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New Orleans Louisiana Overview
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New Orleans, Louisiana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
New Orleans is a major United States port city and historically the largest city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is in southeastern Louisiana along the Mississippi River, just south of Lake Pontchartrain, and is coextensive with Orleans Parish. New Orleans is named after Philippe II, Duke of Orleans, Regent of France, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States.
New Orleans is known for its multicultural heritage as well as its music and cuisine. It is considered the birthplace of jazz. Its status as a world-famous tourist destination is due in part to its architecture and its annual Mardi Gras and other celebrations. It is often called the "most unique city" in America.
The city's several nicknames are illustrative. Crescent City alludes to the course of the Mississippi River around and through the city; The Big Easy was possibly a reference by musicians in the early 1900s to the relative ease of finding work there, but most New Orleanians attribute the term to the city being more carefree and slowed down than cities like New York (the Big Apple); and 'The City that Care Forgot" refers to the outwardly easy-going, carefree nature of many of the residents. The New Orleans Metropolitan Area, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, currently includes seven Parishes: Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, Plaquemines, St.
Tammany, St. Charles, and St. John the Baptist; with a total poulation of 1.3 million, making it the 35th largest Metropolitan Statistical Area in the United States.
The 2000 U.S. census put New Orleans's population at 484,674, but Hurricane Katrina in 2005 caused the city's evacuation. After the extensive damage caused by the storm, many residents did not return. The current population is estimated at 187,525 as of October of 2006, although this estimate has been disputed.
Beginnings
New Orleans was founded in 1718 by the French Mississippi Company as la Nouvelle-Orléans, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville. The site was selected because of its relatively high elevation along the flood-prone banks of the Lower Mississippi River and its location adjacent to a Native American trading route and portage between the river and Lake Pontchartrain.
In 1723, New Orleans became the third capital of French colonial Louisiana, following Biloxi (1720), and Mobile (1702).
In 1763, the French colony was ceded to the Spanish Empire and remained under Spanish control for 40 years. Most of the surviving architecture of the French Quarter dates from this Spanish period. Louisiana reverted to French control in 1801, but two years later Napoleon sold it to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase. The city grew rapidly, with influxes of Americans, French and Creole French.
During the War of 1812 the British sent a force to conquer the city. The British were defeated by American forces led by Andrew Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815. However, a peace treaty was signed between the United States and Britain on December 24, 1814, and news of the treaty did not reach the United States in time to prevent the battle from occurring.
By 1840, New Orleans had become by far the wealthiest city in the nation, and was also ranked as the third most populous city, being beaten by Baltimore by only 119 people. Since that time, the city has become the thirteenth poorest large city in the Nation. Up until 1960 New Orleans had consistently been ranked in the top fifteen largest Cities in the U.S. but since that time, the city has shrunk to the thirty-fifth largest city in the U.S.
The population of the city doubled in the 1830s, and by 1840 the city's population was over 100,000-one of the largest cities in the U.S. Population growth was frequently interrupted by yellow fever epidemics, the last of which occurred in 1905.
As a principal port, New Orleans had a leading role in the slave trade, while at the same time having the most prosperous community of free persons of color in the South. Early in the American Civil War New Orleans was captured by the Union. This action spared the city the destruction suffered by many other cities of the American South.
Twentieth Century
In the early 20th century, New Orleans was a progressive major city whose most portentous development was a drainage plan devised by engineer and inventor A. Baldwin Wood. Urban development theretofore was largely limited to higher ground along natural river levees and bayous. Wood's pump system allowed the city to expand into low-lying areas. Over the 20th century, rapid subsidence, both natural and human-induced, left these newly-populated areas several feet below sea level.
New Orleans was vulnerable to flooding even before the age of negative elevation. In the late 20th century, however, scientists and New Orleans residents gradually became aware of the city's increased vulnerability. Hurricane Betsy in 1965 had killed dozens of residents even though the majority of the city remained dry. The rain-induced 1995 flood demonstrated the weakness of the pumping system.
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
By the time Hurricane Katrina approached the city at the end of August 2005, most residents had evacuated. Storm surge pushed ashore by the hurricane caused the city to suffer the worst civil engineering disaster in American history. Floodwalls constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed, and 80% of the city flooded. Tens of thousands of remaining residents were rescued by helicopter or otherwise made their way to shelters of last resort at the Superdome or the convention center. Over 1,500 people died.
The city was declared off-limits to residents while clean-up efforts began. The approach of Hurricane Rita caused repopulation efforts to be postponed, and the Lower Ninth Ward was reflooded by Rita's storm surge. By October 1, parts of the city accounting for about one-third of the population of New Orleans had been reopened.
As of July 2006, efforts continue to clean up debris and restore infrastructure. Although most of the city has reopened to residents, and areas that suffered moderate damage have substantially resumed functioning, the parts of the city most severely damaged still have irregular utilities and city services, and the most severely damaged section of the Lower Ninth Ward is still not officially open for residents to return to live.
Geography and climate
The city is located in the Mississippi Plain, mostly between the Mississippi River in the south and Lake Pontchartrain in the north. The area along the river is characterized by ridges and hollows. Fields atop the ridges along the river are referred to as the "frontlands." The land contour slopes away from the frontlands to the "backlands", comprised of clay and silt.
The city of New Orleans has the lowest elevation in the state of Louisiana, and the third lowest point in the United States, after Death Valley and the Salton Sea. Much of the city is one to ten feet (0.3 to 3 m) below sea level. Some 45 percent of the city is above sea level.[citation needed] These were the areas developed before 1900. Rainwater is pumped into Lake Pontchartrain via a series of canals lined by levees, dikes, and floodwalls. Because of the city's high water table, most houses do not have basements. In the cemeteries, most crypts are above ground. The city has considered passing a building code that would require all new residences being
constructed on negatively elevated ground to have a garage and storage level on the first floor to protect people's living spaces from floodwaters.
Cityscape
The Central Business District of New Orleans is located immediately north and west of the Mississippi River, and was historically called the "American Quarter." Most streets in this area fan out from a central point in the city. Major streets of the area include Canal Street and Poydras Street. In the local parlance "downtown" means downriver from Canal Street, while "uptown" means upriver from Canal Street. Downtown neighborhoods include the French Quarter, Treme, the 7th Ward, Faubourg Marigny, Bywater (the Upper Ninth Ward), and the Lower 9th Ward. Uptown neighborhoods include the Garden District, the Irish Channel, the
University District, Carrollton, Gert Town, Fontainebleau, and Broadmoor.
Other major districts within the city include Bayou St. John, Mid City, Gentilly, Lakeview, Lakefront, New Orleans East, and Algiers.
Parishes located adjacent to the city of New Orleans include St. Tammany Parish to the north, St. Bernard Parish to the south and east, Plaquemines Parish to the south and southeast, and Jefferson Parish to the south and west.
Climate
The climate of New Orleans is humid subtropical, with cool winters and hot, humid summers. In January, morning lows average around 43F (5C), and daily highs around 62F (17C). In July, lows average 74F (23C), and highs average 91F (33C). The lowest recorded temperature was 11F (-11.7C) on December 23, 1989. The highest recorded temperature was 102F (38.9C) on August 22, 1980. The average precipitation is 64.2 inches (1630 mm) annually; the summer months are the wettest, while October is the driest month. Precipitation in winter usually accompanies the passing of a cold front. Hurricanes also pose a threat to the area, and the city is particularly vulnerable
because of its low elevation. New Orleans is the fifth-most likely major U.S. city to be struck by a hurricane, after Miami, Florida, Houston, Texas, Jacksonville, Florida, and Tampa, Florida. Most recently, Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005 devastated the city.
New Orleans experiences snowfall only on rare occasions. Most recently, a small amount of snow fell on Christmas in 2004, during the 2004 Christmas Eve Snowstorm. On December 25, a combination of rain, sleet, and snow fell on the city, leaving some bridges icy. Before that, the last white Christmas was in 1954, and brought 4.5 inches (110 mm). The last significant snowfall in New Orleans fell on December 22, 1989, when most of the city received 1 or 2 inches of snow.
Culture
New Orleans is usually pronounced by locals as "Noo-AW-lyenz," "New-Or-linz," or "New-Or-lenz." The tendency among people around the world to say "New-Or-LEENZ" stems both from the use of that pronunciation by singers and songwriters, who find it easy to rhyme, and from accepted pronunciations of other cities named Orleans in the English speaking world. However, that pronunciation is generally disdained by the residents of New Orleans. The pronunciation "NAW-linz" is likewise not generally used nor liked by locals but has been popularized by the tourist trade.
The distinctive local accent is unlike either Cajun or the stereotypical Southern accent so often misportrayed by film and television actors. It does, like earlier Southern Englishes, feature frequent deletion of post-vocalic "r". It is similar to a New York "Brooklynese" accent to people unfamiliar with it. There are many theories to how the accent came to be, but it likely results from New Orleans' geographic isolation by water, and the fact that New Orleans was a major port of entry into the United States throughout the 19th century. Many of the immigrant groups who reside in Brooklyn also reside in New Orleans, with Irish,
Italians, and Germans being among the largest groups.
The prestige associated with being from New Orleans by many residents is likely a factor in the linguistic assimilation of the ethnically divergent population. This distinctive accent is dying out generation by generation in the city (but remains very strong in the surrounding Parishes). As with many sociolinguistic artifacts, it is usually attested much more strongly by older members of the population. One subtype of the New Orleans accent is sometimes identified as Yat (from "Where y'at). This word is not used as a generalized term for the New Orleans accent, and is generally reserved for the strongest varieties. Also notable are lexical items
specific to the city, such as "lagniappe" (pronounced LAN-yap) meaning "a little something extra," "makin' groceries" (from the French 'Faire l'epicerie- to make/do shopping) for grocery shopping, or "neutral ground" for a street median(derived from a traditional area between new American neighborhoods and native French, Spanish and creole neighborhoods or 'faubourgs' where it was acceptable for all to meet).
Some other words and names are pronounced differently in the New Orleans vocabulary, while the spelling remains consistent with standard English, or the word's original language. Burgundy for example is pronounced buh-GUN-dee when referring to the New Orleans street, though other usages of the word (as in the color or the wine) are pronounced as the standard BUR-gun-dee.
Food
New Orleans is world-famous for its food. Like its Jazz, New Orleans is blessed with the only truly indigenous local cuisine in the nation. From the infiltration of hearty cajun country fare over the centuries to the local creole, haute creole and New Orleans French cuisines, New Orleans food is perhaps its most cherished possession. Local ingredients, African, French, Spanish and Cajun traditions combine to produce a truly unique and easily recognizable New Orleans flavor.
Unique specialties include beignets, square-shaped fried pastries that are sometimes called French doughnuts (served with coffee and chicory "au lait"); Po'boy and Italian Muffalettas; Gulf oysters on the half-shell, boiled crawfish, and other seafood; étouffée, jambalaya, gumbo, and other Creole dishes; and the Monday evening favorite of red beans and rice. (Louis Armstrong often signed his letters, "red beans and ricely yours.") New Orleans residents enjoy some of the best restaurants in the United States that cater specifically to locals, and visitors are encouraged to try the local establishments recommended by
their hosts.
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