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Renting an Apartment in New Orleans
New Orleans is a major United States port city and historically the largest
city in the U.S. state of Louisiana.
New Orleans is in southeastern Louisiana along the Mississippi River, just south
of Lake Pontchartrain, and is coextensive with Orleans Parish. It is named after
Philippe II, Duke of Orleans, 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)
* The City that Care Forgot refers to the outwardly easy-going, carefree nature
of many of the residents.
The 2000 U.S. census put New Orleans population at 484,000. The Greater New
Orleans population contains 1.4 million
The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent levee failures
that followed in August 2005 caused the city's evacuation with many residents
not having returned yet. In October 2006 the Louisiana Recovery Authority (L.R.A.)
put the New Orleans population at 187,525. However, that number has been highly
disputed by just about every official involved in New Orleans post-Katrina
simply because the L.R.A did not count the massive number of residents living in
Federal Emergency Management Agency (F.E.M.A.) provided housing. In New Orleans
about 50,000 to 100,000 are living in such housing, which would put the number
of residents living in New Orleans between 237,000 to 287,000, which mayor C.
Ray Nagin and population demographers feel are more accurate. In November 2006
as mayor Nagin gave budget proposals for 2007 he dismissed the L.R.A's
population count and along with most population demographers agree that the
population much higher becuase of traffic levels, and the number of city
services that has returned to different neighborhoods and residents that have
returned.
Beginnings
Nouvelle-Orleans (New Orleans) was founded in 1718 by the French Mississippi
Company, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville. 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.
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.
The population of the city doubled in the 1830s, and by 1840, New Orleans had
become the wealthiest city in the nation, and was the third most populous.
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
By the time Hurricane Katrina approached the city at the end of August 2005,
most residents had evacuated. Storm surge pushed ashore by the hurricane caused
the city to suffer the worst civil engineering disaster in American history.
Floodwalls constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed, and 80% of
the city flooded. Tens of thousands of remaining residents were rescued by
helicopter or otherwise made their way to shelters of last resort at the
Superdome or the convention center. Over 1,500 people died.
The city was declared off-limits to residents while clean-up efforts began. The
approach of Hurricane Rita caused repopulation efforts to be postponed, and
the Lower Ninth Ward was reflooded by Rita's storm surge. By October 1, parts of
the city accounting for about one-third of the population of New Orleans had
been reopened.
As of July 2006, efforts continue to clean up debris and restore infrastructure.
Although most of the city has reopened to residents, and areas that suffered
moderate damage have substantially resumed functioning, the parts of the city
most severely damaged still have irregular utilities and city services, as
residents return to the devastated areas, city services are being restored
accordingly and even the Lower Ninth Ward has seen some city services return.
New Orleans Revival
Despite the number of houses being damaged while residents wait for Louisiana
Recovery Authority road home money New Orleans is in for a revival. The Bayou
Classic, the traditional game between Southern University vs Grambling
University, has made a commitment to the city of New Orleans for November 2006
after being displaced to Houston, Texas for its November 2005 date. The Essence
Music Festival has made a commitment to city of New orleans in July of 2007
after being displaced to Houston, Texas for July 2006 along with other major
events such as Mardi Gras and Jazz Festival which never left. The National
Football League has made a commitment to the city of New Orleans with the return
of the New Orleans Saints for the 2006-2007 season and even a possible 2011 or
2012 Superbowl. The National Basketball Association has made a commitment to the
city of New Orleans with the return of the New Orleans Hornets part time in
2006-2007 (one game per month) and full time for the 2007-2008 season and even
granting New Orleans the 2008 NBA All Star game which generates millions of
dollars for host cities. With residents slowly but surely returning to the city
of New Orleans and the greater New Orleans area the long term future of New
Orleans looks promising.
Geography and climate
New Orleans is located at 2957′53″N, 904′14″W (29.964722, -90.070556)GR1 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 km (350.2 mi). 467.6 km (180.6 mi) of it is land and 439.4
km (169.7 mi) 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
The Central Business District of New Orleans is located immediately north and
west of the Mississippi River, and was historically called the "American
Quarter." Most streets in this area fan out from a central point in the city.
Major streets of the area include Canal Street and Poydras Street. In the local
parlance "downtown" means downriver from Canal Street, while "uptown" means
upriver from Canal Street. Downtown neighborhoods include the French Quarter,
Treme, the 7th Ward, Faubourg-Marigny, Bywater (the Upper Ninth Ward), and the
Lower Ninth Ward. Uptown neighborhoods include the Garden District, the Irish
Channel, the University District, Carrollton, Gert Town, Fontainebleau, and
Broadmoor.
Other major districts within the city include Bayou St. John, Mid-City, Gentilly,
Lakeview, Lakefront, New Orleans East, and Algiers.
Parishes located adjacent to the city include St. Tammany Parish to the north,
St. Bernard Parish to the south and east, Plaquemines Parish to the south and
southeast, and Jefferson Parish to the south and west.
Major Roads
* Claiborne Avenue (US 90; LA 39) is considered the city's most important
east-west route after Interstate 10. It is known as Judge Perez Drive East of
the city limits and Jefferson Highway west of the city limits.
* Canal Street is one of the most famous streets in the entire city, next to
Bourbon Street. Canal St. is the widest street in the world with three
automobile lanes in each direction, two streetcar lines on the median, known to
locals as the "neutral ground", and one bus lane on the median.
* Tulane Avenue (US 61) is considered to be a major thoroughfare in the Central
Business District and Mid-City New Orleans.
* General DeGaulle Drive is the major thoroughfare in Algiers, the only section
of the city that is located on the west bank of the Mississippi River.
* Broad Street (US 90) is a major thoroughfare located in Mid-City New Orleans.
It is continued to the end of the river, after ending at Fontainebleau Drive, by
Napoleon Avenue.
* Gentilly Boulevard (US 90) is the major thoroughfare in the Gentilly
neighborhood of New Orleans.
* Chef Menteur Highway (US 90) is the second most important road in New Orleans
East after Interstate 10. It is connected to the main section of the city via
the Danziger Bridge which spans the Industrial Canal.
* Saint Charles Avenue is a historical avenue in the Garden District and Central
Business District of the city. Most of the Mardi Gras parades in the eastbank
section of Orleans Parish pass along this street. It is also a major tourist
attraction with the Historically significant St. Charles Avenue streetcar line
passing inside of the median of it. It end at Canal Street where it is changed
into Royal Street.
* Airline Highway (US 61) is a major highway that starts in Orleans Parish,
continues into Jefferson Parish, St. Charles Parish, St. John the Baptist
Parish, St. James Parish, Ascension Parish, East Baton Rouge Parish, and ends in
West Baton Rouge Parish.
Adjacent Parishes
* Lake Pontchartrain - north
* St. Tammany Parish - northeast
* St. Bernard Parish - south
* Jefferson Parish - southwest, west
Climate
The climate of New Orleans is humid subtropical, with short, generally mild
winters and hot, humid summers. In January, morning lows average around 43F
(5C), and daily highs around 62F (17C). In July, lows average 74F (23C),
and highs average 91F (33C). The lowest recorded temperature was 11F
(-11.7C) on December 23, 1989. The highest recorded temperature was 102F
(38.9C) on August 22, 1980. The average precipitation is 64.2 inches (1630 mm)
annually; the summer months are the wettest, while October is the driest month.
Precipitation in winter usually accompanies the passing of a cold front.
Hurricanes also pose a threat to the area, and the city is particularly
vulnerable because of its low elevation. According to a recent report by The
Weather Channel, the city is one the most vulnerable in the country when it
comes to hurricanes. In addition, a hurricane striking New Orleans is also
one of the top scenarios most feared by the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security.
New Orleans experiences snowfall only on rare occasions. Most recently, a small
amount of snow fell on Christmas in 2004, during the 2004 Christmas Eve
Snowstorm. On December 25, a combination of rain, sleet, and snow fell on the
city, leaving some bridges icy. Before that, the last white Christmas was in
1954, and brought 4.5 inches (110 mm). The last significant snowfall in New
Orleans fell on December 22, 1989, when most of the city received 1 or 2 inches
of snow.
Demographics
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.
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.
City of New Orleans
As of the censusGR2 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/km
(2,684.3/mi). There were 215,091 housing units at an average density of
459.9/km (1,191.3/mi). 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.GR6 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.
On November 7, 2006 a constitutional amendment passed both statewide and in
Orleans Parish which consolidates 7 assessors into one by the year 2010
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 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.[citation needed] 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.
[7] 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, New Orleans, 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 African-Americans 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.
Education
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, University of Phoenix,
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
Greater New Orleans is home to numerous celebrations, including Mardi Gras and
the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. New Orleans' most popular celebration
is her Carnival, officially beginning on the Feast of the Epiphany; which locals
sometimes refer to as "Twelfth Night." The Carnival season is often known
(especially by out-of-towners) by the name of its last day, Mardi Gras (French
for "Fat Tuesday"), held the Tuesday before before the beginning of the Catholic
liturgical season of Lent, which by its commencement on Ash Wednesday ends the
Carnival season.
The largest of the city's many musical festivals is the New Orleans Jazz &
Heritage Festival. Commonly referred to simply as "Jazz Fest," it is one of the
largest music festivals in the nation; and features crowds coming from all over
the world to experience music, food, arts and crafts. Despite the name, it
features not only jazz but a large variety of music, including both native
Louisiana music and nationally-known popular music artists.
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 rhythms. 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 #1 US
hit "Chapel Of Love" by The Dixie Cups, a song which had the distinction of
knocking the Beatles out of the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100. New Orleans
became a hotbed for funk music in the 60s and 70s. By the late 1980s it had
developed its own localized variant of hip hop called bounce music which, while
never commercially successful outside of the Deep South, remained immensely
popular in the poor African-American neighborhoods of the city through the
1990s. A cousin of Bounce, New Orleans Rap has seen commercial success locally
and internationally. Throughout the 1990s many sludge/doom
metal bands have started in the New Orleans area. Notable bands include: Acid
Bath, Crowbar, Goatwhore, Soilent Green, Eyehategod, and Down (whose first album
was entitled "NOLA"). In addition, the nearby countryside is the home of Cajun
music, Zydeco music, and Delta blues.
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
Archdiocese of New Orleans.
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
Greater New Orleans has many major attractions, from the world-renowned Bourbon
Street and the French Quarter's notorious nightlife, St. Charles Avenue (home of
Tulane and Loyola Universities), and many stately 19th century mansions.
Favorite tourist scenes in New Orleans include the French Quarter (known locally
as "the Quarter"), which dates from the French and Spanish eras and is bounded
by the Mississippi River and Rampart Street, Canal Street and Esplanade Ave. The
French Quarter contains many popular hotels, bars, and nightclubs, most notably
around Bourbon Street. Other notable tourist attractions in the quarter include
Jackson Square, New Orleans Cathedral, the French Market (including Café du Monde,
famous for café au lait and beignets), and jazz at Preservation Hall.
Also located near the French Quarter is the old New Orleans Mint, formerly a
branch of the United States Mint, now operates as a museum. The National D-Day
Museum (renamed as the National WWII Museum) is a relatively new museum (opened
on June 6, 2000) dedicated to providing information and materials related to the
allied invasion of Normandy, France. The Natchez is an authentic steamboat with
a calliope which tours the Mississippi twice daily.
Art museums in the city include the Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans Museum
of Art (NOMA) in City Park and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Audubon Park,
the Audubon Zoo, and the Aquarium of the Americas are also located in the city
of New Orleans. New Orleans is also noted for its many beautiful cemeteries.
Some notable cemeteries in the city include Saint Louis Cemetery and Metairie
Cemetery.
Significant gardens include Longue Vue House and Gardens and the New Orleans
Botanical Garden. Gardens are also found in places like City Park and Audubon
Park. City Park still has one of the largest if not the largest stands of oak
trees in the world.
Chalmette Battlefield, located just below the city, is the site of the Battle of
New Orleans in which General Andrew Jackson repelled between 11,000 and 14,500
seasoned British troops. General Jackson banded together local New Orleans
citizens, Choctaw Indians, local Barataria pirates (the infamous Jean Lafitte),
and the first all free black militia in order to route the British. The final
battle of the war of 1812 took place in January of 1815 (officially after the
war had ended). It is speculated that had the British taken New Orleans the
Treaty of Ghent would have been discarded and hostilities would have
continued[10]. Andrew Jackson gained enough fame from the battle of New Orleans
to be elected Americas President in 1828. Tours of the battlefield are available
and an annual reenactment is held every year.
Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, bus tours of the damaged areas became
popular and are still available.
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 is also home to the New Orleans Blaze, a women's
football team in the National Women's Football Association. 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. The
New Orleans Halfmoons, a women's rugby team and member of USA Rugby, was
disbanded after it's members were scattered by Hurricane Katrina. The Halfmoons,
one of the oldest women's teams in the United States, hosted the annual "Throw
Me Something Rugger" tournament held the weekend before Fat Tuesday.
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.
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
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
Streetcars
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.
Buses
Public transportation in the city is operated by New Orleans Regional Transit
Authority ("RTA"). There are many bus routes connecting the city and
suburban areas. The Jefferson Parish Department of Transit Administration operates
Jefferson Transit which provides service between the city and its suburbs.
Proposed Light Rail
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.
Roads
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 on the
East Bank and Bridge City on the West Bank. 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, in 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 toll bridge failed commercially and is now owned by
the State, and is now a part of US 11. 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.
Airports
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. These include the military base in
Belle Chase Louisiana, and "Southern Seaplane" also located in Belle Chase
Louisiana. Southern Seaplane has a 3200 foot runway for wheeled planes and a
5000 foot water runway for seaplanes.
Railroad
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 six of North America's seven Class I freight
railroads. Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway approach the city from the
west, Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX enter from the east, and the Canadian
National Railway and Kansas City Southern Railway from the north. The New
Orleans Public Belt, a branch of the New Orleans city government, provides
interchange services between the railroads.