Mid-City New Orleans
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mid-City is a city-designated neighborhood in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. By this designation, it is roughly bounded by Broad Street, Interstate 10, Metairie Road, and Orleans Avenue. It is a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places[1]. In common usage, a somewhat larger area surrounding these borders is often also referred to as part of Mid-City.
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[edit] Geography
Mid-City is located, as the name indicates, in the middle of New Orleans on what was once the backslope of the Mississippi River natural levee, a gradually declining section of the river's flood plain. As such, it was not settled as early as adjacent neighborhoods and was called the "back of town"—the city ended at the swamp, unlike today, when the city reaches the lake. The Esplanade Ridge and the adjoining Metairie Ridge formed a natural spur from the River; but what is now Mid-City, surrounded by these higher-elevated sections, was part of the "backswamp" until development in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.[1][2]
[edit] Landmarks
Mid-City is the home of a number of city landmarks. Canal Street, one of the most important thoroughfares of the city, bisects the neighborhood down the middle; the streetcar route follows Canal to Carrollton Avenue, another prominent New Orleans street that passes through Mid-City. Tulane Avenue, which is the terminus of U.S. Route 61, also runs just upriver from Canal Street; before the interstate highway system, this was the primary route into New Orleans from Baton Rouge. An important cross-street is Jefferson Davis Parkway, named for the president of the Confederate States of America, who died in New Orleans's Garden District during an 1889 visit.
The Orleans Parish Criminal Court, the Dixie Brewery, Jesuit High School, Warren Easton High School, and the now-vacant Falstaff Brewery are physically among the most prominent buildings scattered across Mid-City, in addition to a number of churches and large houses along Canal Street. Tulane Avenue in particular shows some remnants of the area's industrial past. However, more characteristic of Mid-City today are the many shotgun houses and larger houses that make up most of this primarily residential neighborhood.
[edit] Culture
Mid-City is a generally local, middle-class neighborhood in that it contains fewer tourist destinations than other parts of the city. Restaurants and bars rely heavily on local clientele, giving the area a quirky local flavor.
[edit] Hurricane Katrina
- Main article: Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans
Mid-City experienced extensive flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and is involved in a continued effort to rebuild. Repopulation and reconstruction are concentrated along major thoroughfares; March 2007 estimates were that 55% of the residents were again living in the area.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ a b 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
- ^ a b Neighborhood organization's statistics
[edit] External links
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