Visit New Orleans and Play a New Game

[Kathryn]

I took pictures almost two years ago hoping to be able to show the progress after a while. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been much progress in the Lakeview area, near the 17th Street Canal levee break. When Eddie was in town last month, we drove around to check things out. We had an ice chest of beer and played a new game:

How high did the water get here?

Here are two that have been renovated and a palm that recovered nicely.

Hint: Just look for the waterline.

This one was very close to the levee break.

[Kathryn]

This one hasn't been renovated, but there was some activity around and the palms are looking great.

Not much going on here and the house next door has been torn down.

Can’t use the waterline to judge this one – it has been raised about 10 feet. Nice queens made it through the storm and are growing well.

[Breadfruit Bill]

That is still so sad to see...  I have been there several times to do some work downtown at The Saint James AME Church...  Take some pictures of the Habitat for Humanity houses that are going up nearby the 9th ward, they are so happy looking!  Bright colors and freshly planted yards...  Seeing that truely was like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel...

[Kathryn]

Here’s the house my Dad grew up in. The first photo is from November 2005 – about two months after Katrina hit. The waterline is right at the mail boxes on the front.

And here it is being renovated in June 2007. The yellow vinyl siding has been ripped off and you can see the original wood siding. Should be nice once it's stripped and painted.

It's a shotgun double and here's a photo of the inside of the left side. It won’t have the same character without the old hardwood floors, but I’m pleased to see the progress.

[Kathryn]

Take some pictures of the Habitat for Humanity houses that are going up nearby the 9th ward, they are so happy looking!  Bright colors and freshly planted yards...  Seeing that truely was like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel...

I was at Musician's Village in the upper 9th Ward a few weeks ago working on a house for Steamboat Willie. He stopped by in the afternoon as we were finishing up and invited us to see him play. I don’t have any pictures, but I’ll get some from a friend and post them. One picture of his new home can been seen on the home page of his web site: http://www.steamboatwillie.tv/

[Kathryn]

Here’s a house in Mid City (betwee Lakeview and Up/Downtown) with three Ravenea rivularis on August 19, 2005, less than two weeks prior to Katrina.

In November 2005.

And June 2007.

Lakeview, Uptown, Mid City, 9th Ward - just common names for different neighborhoods or areas in the city of New Orleans

[Breadfruit Bill]

WOW, I think I saw Steamboat Willie playing outdoors at a little spot Bourbon Street when I was there last...  The girls I was with just weren't into "that style of music"  -   They are not in my life today!  HAH!

[Jeff Searle]

Kate,

    How interesting. But just a truely sad situation for all the people that live there. It will take many,many years before NO will be the same. Thanks, and keep on planting.......

Jeff

[paulgila]

amazing photos.its heartbreaking to think of all the destruction.

[Kathryn]

After we left the Mid City area, we headed to Uptown. About 90% of New Orleans flooded during Katrina – don’t know if this means 90% of the land or 90% of the homes. The areas that didn’t flood are on higher ground along the Mississippi River; this includes Uptown, the Garden and Warehouse Districts, Downtown, the French Quarter, Faubourg Marigny, etc. There are many great places to stay and visit in these areas so don’t let Katrina keep you from coming.

Here are Eddie and Lauri leaving one of my favorite places. Cooter Brown’s serves over 400 brands of domestic and imported bottled beers, as well as 45 different beers on tap, and has the best roast beef po-boy and cheese fries. This is where I like to get oysters during months that have an “r”.

[palmsrgreat]

Kathryn,

I lived off of Chestnut just before Louisiana a block off St. Charles for just over a year. I loved the Garden District and Cooter Brown's was one of our favorite spots on the other end of St. Charles. Tons of different beers, just like you said. Which fit me perfectly of course!

Anyway, my wife and I are on vacation now and had a chance to stop by Jeff Searle's today. He's a great guy and had plenty of nice things to say about ya! We'll all have to toss a few back someday

[Kathryn]

After leaving Cooter Brown’s we headed up St. Charles Avenue (one of the most beautiful streets in America) and took a lot of pictures along the way. If you asked me what trees are most commonly found in New Orleans, I’d answer Live Oak, Crepe Myrtle, and Cabbage, Chinese and Canary Island Date Palm. You will see many in my pictures.

These next few pictures are from Audubon Park. These Live Oaks took a beating from Katrina and their canopies are much sparser since the storm, but very few were uprooted.

[Kathryn]

Michael,

I talked to Jeff earlier today and he told me about your visit. I will be visiting him and Andy in a few weeks – just booked my flight. Look me up the next time you are in New Orleans. I can’t say which area of New Orleans is my favorite, but I love Hanna’s sushi and Basil Leaf’s Thai in the Carrollton area, and of coarse Camilla Grill, Brigtsen's, Dante’s Kitchen, etc.

Kate

[Kathryn]

Part of Tulane University's campus:

[Kathryn]

Here are some of the beautiful homes along St. Charles Avenue, most of which were built from the early 1800’s to early 1900’s. Some of these homes have been turned into multi-family apartments or Bed and Breakfast type hotels, but most are still private homes.

See the streetcar track in the neutral ground in the picture below – this is a favorite route for joggers.

[Kathryn]

More St. Charles Avenue homes:

[Kathryn]

One of my favorite things to do is ride the streetcar up and down St. Charles, looking at the wonderful homes and gardens and stopping off at some great watering holes.

Unfortunately the street cars aren’t fully functional yet, but they do run on a portion of St. Charles. Restoration of the full route should be complete by the end of the year.

Here's a shot looking down the tracks that is well worn by joggers but not streetcars.

One of the many Canary Island Date Palms

[Kathryn]

More along St. Charles - and these are only a fraction of the homes!

One of the many wonderful Crepe Myrtles blooming in the city right now.

[Kathryn]

[DoomsDave]

Kathryn:

Thank you for the lovely pictures, and keep them coming.  I visited NO in 1985 on my way out to California, and almost stayed . . . . . You remind me of why.

SO SAD (like everyone else) to see the destruction, but glad to see any progress being made.

How about the outlying parishes, like Plaquemines?

dave

dave

[SubTropicRay]

Great photos Kate.  The Garden District is awesome but I've somehow missed Cooter Brown's.  Are there any plans being discussed for the Lakeview area?

[BS Man about Palms]

Thanx for the tour!

[Kris]

Dear Kathyrn  

thanks for a indepth tour of what has happened and how is

life returning to its normal.the entire palce looks full of

beautiful pams and boganivilla kind of creepers.

and your stills resolution is excellant and it seems you have got there are terrefic machine to shot the location.

love,

kris  

[alex_7b]

Back when this unfolded, I made a prediction that folks who were not property owners would not return. Also, property owners who were uninsured would not return. Is that largely the case?

Many renters were paying about $300 for houses that were old, payed for and uninsured. The cost of rebuilding a house is too expensive to lease it out at $300.

Houses that experienced storm surge have to be razed. Nobody wants to face it, but it's true. Subsequent mold also make a piecemeal repair impractical.

In the end, NO will be smaller, cleaner and richer. Really, better than before.

[Jeff Searle]

Hi Kate!

      I was just curious, what price range are we looking at with some of these nicer looking mansions? I'm sure well over 1 million.Thanks.

Jeff

[bubba]

Kathryn, Nowlins is one of my personal favorites and I always watch your posts closely. I have always been amazed at the large amount of tropical palms and foliage I encounter every visit. First , the large number of well-faring Queens as well as the Majesty's.I think you could grow Sargent Cherrie's and Triangles as well as a number of other borderline specimens. For some reason, it just seems to be warmer there than it is suppose to be.I also remember numerous papaya plants all over town. That together with those incredible Oaks and magnificient Bull Magnolia's mixed together! Geau Tigers!

[steve 9atx]

alex

Houston took in 250,000 NOLA refugees immediately after Katrina.  The initial and long-term costs have been in the many $10's of millions annually to both the City and School District (along with a 24% increase in our murder rate attributed by HPD directly to the refugees).

As long as the FEMA housing allowances paid out, most of these folks stayed and many didn't bother to look for work.  Since the housing allowances have played out, some have left in a slow trickle.  I understand there are around 50,000 who have stayed; most of these folks have indicated their desire to stay permanently.  Fortunately, our economy has been good enough to absorb them.  I can't say where the rest have gone, but they're not likely to find $300 rent like in pre-Katrina NOLA.

Steve

[Kathryn]

(Dave from So-Cal @ Jul. 07 2007,01:37)

QUOTE

Kathryn:

Thank you for the lovely pictures, and keep them coming.  I visited NO in 1985 on my way out to California, and almost stayed . . . . . You remind me of why.

SO SAD (like everyone else) to see the destruction, but glad to see any progress being made.

How about the outlying parishes, like Plaquemines?

dave

dave

Progress is slow in some areas and great in others. It was really slow in lower Plaquemines at first because we weren’t sure if the levees would be rebuilt or even maintained. Most families in Plaquemines and St. Bernard Parishes have live there for generations and are rebuilding. My farm was just below Port Sulphur. Here’s a picture taken two weeks after Katrina.

The metal building was destroyed, the crocked house belonged to my neighbor and was now on my property, and most of the trees died. Everything has been cleared except for the few Live Oaks that survived.

[Kathryn]

Had to use the shrinkage method as Photobucket was down.

In September 2005, I spent about a week helping my neighbors round up their surviving cattle, but I haven’t been back since. I have a few plants that were intended to be planted down there and can’t take the cold here. I may drive down there sometime soon to plant them and check things out.

[Kathryn]

(Jeff Searle @ Jul. 09 2007,07:59)

QUOTE

Hi Kate!

      I was just curious, what price range are we looking at with some of these nicer looking mansions? I'm sure well over 1 million.Thanks.

Jeff

The average home price in Uptown and the Garden District is about $450k. Most of the ones on St. Charles are at least 1 million and most are several million.

I decided to move Uptown about a year ago and found a nice house on Magazine Street for about $500k. After talking to my insurance company, I decided not to move since my home insurance would have been $10.5k and my car insurance would have been $100 more per month.

[Kathryn]

folks who were not property owners would not return. Also, property owners who were uninsured would not return. Is that largely the case?quote]

You're right Alex.

Most of the homes that sat in water for several weeks can be gutted and repaired, but some of them were in teardown areas already and aren’t worth salvaging.

See the yellow home in post number 2? Many of the home in this area are being torn down. The home that was on the lot in the foreground has been removed and the one on the lot in the background has been removed and replaced. The home in the picture just below it has been salvaged and raised – not sure they needed to go that high, but as long as it’s being raised, I guess the height doesn’t cost more and now they will have a nice garage or whatever.

There were also many people whose homes were underinsured and they couldn’t afford to rebuild in the area. The value of my home has doubled since I bought it 13 years ago. If I didn’t periodically adjust the insurance coverage, it would be underinsured too.

[DoomsDave]

Kathryn:

you reminded me to go and look at my coverage . . .

The Devil is in the details . . .

dave

[Kathryn]

Next, we stopped at The Columns Hotel for martinis. This is a cool hotel to stay at to experience the real New Orleans. Reservations can be made at: www.thecolumns.com

I forgot to take a picture on the day we were there, but here’s one from the following week on a rainy day. I was driving down St. Charles and the rain started to pour down very hard. I thought it would be perfect to stop at The Columns and watch the rain for the front porch.

[Kathryn]

After a few martinis, we continued down St. Charles toward downtown and took more pictures along the way.

[Kathryn]

Some of these homes are on St. Charles Ave and some are on side streets.

[Kathryn]

We were headed to another favorite watering hole, The Bulldog, on Magazine Street. Here's a shot down Magazine.

And a great fountain in the courtyard at The Bulldog.

[Walt]

There's a much more variety of palms now in New Orleans than when I was there last, for five days during the 1971 Mardi Gras. Or, maybe I was too drunk to notice any palms, I dunno. I think I got bombed everyday on Hurricanes (the wine drink) and Dixie beer! I still have some gold aluminun anodized coins I caught thrown from the parade floats; they look as good today as 36 plus years ago.

[SunnyFl]

What a tour of NO - an amazing collection of pictures.

The yellow house in Post 2, and the one in #4 - such a sad sight, to look at that damage.  How the people there suffered, what a horror.  The flooding in the picture of your neighbor's place, just unimaginable.

But then there are all the gorgeous photos of the live oaks and crepe myrtles - which seem to grow larger than ours.  What a wonderful blend of southern and tropical plantings, such a beautiful city.

[Wai`anae Steve]

In the  "old" days in Hawai`i, homes were built a few feet off the ground because of the chance of heavy rain and run off.  It is also cooler to allow the breeze to blow all around the house.

Now they build "mainland" style homes on cement slabs and when it rains heavy people have to contend w/water inside.

Near the beach new homes are up on cement block, high enough to let the hurricane waters go under.

Building on the ground in a city below sea level ain't to smart to me.