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This photo of the St. Charles Avenue streetcar -- with its cowcatcher and two-conductor operating system -- was taken in 1920, the year the Desire Line began running.
Photo from New Orleans in the Twenties
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Hey Blake,
Another streetcar question for you. In one
of my old picture albums, I came across a photo from 1979 that shows the No.
453 Desire streetcar displayed at the end of the French Market with the then-being-reconstructed
U.S. Mint in the background. Whatever became of that car? It would be a great
tourist photo-op again.
--Keith Emigh
Dear Keith,
I'm afraid you don't want to know about this
very special part of New Orleans history. Streetcar No. 453 is sitting in the
Carrollton Transit Station, aka the "streetcar barn." It is in such a state
of disrepair -- even its number is missing -- that it will take a least $1 million
to put the car back in condition. However, we can still hope that this special
streetcar will one day be back on line.
In 1920, the New Orleans Railway and Light
Company began the Desire Line. Its original route was from Canal and Bourbon,
down Bourbon, Esplanade, Decatur, Elysian Fields, Chartres, Desire, Tonti, France,
and Royal to Canal.
In 1923, the line got a new route that went
from Canal and Bourbon, down Bourbon, Pauger, Dauphine, Desire, Tonti, France,
and Royal to Canal.
On its run, the streetcar picked up all sorts
of folks; among them were residents of Bywater and Faubourg Marigny, shoppers
from Royal Street, and fun seekers from the bars and nightclubs in the French
Quarter.
We bade a sad farewell on May 30, 1948, to
the streetcar named Desire immortalized by Tennessee Williams in his play, when
it was replaced by a somewhat less romantic bus.
But take heart; the Regional Transit Authority
is considering the return of a Desire Streetcar Line, and funding to begin the
project was included in the U. S. Transportation Department's FY97 budget.
In the play, which opened on Broadway in 1947,
Stanley and Stella Kowalski lived at 632 Elysian Fields. Blanche DuBois was
given directions to the house: "They told me to take a streetcar named Desire,
and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at
Elysian Fields."
But Blanche never could have gotten there
with those directions because the Desire streetcar and the Cemeteries streetcar
lines did not intersect. The Cemeteries line ran the length of Canal Street
and never got anywhere near Elysian Fields.
It's no wonder poor, confused Blanche had
to depend on the kindness of strangers.
Hey Blake,
I have lived on Leon C. Simon Drive for five
years and have searched this long for information on who this guy is. I have
been told that he was one of the Confederate generals like Robert E. Lee. Who
is he, and why does a New Orleans street carry his name?
--Sylvia M.
Dear Sylvia,
I guess I can understand how someone might
believe that Mr. Simon and General Lee fought together since their streets intersect
and then run parallel to each other. But this is just one of those "New Orleans
explanations" folks come up with when they are looking for an answer that sounds
good. Now you have finally come to the right place to get the answer to your
question.
If you've lived in New Orleans for a while,
you've probably noticed that each year The Times-Picayune gives its Loving
Cup Award to an outstanding citizen. In 1913, Leon Charles Simon was the winner.
A local merchant and civic leader, he was honored for -- among other accomplishments
-- having founded the New Orleans Association of Commerce, later known as the
Chamber of Commerce. Then, from 1914 to 1917, Simon was the director of the
Chamber of Commerce of the United States.
The head of the United China and Glass Company
for more than 60 years, Simon was also the director of the New Orleans branch
of the Federal Reserve Bank from 1921 to 1936. Typical of Loving Cup recipients,
Simon was also noted for his philanthropic work and involvement in education,
acting as president of the Jewish Children's Home and serving on the board of
Isidore Newman School.
When he died on April 13, 1953, he was buried
in Metairie Cemetery.
