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Orleans Avenue was one of the first streets in
Lakeview, built in 1905 when the swampy land was
drained to create a residential community.
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Photo by Eileen Loh Harrist
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Hey Blake,
I hope you can answer this question. I have seen several maps of New Orleans from
the late 1800s-early 1900s that show Lakeview as a complete grid pattern of streets
from Bayou St. John to the 17th Street Canal, but I don't think any streets were
actually there at this time (especially blocks of streets where City Park is now).
It only barely resembles the street pattern there today. How long have streets
physically existed in Lakeview, and what was actually there when these maps were
made?
Jeremy D.
Dear Jeremy,
I have seen the maps you refer to as well, particularly one that appeared in
Gardiner's City Directory of 1867. The area that is present-day Lakeview was
neatly laid out on paper, but existed only in someone's imagination. The truth
is that at that time most of the land was a swamp.
In the 1880s, there was a great deal of land
that was not suitable for building a subdivision with streets and houses. From
the rear of Greenwood and Metairie cemeteries and the lake and between the 17th
Street Canal and Bayou St. John, the area consisted almost entirely of marshes
and cypress swamps. Flooding was common as the shore of the lake was eroding.
To make matters worse, when there was a storm, the tides were often more than
5 feet above sea level.
The Louisiana Legislature made an attempt
to study the problem, but the only improvement made was an inadequate levee
erected 300 to 400 feet from the shore in the early 1900s.
Thanks to the vision of lawyer Charles Louque,
who began a study of dykes, dams, canals, pumps, and drainage and organized
the New Orleans Swamp Land Reclamation Company in 1887, the situation was destined
to be improved. But it wasn't until 1905 that the company -- renamed the New
Orleans Land Company -- actually began draining the swamps.
Then, engineer J. F. Coleman subdivided the
holdings of the company into 226 squares containing more than 10,000 25-foot
lots. The lots were sold in pairs for $500, unless you wanted a corner lot,
which would cost $600. The retail value of the initial development was about
$2.6 million.
The first house -- a cottage really -- was
erected at 6391 Julia St. (now West End Boulevard) in 1905. It was actually
just a tool house and office for the workers and surveyors who were clearing
the swamps and laying out the roads. Julia Street was the principal street in
the subdivision, and the roadway was built by laying down 2-inch-thick cypress
planks as a foundation, and building the road on top. Other early streets in
Lakeview were Taylor Street (Florida Avenue), present-day Orleans Avenue and
Adams Street (Robert E. Lee).
Three homes were built in 1908, and by 1909
the swamps were cleared, drainage was installed, and more streets were constructed.
Then the New Orleans Land company published a brochure, "A Study in Investments,"
designed to solicit sales. The glowing brochure compared the Lakeview development
to Chicago's lakefront property and included such bold claims as " ... if we
are to grow and become the great traffic center the Panama Canal and the Inland
waterways should make of this city then our lake front property will become
the most valuable residential property in the South."
Hey Blake,
I have just finished reading your article on the Beverly Country Club in the
July 15 issue of Gambit. I was hoping you might be able to point me in the right
direction of where I might obtain a copy of the picture you mentioned in your
article, Life on the Metairie?
Ann Dwyer
Dear Ann,
When the Fair Grounds Race Track opens on Thanksgiving Day, you can see the
excellent recreation of the magnificent 1867 painting by Theodore Moise. The
reproduction hanging in the grandstand was done by noted New Orleans artist
Anthony Dimarco in 1996.
However, if you can't wait, go the main branch
of the New Orleans Public Library and ask for the book recounting the history
of the race track entitled Diamond Jubilee of the Fair Grounds: 1947-48 Season
by Louis J. Hennessey. On page 7 is a copy of the famed painting.
