse itself as more people return to the city, although calculating the homicide rate remains difficult given that no authoritative source can cite a total population figure. Regardless, statistics are showing that violent crime is beginning to return to the city. The city finished the month of July 2006 with 22 murders, which was the same as the pre-Katrina average for the city since 2002 when the population was much higher. The numbers for this year, with 80 murders by the end of July, put the city on pace to have 58.36 murders per 100,000 citizens, and the number of murders has continued to rise each month.** Schools New Orleans Public Schools, the city's school district, was one of the area's largest school districts before Hurricane Katrina. It was widely recognized as the lowest performing school district in Louisiana. According to researchers Carl L. Bankston and Stephen J. Caldas, only 12 of the 103 school districts in New Orleans showed reasonably good performance at the beginning of the twenty-first century.• Following Hurricane Katrina, the state of Louisiana took over most of the schools within the system (all schools that fell into a certain "worst-performing" metric); about 20 new charter schools have also been started since the storm, educating about 15,000 students. The Greater New Orleans area has approximately 200 parochial schools. The prevalence of parochial schools has been both a cause and a consequence of the troubles in the public schools. Because so many middle class students have been enrolled in non-public schools, middle class support for public education has been relatively weak. At the same time, the apparent low quality of public schools in New Orleans has encouraged middle class families to educate their children in private or parochial schools. Colleges and universities Several institutions of higher education also exist within the city, including University of New Orleans, Tulane University, Loyola University New Orleans, Dillard University, Southern University at New Orleans, Xavier University of Louisiana, Louisiana State University Medical School, and Our Lady of Holy Cross College. Other schools include Delgado Community College, Culinary Institute of New Orleans, Herzing College, Commonwealth University, Notre Dame Seminary, and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Libraries There are numerous academic and public libraries and archives in New Orleans, including Monroe Library at Loyola University, Howard-Tilton Memorial Library at Tulane University,• the Law Library of Louisiana,• and Earl K. Long Library at the University of New Orleans.• The New Orleans Public Library includes 13 locations, most of which were damaged by Hurricane Katrina.• The main library includes a Louisiana Division housing city archives and special collections.• Other research archives are located at the Historic New Orleans Collection• and the Old U.S. Mint.• Culture Dialect New Orleans is usually pronounced by locals as "Noo-AW-lyenz," "New-Or-linz," or "New-Or-lenz." The tendency among people around the world to say "New-Or-LEENZ" stems both from the use of that pronunciation by singers and songwriters, who find it easy to rhyme, and from accepted pronunciations of other cities named Orleans in the English speaking world. However, that pronunciation is generally disdained by the residents of New Orleans. The pronunciation "NAW-linz" is likewise not generally used nor liked by locals but has been popularized by the tourist trade. The distinctive local accent is unlike either Cajun or the stereotypical Southern accent so often misportrayed by film and television actors. It does, like earlier Southern Englishes, feature frequent deletion of post-vocalic "r". It is similar to a New York "Brooklynese" accent to people unfamiliar with it. There are many theories to how the accent came to be, but it likely results from New Orleans' geographic isolation by water, and the fact that New Orleans was a major port of entry into the United States throughout the 19th century. Many of the immigrant groups who reside in Brooklyn also reside in New Orleans, with Irish, Italians, and Germans being among the largest groups. The prestige associated with being from New Orleans by many residents is likely a factor in the linguistic assimilation of the ethnically divergent population. This distinctive accent is dying out generation by generation in the city (but remains very strong in the surrounding Parishes). As with many sociolinguistic artifacts, it is usually attested much more strongly by older members of the population. One subtype of the New Orleans accent is sometimes identified as Yat (from "Where y'at). This word is not used as a generalized term for the New Orleans accent, and is generally reserved for the strongest varieties. Also notable are lexical items specific to the city, such as "lagniappe" (pronounced LAN-yap) meaning "a little something extra," "makin' groceries" (from the French 'Faire l'épicerie'- to make/do shopping) for grocery shopping, or "neutral ground" for a street median (derived from a traditional area between new American neighborhoods and native French, Spanish and creole neighborhoods or 'faubourgs' where it was acceptable for all to meet). Some other words and names are pronounced differently in the New Orleans vocabulary, while the spelling remains consistent with standard English, or the word's original language. Burgundy for example is pronounced buh-GUN-dee when referring to the New Orleans street, though other usages of the word (as in the color or the wine) are pronounced as the standard BUR-gun-dee. Tribute "City" The culture of the city has had a profound impact on many people, one of which was Walt Disney, who built a replica of the French Quarter called New Orleans Square in his park Disneyland in 1966, with buildings and landscaping fitting that of 19th Century New Orleans set upon the park's Rivers of America port. When it opened, Walt Disney had then New Orleans mayor, Victor H. Schiro be made honorary mayor of New Orleans Square, and Schiro, in turn, made Disney an honorary citizen of the real New Orleans. Events
Music New Orleans has always been a significant center for music with its intertwined European, Latin American, and African-American cultures. New Orleans' unique musical heritage was born in its pre-American and early American days with a unique blending of European instruments with African rythms. As the only North American city to allow slaves to gather in public and play their native music (largely in "Congo Square", now "Armstrong Park"), likely due to the more relaxed attitudes of French and Creole slave owners as compared to their Anglo-American neighbors, New Orleans was blessed to give birth to the nation's only indigenous music, jazz. With New Orleans' large, educated and influential Creole, Haitian and free black population, these African beats intertwined with trained musicians and the city's now famous brass bands gained wide popularity (and they remain just as popular today). Decades later it was home to a distinctive brand of rhythm and blues that contributed greatly to the growth of rock and roll. A great example of the New Orleans sound in the 60s is the The city also created its own spin on the old tradition of military brass band funerals; traditional New Orleans funerals with music feature sad music (mostly dirges and hymns) on the way to the cemetery and happy music (hot jazz) on the way back. Such traditional musical funerals still take place when a local musician, a member of a club, krewe, or benevolent society, or a noted dignitary has passed. Until the 1990s most locals preferred to call these "funerals with music," but out of town visitors have long dubbed them "jazz funerals." Younger bands, especially those based in the Treme neighborhood, have embraced the term and now have funerals featuring only jazz music. Media The major daily newspaper is the New Orleans Times-Picayune, publishing since 1837. Weekly publications include The Louisiana Weekly and Gambit Weekly. Also in wide circulation is the Clarion Herald, the biweeky newspaper of the Archdioscese of New Orleans. Greater New Orleans is well served by television and radio. The market is the 54th largest Designated Market Area (DMA) in the U.S., serving 566,960 homes and 0.509% of the U.S. Major television network affiliates serving the area include: WHNO 20 also operates as an independent station in the area, providing mainly religious programming. Radio stations serving Greater New Orleans include: An additional note about WWOZ and WTUL: WWOZ not only plays modern and traditional New Orleans jazz, but also blues, New Orleans R&B, Cajun, zydeco, gospel, Latin, Brazilian, Caribbean, Americana, and more. (It is fondly referred to by many New Orleanians as the "best radio station in the world".) WTUL, the Tulane University station, plays mostly alternative "college circuit" rock on week days; on nights and weekends it has DJs that play Americana, alternative country/bluegrass, jazz, classical, punk/ska, reggae, world beat, and many of the finest local bands and songwriters. Two very famous pop music stations in New Orleans, quite influential in playing and promoting New Orleans-based bands and singers, were 50,000-watt WNOE-1060 and 10,000-watt WTIX-690. These two stations competed head-to-head for most of the period from the late 50's to the late 70's, and are considered by many in the Gulf Coast region as legendary top 40 radio stations. Sites of interest
Food New Orleans is world-famous for its food. Like its Jazz, New Orleans is blessed with the only truly indigenous local cuisine in the nation. From the infiltration of hearty cajun country fare over the centuries to the local creole, haute creole and New Orleans French cuisines, New Orleans food is perhaps its most cherished possession. Local ingredients, African, French, Spanish and Cajun traditions combine to produce a truly unique and easily recognizable New Orleans flavor. Unique specialties include beignets, square-shaped fried pastries that are sometimes called French doughnuts (served with coffee and chicory "au lait"); Po'boy and Italian Muffalettas; Gulf oysters on the half-shell, boiled crawfish, and other seafood; étouffée, jambalaya, gumbo, and other Creole dishes; and the Monday evening favorite of red beans and rice. (Louis Armstrong often signed his letters, "red beans and ricely yours.") New Orleans residents enjoy some of the best restaurants in the United States that cater specifically to locals, and visitors are encouraged to try the local establishments recommended by their hosts. Sports New Orleans is the home of four professional sports teams, the New Orleans Saints of the NFL, the New Orleans Hornets of the NBA, the New Orleans VooDoo of the AFL, and the New Orleans Zephyrs, a PCL baseball team affiliated with the New York Mets. New Orleans also has college teams from Tulane, Loyola, UNO, Xavier, and Dillard. The city hosts two college football bowl games annually: the New Orleans Bowl and the Sugar Bowl. The city also holds the Bayou Classic, which is an annual college football game between Grambling State University and Southern University. Nine Super Bowls have been held in New Orleans. Historically, many teams have been formerly located in the city, including the New Orleans Pelicans baseball team (1887–1959; 1977), the New Orleans Breakers of the United States Football League, the New Orleans Night of the Arena Football League (1991–1992), and the New Orleans Brass ice hockey team (1997–2003). Former basketball teams were the New Orleans Buccaneers (c. 1967–1970), and the New Orleans Jazz (1974–1980) which became the Utah Jazz. New Orleans is also home to the New Orleans Yacht Club and Southern Yacht Club, both of which are located at West End on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Southern Yacht Club was established in 1849, it is the second oldest yacht club in the United States. The building was severely damaged, first by storm surge and then by fire, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In 1991, 1992, and 1995, New Orleans was also home to the Grand Prix du Mardi Gras. The sports car races took place on 2 different street circuits downtown. The circuit used in 1991 used streets near the riverfront, but was regarded as being too narrow. A course that ran around the Superdome was used the other years. Low attendance, dates that resulted in hot or rainy weather, and complaints from business owners contributed to the event's demise. However, rumors in the area have pointed to the race being revived in 2008 under the sanction of the Champ Car World Series. The Big Easy Rollergirls have the distinction of being the only flat-track derby team in the nation that had to start up twice - Katrina scattered many of its members to other cities. As of September 2006, The Big Easy Rollergirls has about 60 active members and will begin their first public bout season this month. Infrastructure see also: Famous streets of New Orleans Notable buildings New Orleans' tallest building is the 51-story One Shell Square. The approved 67-story Trump International Hotel & Tower would be the tallest building in the city and state if built at the proposed height of 700 feet (213 m). New Orleans is now entering what could become a large downtown residential building boom, with multiple high-rise towers already planned for the city. Transportation The metropolitan area is served by Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, located approximately nine miles west of the city in the suburb of Kenner. Prior to Hurricane Katrina, it served millions of passengers on approximately 300 nonstop flights per day to or from destinations throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The airport also handled a significant amount of charter operations to/from Europe, with which it's had a significant degree of success in retrieving. As of September 2006, Armstrong International is projected to return to 67% of its pre-Katrina total traffic, by seat-count; and 75% of the number of pre-stormed destinations served. Within the city itself is Lakefront Airport, a small, general aviation airport, as well as the New Orleans Downtown Heliport, located on the roof of the Louisiana Superdome's parking garage. There are also several regional airports located throughout the metropolitan area. The city is also served by rail via Amtrak. The New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal is the central rail depot, and it is served by three trains: the Crescent to New York City, the City of New Orleans to Chicago, and the Sunset Limited from Orlando to Los Angeles. In addition, the city is served by seven Class I freight railroads. Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway approach the city from the west, Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX from the east, and the Canadian National Railway and Kansas City Southern Railway from the north. and New Orleans Public Belt Public transportation in the city is operated by New Orleans Regional Transit Authority ("RTA"). In addition to the many bus routes connecting the city and suburban areas, there are three active streetcar lines moved by electric motors powered by DC wires overhead. The St. Charles line (green cars, formerly connecting New Orleans with the then independent suburb of Carrollton) is the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in New Orleans and a historic landmark. The Riverfront line (also known as the Ladies in Red since the cars are painted red) runs parallel to the river from Canal Street through the French Quarter to the Convention Center above Julia Street in the Arts District. The Canal Street line uses the Riverfront line tracks from Esplanade Street to Canal Street, then branches off down Canal Street and ends at the cemeteries at City Park Avenue with a spur running from the intersection of Canal and Carrollton Avenue to the entrance of City Park at Esplanade near the entrance to the New Orleans Museum of Art. The city's streetcars were also featured in the Tennessee Williams play, A Streetcar Named Desire. The streetcar line to Desire Street became a bus line in 1948. There are proposals to revive a Desire light rail streetcar line. As of April 2006, the St. Charles streetcar line is still not operational due to overhead wire damage from Hurricane Katrina. The Canal line is functioning, but the red cars were flooded by the hurricane, so the green cars are currently running on the Canal line. Recently, many have proposed extending New Orleans's public transit system by adding light rail routes from downtown along Airline Highway through the airport to Baton Rouge and from downtown to Slidell and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Proponents of this idea claim that these new routes would boost the region's economy, which has been badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina, and serve as an evacuation option for hospital patients out of the city. The Jefferson Parish Department of Transit Administration * operates Jefferson Transit * which provides service between the city and its suburbs. Roads in the city are arranged in a radial grid pattern, emanating out to various parts of town from a central point north of the Central Business District. I-10 loops east-west through the city, and traverses the northern edge of the Central Business District, taking traffic west towards Baton Rouge, Louisiana and east-northeast to Slidell, Louisiana. The "Highrise" carries I-10 across the Industrial Canal. Farther east, the I-10 connects New Orleans East with Slidell, bridging an arm of Lake Pontchartrain. This crossing, a dual causeway known as the "Twin Spans," was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina. By October 2005 single lanes in each direction had been reopened on the eastbound span. The westbound span was reopened in early January 2006. The Twin Spans is to be replaced with a new six-lane bridge, expected to be completed in 2009.* As I-10 heads south from Metairie towards the Central Business District, it is called the Pontchartrain Expressway. I-610 provides a direct shortcut across Lakeview and Gentilly, allowing through traffic to bypass I-10's L-shaped route which traverses the more congested areas. US 90 leaves the Central Business District and goes west through the city's Uptown neighborhood via South Claiborne Avenue, crossing the Missisisppi River at the Huey P. Long Bridge near the unincorporated suburb of Jefferson. I-10 is also connected to I-12, north of Lake Pontchartrain, via the tolled Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, consisting of two parallel bridges, which are also the longest in the world. The interstate highways serving New Orleans were laid out in the middle of the 20th century, a time when a larger proportion of Gulf of Mexico freight traffic passed through New Orleans. I-10 goes west to Houston and beyond and east to Mobile and Florida, with I-59 and I-55 heading northward to Birmingham and Jackson, respectively. Later, I-12 created a shortcut that avoided crossing Lake Pontchartrain. In Slidell, I-59 and I-12 both end at an interchange with I-10, which turns southward toward New Orleans while I-12 continues straight to rejoin I-10 in Baton Rouge. There are also plans to extend I-49 from Lafayette to New Orleans. The route would follow U.S. Highway 90 and the Westbank Expressway, placing the southern terminus at I-10 behind the Superdome. The southern termini of US Highways 11 and 61 are in New Orleans, and US 51 terminates just west of the city, Laplace. The Pontchartrain Expressway (U.S. Highway 90's business route), becomes the Westbank Expressway south of the Mississippi River. Along its route west then northwest from the Crescent City Connection bridge to its terminus at I-10 near the Superdome, the Pontchartrain Expressway follows the path of the former New Basin Canal, dug in the 19th century by thousands of immigrant (mostly Irish) laborers, and filled in in 1947. Some of the older warehouse structures still standing along the Pontchartrain Expressway can trace their roots to their days along the banks of the canal. Roads along the Mississippi River were the first to carry overland traffic into New Orleans. US 51 (the "Old Hammond Highway"), US 90, and US 11 followed old Indian routes along slight ridges to become the first automotive highways. Louisiana governor Huey P. Long championed Airline Highway (US 61) to bypass the circuitous river road between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The route of today's US 90 east of New Orleans once included a ferry crossing at Fort Pike. Governor Long built public draw bridges at the Rigolets as political retaliation against the operators of a then-private toll bridge across Lake Pontchartrain. Long achieved his objective: the US 11 toll bridge failed commercially and is owned by the State. US 11 was the escape route for Ignatius J. Reilly at the end of John Kennedy Toole's novel, A Confederacy of Dunces. West of New Orleans, the Ruddock exit at milepost 6 of I-55 is the only trace left of a thriving community that was literally washed away by the hurricane of September 1915. Frenier Beach Hurricane Storm Surge Revisited In the 1960s, a controversial "Dixie Freeway" that would have been designated I-410 would have created an "outer loop" encompassing St. Bernard Parish, the westbank areas of New Orleans and Jefferson, and back across the river in St. Charles Parish where I-310 now runs. Environmental concern for the wetlands south of New Orleans and economic considerations derailed those plans. Sister cities New Orleans has ten sister cities: Gallery Image:New Orleans - street music.jpg| New Orleans - street music See also | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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