Dear Yvonne,
You are right. Times were definitely simpler. However, eventually the City of New Orleans decided to divide us into sections for planning and gathering socio-economic data. So in 1973, they started using the term "neighborhood." Each neighborhood -- and there are 72 of them -- was given a name. A set of books was produced -- one on each neighborhood -- that contained important and useful information. The books showed boundaries, census tracts, councilmanic districts, senatorial districts, wards, and a great deal of demographic information. Many of the books also include a history of the area. Of course, some of the information is no longer up to date.

Hey Blake,
When did the first drive-in theater open in New Orleans?
Mike

Dear Mike,
Lots of folks have been interested in this drive-in lately as well as others in New Orleans. The first drive-in opened on May 28, 1940, and was located on Canal Boulevard very near the lakefront. Simply named Drive-In Theater, it had space for 500 cars, which were parked in a giant semicircle in rows 36 feet apart. In between the cars there were 250 loudspeakers. The movie shown on at the grand opening was Golden Boy, starring Barbara Stanwyck and William Holden. Admission was 26 cents for adults and 10 cents for children. The theater stayed in business for just over five years.

The first of this form of entertainment opened in New Jersey in 1933. After World War II, going to the drive-in became a family affair for veterans who had little ones and not a lot of cash. And in the Big Easy, drive-in theaters allowed us to do just that: take it easy. I mean, what more could you ask? You could come dressed any old way, bring the kids, and even bring your own food. What we got was an inexpensive, informal night out under the stars.

In 1948, we went to the Drive-In Movies at 4000 Jefferson Hwy. Then more theaters opened, and we could choose from the St. Bernard, the Airline, the Crescent, the Skyvue on Chef Menteur Highway, the Westgate on Veterans Memorial Boulevard, the Algiers on General Meyer Avenue, and the Do-Drive In on Metairie Road.

But times changed, and drive-ins became less popular due to several reasons. The movies were often the ones shown in the big theaters first, the neighborhood theaters second, and the drive-ins last. And the pictures were becoming more explicit, so going to the drive-in became less of a family affair. In addition, the shopping centers were constructing cinemas that drew movie lovers to venues with no sweating and no bugs.

Still, in 1977, New Orleans had seven drive-ins. However, one by one they began to close, only to be replaced by shopping centers, condominiums, and giant stores. For example, there's a Sam's on Airline Drive where the Airline Drive-in used to be. And the Do-Drive In on Metairie Road has been replaced by DeLimon Place. The Crescent is now the Airline Village Shopping Center, and by the end of 1982 the Drive-In Movies at 4000 Jefferson Highway closed and was replaced by the Audubon Trace Condominiums.

Hey Blake,
Can you tell me the street address in 1927 of the main office of the old Canal Bank and Trust? The bank is referred to often in the book Rising Tide as the location of numerous meetings in the 3rd-floor boardroom for discussions about the fate of New Orleans during the flood of 1927.
George