Beads hang in the trees shortly after Mardi Gras

An abnadoned factory in the warehouse district

Jackson Square

St. Louis Cathedral

Louisiana State Museum

St. Louis Cathedral

St. Louis Cathedral

St. Louis Cathedral

French Market

Buildings on the street near the French Market

The buildings of the business district from the French Quarter

Bourbon Street

Louis Armstrong Park

City of New Orleans emblem

St. Louis cemetary

Bourbon Street

Bourbon Street

Immaculate Conception Church

Immaculate Conception Church

Immaculate Conception Church

The Superdome

New Orleans, United States

A Hard Fought Recovery

February 25, 2015

Same old song

Just a drop of water in an endless sea

All we do

Crumbles to the ground though we refuse to see

Dust in the wind

All we are is dust in the wind

- Kansas

The approach to the New Orleans airport really puts the city’s location in perspective. After flying over large empty areas of marsh and swamp to the west of the airport there is suddenly a road that runs like a border, marking the start of the city; civilization to the east and water to the west. It shows just how precarious the location of the city is, Lake Pontchartrain is to the north, the Gulf of Mexico is to the east and the south, and the Mississippi River runs right through the city. With rising sea levels and the threat of frequent flooding the city’s future might not be as bright as its past.

The city is nearly 300 years old, having been founded as a French colony before being ceded to Spain and ultimately taken over by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The strategic location near navigable waterways made it an important port and gateway city. A century later found the city in the beginnings of a long and slow decline compared to other cities in the country as people migrated onward. The population continued to grow and expansion efforts redeveloped low lying land that made the city even more prone to flooding. Many near misses of natural disasters finally caught up with the city with the devastation brought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 when levees failed and forced the evacuation of thousands of residents. Today, nearly ten years after there are still visible effects of this destruction with the New Orleans Auditorium still awaiting repairs.

From my recent visit it appears that the heart of New Orleans, the French Quarter, is alive and thriving. On a Saturday afternoon Jackson Square was buzzing with activity and the lines for beignets at Café Du Monde were insanely long. It was much more peaceful inside the St. Louis Cathedral with its cavernous ceilings and intricate paintings. The east side of the French Quarter contains an old U.S. Mint that was built in 1835 and is located close the French Market, a covered shopping area with many food options and shopping stalls. The atmosphere here is very different from the street party that is Bourbon Street, with its numerous bars and clubs and hordes of drunk people wandering up and down the street.

To the west of the French Quarter, the Church of the Immaculate Conception has nice mosaics and a well-decorated interior. The Warehouse District contains some trendy restaurants and many old buildings are being redeveloped. The Garden District is bisected by the historic St. Charles streetcar and has many large colonial houses. The Central Business District is busy during the day but rather deserted at night. The mammoth Superdome dwarfs the neighboring Smoothie King Center and without any events going on the empty walkways of Champions Square seemed like a movie set.

Compared to most American cities New Orleans has a lot of history. It is also unique in that its future is perhaps the most contentious. Large sections of the city have not recovered while others are being redeveloped. This range of neighborhoods and the colonial heritage really give the city character, much more than most other cities with their strip malls and generic shopping plazas.