Dear Matthew,
Are you new to our fair city? I am guessing this because a local would probably not use the work "median." We usually use the term "neutral ground" for a wide, often grassy area between two streets. In fact, we are the only city in the United States to call the median a "neutral ground." If you are new, we welcome you. Pretty soon, you'll learn the lingo.

As for your question, there was not a railroad running along this street, which was also known as Avenue C. Nearby to the west is the 17th Street Canal, and along it the Jefferson and Lake Pontchartrain Railroad used to run. Also, for about 120 years from the 1830s, there was a very big canal -- the New Basin Canal -- that flowed where the neutral ground is now between Pontchartrain and West End boulevards. Following this canal was the West End Railroad. So there would be no good reason to have another set of tracks running parallel in between.

What is now under the neutral ground on Fleur de Lis Drive was a drainage canal. This area of the city was somewhat isolated before 1950, when the New Basin Canal separated it from the rest of Lakeview. However, development in the area began after the big canal was filled in, and soon after the smaller one also was not needed due to improved sewers and drainage.

Hey Blake,
I have a serious question. Do you recall or can you furnish me with information regarding a restaurant in the French Quarter during the 1960s by the name of The Bun Restaurant?
Karen Barbaro

Dear Karen,
I can only guess why this is a serious question. Perhaps there is money riding on the answer. So here it is, the answer to your "serious" question. Yes, there was a restaurant in the French Quarter called The Bun Restaurant. It was located at 435 Bourbon St. and was in business for about five years from 1965 to 1970.

Hey Blake,
I thought if anyone would know the answer to this it would be you. There was a barbecue restaurant that my family would visit that was located on Canal Boulevard across from Lenfant's. Any idea of the name?
Priscilla

Dear Priscilla,
Yup. The name of the restaurant located at 5243 Canal Blvd. was The Smoke House Restaurant. This place was pretty popular when it opened around 1957. Restaurants, as you know, come and go at a rapid clip here in the Big Easy, where it's not always easy to compete. But The Smoke House Restaurant managed to stick around for about 15 years.

Hey Blake,
I am with Urban Concepts in Beverly Hills, Calif., and am doing research into the Radisson Hotel property. I understand you answered a question about the hotel in your column in Gambit Weekly. Do you still have the copy?
Doug Chastain

Dear Doug, You can find the answer to the question about the Radisson Hotel that used to be the Jung Hotel at the following address: www.bestofneworleans/dispatch/2004-03-16/blake.html.

And while I'm thinking about it, I wonder if readers know that they can find back issues of Gambit Weekly on the Web site www.bestofneworleans.com. Click on "Gambit Weekly," and then click on "Archives." If there were any issues you missed, you can find them easily.