AUTOPSIES RESEARCH GROUP

  • Home
  • Events
  • Autopsies Blog
  • OBITUARIES
  • Projects
  • BIBLIOGRAPHY
  • CONFERENCE CALLS
  • Links
  • People
  • Contact
  • Site map

Postcards from the Crescent City

20/4/2011

0 Comments

 
This is the first is a series of posts about the architecture, city and culture of New Orleans by Autopsies Group member Jacob Paskins, who recently participated in the Society of Architectural Historians' 64th Annual Meeting in Louisiana.

I.  Upper Central Business District
Picture
Streetcars, Canal Street

Many parts of New Orleans, such as Desire Street in Faubourg Marigny, are no longer served by a streetcar. The city was once well-served by a network of streetcars, but during mid-twentieth century they almost entirely disappeared. While the historic St Charles Avenue streetcar still rumbles slowly along the route laid out during the 1830s, new vehicles and routes are now being reinstated. From the Canal Street terminus, streetcars serve two routes to City Park and the Metairie and Greenwood Cemeteries. A third line is planned to serve Rampart Street and will eventually stretch downriver. Unlike the old green St Charles street car, these red replicas are air-conditioned, have a disabled access lift, and run relatively quickly.
Picture
Sin City

Harrah's is the only licensed casino in New Orleans and appears to be one of the most popular attractions in the area. Legalised gambling is the anodyne pass time of visitors to the city, which was once known as 'Sin City' in the late nineteenth century because of the population of sailors in town and the high levels of crime and prostitution.

The casino, sitting under the two domes, was built in 1999. A hotch-potch of cheaply produced classical motifs, this massive ensemble fills an entire block and is difficult to avoid with its garish illumination and blaring music which is pumped out of speakers along the entire length of the building.

In the background, bank buildings and expensive chain hotels dominate the business quarter. In the foreground, the railway lines serve the Riverside Streetcar and a mile-long freight train, which announces its approach each day with a blasting horn at around 11.30 am.
Picture
World Trade Center

The 1960s World Trade Center is a colossal symbol of the failed riverfront development. Dominating the skyline, this office block is almost entirely unoccupied and provides a significant obstacle for pedestrians who wish to cross from the Central Business District to the Mississippi river.

The banner advertises the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and IMAX cinema, located near to the WTC, which provides a slightly more appealing visitor attraction than the Riverside shopping mall a little further up the promenade.



Coming next, a look at the Riverfront reveals why New Orleans turns its back on the Mississippi.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    autopsies blog

    This is where we share what we’ve seen, heard, experienced
    or thought about dead objects
     for everyone to comment on.

    Tweets by @autopsiesgroup

    Archives

    September 2012
    June 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    October 2011
    August 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009

    Categories

    All
    Architecture
    Archives
    Asbestos
    Benjamin
    Bill Brown
    Books
    Car
    Cinema
    Collection
    Comics
    Computers
    Conferences
    Dickens
    Drawings
    Exhibition
    Film
    Film Noir
    Found Footage
    Godard
    Hair Dryer
    Internet
    Jazz
    Kitsch
    Landlords
    Launderette
    Lead Paint
    Lead Poisoning
    Library
    Longplayer Project
    Lost Film
    Maps
    Medicine
    Memex
    Metro
    Motel
    Museums
    Music
    New Orleans
    Nostalgia
    Object Retrieval
    Object Retrieval Project
    Objects
    Obsolescence
    Patina
    Photography
    Photomaton
    Pica
    Radio
    Routemaster Bus
    Streetcar
    Surveillance
    Theatre
    Things
    Thing Theory
    Toys
    Transport
    Ucl
    Website

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.