Gert Town, New Orleans

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Gert Town, sometimes referred to as Zion City, is a city-designated neighborhood in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is adjacent to the Mid-City neighborhood and is sometimes considered an extension of it, especially as a part of the city's fourth municipal district, but the history and geography of Gert Town are distinct.

Blue Plate Mayonaise factory in Gert Town

The core of Gert Town is between Interstate 10 and Earhart Boulevard, Carrollton Avenue and Broad Street. However, the neighborhood extends some blocks beyond each of these streets except for the interstate; and particularly around Broad, the delineations are quite confusing where a number of major thoroughfares meet in a series of odd-angled intersections.

[edit] Central location, isolated past

Gert Town's odd street pattern is the result of earlier land development that reflected the bends in the Mississippi River. With a lower elevation than other areas, the area was once part of the swampy "Back of Town," and major streets stopped before entering the area. After some marginal residential development in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, older Uptown streets that were perpendicular to the river tended to meet in Gert Town and Mid-City. Many of the narrow side streets in Gert Town remained unpaved longer than those in other neighborhoods.

This fairly small area was further cut off by the New Basin Canal, which was located where Interstate 10 is today. Because of its location, in some ways Gert Town seems to have been overlooked throughout its history; poverty and crime have been recurrent problems, particularly in the later twentieth century. It is now one of several strategic zones designated by the city for redevelopment and community reinforcement. A prominent figure in the community is Xavier University of Louisiana, located in the northern corner of the neighborhood.

[edit] References

Campanella, Richard. Time and Place in New Orleans: Past Geographies in the Present Day. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company, 2002. ISBN 1-56554-991-0