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New Orleans, Louisiana
Flag of New Orleans, Louisiana
Flag
Official seal of New Orleans, Louisiana
Seal
Nickname(s): 
The Crescent City; The Big Easy; The City that Care Forgot
Location of New Orleans
Location of New Orleans
Country
  State
    Parish		United States
  Louisiana
    Orleans Parish
Government
 • MayorC. Ray Nagin
Population
 (2000)
 • Total
484,674 (city proper)
 1,337,726 (metropolitan area)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
Websitehttp://www.cityofno.com/

New Orleans (local pronunciations: /nuːˈɔɹliːnz/, /nuːˈɔɹliːənz/, or /nuːˈɔɹlənz/) (French: La Nouvelle-Orléans, pronounced [[Media:La_Nouvelle-Orleans.ogg|/la nuvɛl ɔʀleɑ̃/]] in standard French accent) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. New Orleans is located in southeastern Louisiana along the Mississippi River, just south of Lake Pontchartrain, and is coextensive with Orleans Parish. The 2000 census put New Orleans's population at 484,674 and the New Orleans metropolitan area's population at 1,337,726. The city's name is often abbreviated NOLA.

New Orleans is a Southern city known for its multicultural heritage (especially French, Spanish and African American influences) and its music and cuisine. It is a world-famous tourist destination thanks to its many festivals and celebrations; the most notable annual events are Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, Southern Decadence, and college football's Sugar Bowl.

New Orleans was founded in 1718 and has played an important role in the history of the United States. The city was named in the honor of Philippe, duc d'Orléans, who was regent and ruler of France when the city was founded; the name of the city alludes to the existing city of Orléans in central France.

New Orleans is a major port city due to its location near the Gulf of Mexico and along the Mississippi River, making it a hub for goods which travel to and from Latin America. The petroleum industry is also of great importance to the New Orleans economy; many oil rigs are located in the Gulf. The Port of South Louisiana (which includes the port of N.O.) is based in the New Orleans metropolitan area and is the fourth largest port, in terms of raw tonnage, in the world.

On August 29, 2005, the city was struck by Hurricane Katrina, which caused catastrophic damage and flooding throughout the entire metropolitan area.

History

Main article: History of New Orleans

Colonial Era

New Orleans is a historic city. Sign at Jackson Square in the French Quarter

New Orleans was founded in 1718 by the French as La Nouvelle-Orléans, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville. The site was selected because it was a rare bit of natural high ground along the flood-prone banks of the lower Mississippi, and was adjacent to a Native American trading route and portage between the Mississippi and Lake Pontchartrain via Bayou St. John (known to the natives as Bayou Choupique). A community of French fur trappers and traders had existed along the bayou (in what is now the middle of New Orleans) for at least a decade before the official founding of the city. Nouvelle-Orléans became the capital of French Louisiana in 1722, replacing Biloxi in that role.

In 1763, the colony was ceded to the Spanish Empire. Some of the early French settlers were never quite happy with Spanish rule, and repeatedly petitioned to be returned to French control.

The Great Fire of 1788 destroyed many of the existing structures in the city. As a result of this fire, and a subsequent fire in 1795, much of 18th century architecture still present in the French Quarter was built under Spanish rule, and demonstrates Spanish colonial characteristics.

In 1795, Spain granted the United States "Right of Deposit" in New Orleans, allowing Americans to use the city's port facilities. Louisiana reverted to French control in 1801 after Napoleon's conquest of Spain, but in 1803, Napoleon sold Louisiana (which then included portions of more than a dozen present-day states) to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase. At this time the city of New Orleans had a population of about 10,000 people.

19th century

From early days it was noted for its cosmopolitan polyglot population and mixture of cultures. The city grew rapidly, with influxes of Americans, French and Creole French, many of the latter fleeing from the revolution in Haiti. During the War of 1812 the British sent a force to try to conquer the city, but they were defeated by forces led by Andrew Jackson some miles down river from the city at Chalmette, Louisiana on January 8, 1815 (commonly known as the Battle of New Orleans).

1888 German map of New Orleans.

The population of the city doubled in the 1830s and by 1840, the city's population was around 102,000, fourth-largest in the U.S, the largest city away from the Atlantic seaboard, as well as the largest in the South after Baltimore.

One famous New Orleans socialite of the time was Delphine LaLaurie who threw lavish parties.

New Orleans was the capital of the state of Louisiana until 1849, then again from 1865 to 1880. As a principal port it had a leading role in the slave trade, while at the same time having North America's largest community of free persons of color. Early in the American Civil War it was captured by the Union without a battle, and hence was spared the destruction suffered by many other cities of the American South. It retains a historical flavor with a wealth of 19th century structures far beyond the early colonial city boundaries of the French Quarter. The city hosted the 1884 World's Fair, called the World Cotton Centennial. An important attraction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was the famous red light district called Storyville.

New Orleans panorama from 1919

20th century

Much of the city is located below sea level between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, so the city is surrounded by levees. Until the early 20th century, construction was largely limited to the slightly higher ground along old natural river levees and bayous, since much of the rest of the land was swampy and subject to frequent flooding. This gave the 19th century city the shape of a crescent along a bend of the Mississippi, the origin of the nickname The Crescent City. In the 1910s engineer and inventor A. Baldwin Wood enacted his ambitious plan to drain the city, including large pumps of his own design which are still used. All rain water must be pumped up to the canals which drain into Lake Pontchartrain. Wood's pumps and drainage allowed the city to expand greatly in area. However, pumping of groundwater from underneath the city has resulted in subsidence. This has greatly increased the flood risk, should the levees be breached or precipitation be in excess of pumping capacity, as would later happen in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. A major hurricane could create a lake in the central city as much as 30 feet deep, which could take months to pump dry.

Canal Street, looking away from the river, 1920s

In the 1920s an effort to "modernize" the look of the city removed the old cast-iron balconies from Canal Street, the city's commercial hub. In the 1960s another "modernization" effort replaced the Canal Streetcar Line with buses. Both of these moves came to be regarded as mistakes long after the fact, and the streetcars returned to a portion of Canal Street at the end of the 1990s, and construction to restore the entire line was completed in April 2004.

The suburbs saw great growth in the second half of the 20th century; the largest suburb today is Metairie, which borders New Orleans to the west. Metairie is not incorporated and is a part of Jefferson Parish.

While long one of the USA's most-visited cities, tourism boomed in the last quarter of the 20th century, becoming a major force in the local economy. Areas of the French Quarter and Central Business District which were long oriented towards local residential and business uses switched to largely catering to the domestic and international tourist industry.

A century after the Cotton Centennial Exhibition, New Orleans hosted another World's Fair, the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition.

File:NewOrleansCBDfromUptown.jpg
A view across Uptown New Orleans, with the Central Business District in the background, 1990s

21st century

Hurricane Katrina

See main articles Hurricane Katrina and Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans
New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, showing Interstate 10 at West End Boulevard, looking towards Lake Pontchartrain.

Katrina formed on August 24, 2005, and first made landfall near North Miami, Florida, United States, as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, causing major flooding, loss of power to more than 1 million residents, and 11 deaths. An eye-restructuring event weakened it to a tropical storm as it moved offshore. However, the system regained strength much more quickly than anticipated in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, becoming a Category 5 hurricane and attaining a central pressure of 26.63 inches of mercury (902 mb; the fourth most intense ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin) with sustained winds of 175 mph. The system turned northward towards Louisiana and made its second landfall (its first being Florida) on August 29, 2005, near Grand Isle, Louisiana, as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 150 mph. This was quickly followed by a third landfall south of Buras-Triumph, Louisiana, at approximately 6:10 a.m. CDT (Louisiana local time) (11:10 UTC), with sustained winds of 140 mph. A fourth and final landfall was made at the Louisiana-Mississippi border at 10 am CDT.

A mandatory evacuation was first issued for New Orleans, as nearly all of the city is below sea level and the storm surge was expected to reach record levels of 28 ft (8 m) above normal tide levels. An offshore instrument recorded waves of 36 ft (11 m) before becoming unresponsive. Disaster relief plans are in full operation in the affected communities. Some experts predict a million people could become homeless as a result of the storm [1]. Preliminary insurance estimates from State Farm and other insurance companies indicate insured damage from 10 to 25 billion USD [2]. Currently 5,000,000 people are without power in the Gulf Coast, and it may be two months before all power is restored. [3]

At first, many thought that the storm would not be as catastrophic as forecasters predicted for most of New Orleans, because the storm made a right turn at the last minute, and the eye missed downtown New Orleans by 10-15 miles. Immediately after the worst winds passed, the storm surge, which scientists had worried might top levees, slowed and stabilized. The hurricane's winds and rain, however, destroyed or damaged many homes in the city's eastern neighborhoods as it moved north. The situation became worse on Tuesday, August 30, 2005, when the 17th Street Canal's Levee gave way, allowing water to flood the already ravaged city. Eighty percent of New Orleans is now said to be under water, which in some places may be as much as 25 feet (7.5 m) deep. The water will not drain naturally from New Orleans because much of the city, which averages five feet below sea level, is below the level of the adjoining Lake Pontchartrain and Mississippi River. Although as of this writing, restoration plans have not yet been announced, it is likely that the City will rely on the action of its existing large water pumps to remove flood waters as the levee breaches between it and southern edge of Lake Pontchartrain are repaired. Presently, reports from across the city indicate that water levels are continuing to rise. The future habitability of the New Orleans area is in doubt, and the Mayor of New Orleans Ray Nagin told ABC's "Good Morning America" that residents of New Orleans should not expect to return to their homes for "12-16 weeks." Local CBS affiliate WWL-TV has reported that some survivors are thinking of never coming back.

On 31 August, Mayor Nagin told reporters that the hurricane probably killed thousands of people in the city. [4]

Geography

New Orleans is on the banks of the Mississippi River about 100 miles upriver from the Gulf of Mexico at 30.07°N, 89.93°W.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 907.0 km² (350.2 mi²). 467.6 km² (180.6 mi²) of it is land and 439.4 km² (169.7 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 48.45% water.

New Orleans is a unique city because some areas of the city range from 1 to 20 feet (0.3 to 6 m) below sea level, and rain-water must be pumped out as fast as it falls to prevent flooding. In addition to the urban areas of the city, New Orleans includes undeveloped wetland, especially in the east. The city is very flood-prone. If it rains more than 1 inch (25 mm) there is usually some form of area flooding, which due to the climate can be a fairly regular occurence. Because of this, nearly all of New Orleans' cemeteries use above ground crypts rather than underground burial.

It was expected that in the event of a slow moving Category 4 (or greater) hurricane, New Orleans would be flooded by the accompanying storm surge. The prediction was that under those conditions, the levees would be overtopped and instead of keeping the water out, they would contain it, turning New Orleans into a toxic lake. This scenario has been studied extensively, and the predictions have been uniformly catastrophic. The effects of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 have proved many of these predictions to be correct.

A levee break in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina flooded 80% of New Orleans, though not to the depth anticipated in the preceding scenario. The famous Superdome is currently being used to house many of the city's residents, but those remaining are evacuating under orders from the state governor.

http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/pd/Funding_Programs/Current/CGSELAFY06.pdf

Adjacent parishes

Divisions and neighborhoods

New Orleans contains many distinctive neighborhoods.

Metropolitan area

As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 484,674. This figure does not include the suburbs in neighboring Jefferson Parish, Saint Bernard and other nearby communities; the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of about 1.3 million.

Climate

New Orleans has a subtropical climate with mild winters and hot, humid summers. In January, morning lows average around 43 °F, and daily highs around 62 °F. In July, lows average 74 °F, and highs average 91 °F. On average, 59.74 in. of precipitation falls annually.

New Orleans is vulnerable to hurricanes from June to November.

On rare occasions, snow will fall, the most recent being 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, in 1954, brought 4.5 inches (110 mm) to the city, its largest snowfall ever.

A true-color satellite image of New Orleans taken on NASA's Landsat 7

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 484,674 people, 188,251 households, and 112,950 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,036.4/km² (2,684.3/mi²). There are 215,091 housing units at an average density of 459.9/km² (1,191.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 28.05% White, 67.25% African American, 0.20% Native American, 2.26% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.93% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. 3.06% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 188,251 households out of which 29.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.8% are married couples living together, 24.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% are non-families. 33.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.48 and the average family size is 3.23.

In the city the population is spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 83.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $27,133, and the median income for a family is $32,338. Males have a median income of $30,862 versus $23,768 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,258. 27.9% of the population and 23.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 40.3% of those under the age of 18 and 19.3% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Government and law

New Orleans has a mayor-council government. The city council consists of 5 councilmembers that are elected by district and 2 at large councilmembers. Mayor C. Ray Nagin, Jr. was elected in May 2002.

The New Orleans Police Department provides professional police services to the public in order to maintain order and protect life and property. The Orleans Parish civil sheriff's employees serve (deliver) papers involving lawsuits. The Criminal Sheriff's department maintains the parish prison system.

By law and government, the city of New Orleans and the parish (equivalent to a county in most US states) of Orleans Parish are one and the same Template:GR. Before the city of New Orleans became co-extensive with Orleans Parish, Orleans Parish was home to numerous smaller communities. Some of these communities within Orleans Parish have historically had separate identities from the city of New Orleans, such as Irish Bayou, Carrollton. Algiers, Louisiana was a separate city through 1870. As soon as Algiers became a part of New Orleans, Orleans Parish ceased being separate from the city of New Orleans.

Economy

It is an industrial and distribution center, and a major U.S. seaport. New Orleans is one of the busiest seaports in not only the United States, but also the world. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canal in the mid 20th century to accommodate New Orleans' barge traffic.

Like Houston, New Orleans is located in proximity to the Gulf of Mexico and the many oil rigs lying just offshore. There are a substantial number of oil companies that have their regional headquarters within New Orleans' corporate limits, such as:

The federal government and military, especially the Navy and NASA, has a significant presence in the area with a NASA facility, Michoud Assembly Facility located in the eastern portion of Orleans Parish. Lockheed-Martin also has a large manufacturing facility located in the Greater New Orleans area that produces external fuel tanks for space shuttles.

Other companies with a significant presence or base in New Orleans include:

Tourism

New Orleans is one of the most visited cities in the United States, thus tourism is a major staple in the area's economy. The city's colorful Carnival celebrations during the pre-Lenten season, centered on the French Quarter, draw particularly large crowds. Mardi Gras is a tradition that stretches back for years. During this time, Bourbon Street is open only to pedestrians and police. The Sugar Bowl college football bowl game, played in early January, is also major tourist attraction, as well as the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. New Orleans' Southern Decadence is one of the largest annual Gay/Lesbian celebrations in the nation and world. Hundreds of thousands of participants descend upon the city during the Labor Day weekend, when the festival is traditionally held.

Tourism into the city is on hold until futher notice due to Hurricane Katrina.

Culture

The modern New Orleans skyline, as seen from across the Mississippi River in the Algiers neighborhood

New Orleans is well known for its Creole culture and the persistence of Voodoo by a few of its residents, as well as for its music, food, architecture, and good times. While most people think of New Orleans as a Cajun town, it is important to point out that it is not.

New Orleans is usually pronounced by locals as "Noo Aw-lins". The term "N'Awlins" is not generally used by locals but has been popularized by the tourist trade. The distinctive local accent, sometimes identified as Yat, is unlike either Cajun or the stereotypical Southern accent so often misportrayed by film and television actors. 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 many of the immigrant groups who reside in Brooklyn also immigrated to New Orleans (Irish, Italians, and Germans being among the largest groups). This distinctive accent is dying out generation by generation in the city (but remains very strong in the surrounding Parishes); it is usually attested much more strongly by older members of the population. Also notable are lexical items specific to the city, such as "lagniappe" (pronounced LAN-yap) meaning "a little something extra," or using terms like "neutral ground" for a median.

The City has the nicknames the Crescent City, the Big Easy, and the City that Care Forgot. The city's unofficial (but commonly touted) motto is "Laissez les bons temps rouler", translated to: "Let the good times roll."

New Orleans created its own spin on the old tradition of military brass band funerals; traditional New Orleans funerals with music feature sad music (mostly dirges and hymns) on the way to the cemetery and happy music (hot jazz) on the way back. Such traditional musical funerals still take place when a local musician, a member of a club, krewe, or benevolent society, or a noted dignitary has passed. Until the 1990s most locals preferred to call these "funerals with music", but out of town visitors have long dubbed them "jazz funerals". Younger bands, especially those based in the Treme neighborhood, have embraced the term and now have funerals featuring only jazz music.

New Orleans has always been a significant center for music with its intertwined European, Latin American, and African-American cultures. The city engendered jazz with its brass bands. Decades later it was home to a distinctive brand of rhythm and blues that contributed greatly to the growth of rock and roll. In addition, the nearby countryside is the home of Cajun music, Zydeco music, and Delta blues.

The city is also world-famous for its food. Specialties include beignets, square-shaped fried pastries that are sometimes called French doughnuts (served with coffee and chicory "au lait"); Po'boy and Italian Muffaletta sandwiches; Gulf oysters on the half-shell and other seafoods; etouffee, 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".)

Area attractions

Greater New Orleans has many major attractions, from the world-renowned Bourbon Street and the French Quarter's notorious nightlife to St. Charles Avenue, home to Tulane and Loyola Universities; many stately 19th century mansions; and Audubon Park and Audubon Zoo.

Bourbon Street, New Orleans, in 2003, looking towards Canal Street.

Favorite tourist scenes in New Orleans include the French Quarter (known locally as "the Quarter"), which dates from the French and Spanish eras and is bounded by the Mississippi River and Rampart Street, Canal Street and Esplanade Ave. Popular visiting areas in the Quarter are Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral, the French Market (including the Café du Monde, famous for café au lait and beignets) and Preservation Hall ( which is located in the heart of the French Quarter on 726 St. Peter ST.). The Natchez, an authentic steamboat with a calliope tours the Mississippi twice daily.

Other significant areas and sites in the city include:

Celebrations

Greater New Orleans is home to numerous year-around celebrations from Mardi Gras to its New Year celebrations. New Orleans' most famous celebration is its Carnival Season. The Carnival season is often known (especially by out-of-towners) by the name of the last and biggest day, Mardi Gras (literally, "Fat Tuesday"), which is held just before the beginning of the Catholic liturgical season of Lent. Mardi Gras celebrations include parades and floats; participants toss strings of cheap colorful beads and doubloons to the crowds. The Mardi Gras season is kicked off with the only parade allowed through the French Quarter (Vieux Carre, translated Old Square), a walking parade aptly named Krewe du Vieux. Main article: New Orleans Mardi Gras.

The largest of the city's many musical festivals is the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. "Jazz Fest", its common name, is one of the largest music festivals in the nation, and features crowds coming from all over the world to experience a wonderful time (including music, food, arts, crafts, and of course the Louisiana heat). Despite the name, it features not only jazz but a large variety of music, including both native Louisiana music and nationally-known popular music artists.

Transportation

Roads

The Greater New Orleans area is served by several interstate highways that were laid out in the middle of the 20th century, a time when a larger proportion of Gulf of Mexico freight traffic passed through New Orleans. I-10 goes west to Houston and beyond and east to Mobile and Florida, with I-59 and I-55 heading northward to Birmingham and Memphis, respectively. Later, I-12 created a shortcut that avoided crossing Lake Pontchartrain. In Slidell, I-59 and I-12 both end at an interchange with I-10, which turns southward toward New Orleans while I-12 continues straight to rejoin I-10 near Baton Rouge. There are also plans to extend I-49 from Lafayette to New Orleans. The route would follow U.S. Highway 90 and the Westbank Expressway, placing the southern terminus at I-10 behind the Superdome. The southern termini of US Highways 11 and 61 are in New Orleans, and US 51 terminates just west of the city, Laplace.

The Pontchartrain Expressway (U.S. Highway 90's business route), becomes the Westbank Expressway south of the Mississippi River. Along its route west then northwest from the Crescent City Connection bridge to its terminus at I-10 near the Superdome, the Pontchartrain Expressway follows the path of the former New Basin Canal, dug in the 19th century by thousands of immigrant (mostly Irish) laborers, and filled in in 1947. Some of the older warehouse structures still standing along the Pontchartrain Expressway can trace their roots to their days along the banks of the canal.

Roads along the Mississippi River were the first to carry overland traffic into New Orleans. US 51 (the "Old Hammond Highway"), US 90, and US 11 followed old Indian routes along slight ridges to become the first automotive highways. Louisiana governor Huey P. Long championed Airline Highway (US 61) to bypass the circuitous river road between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The route of today's US 90 east of New Orleans once included a ferry crossing at Fort Pike. Governor Long built public draw bridges at the Rigolets as political retaliation against the operators of a the private toll bridge across Lake Pontchartrain. Long achieved his objective: the US 11 toll bridge failed commercially and is owned by the State. US 11 was the escape route for Ignatius J. Reilly at the end of John Kennedy Toole's novel, A Confederacy of Dunces.

West of New Orleans, the Ruddock exit at milepost 6 of I-55 is the only trace left of a thriving community that was literally washed away by the hurricane of September 1915. Frenier Beach Hurricane Storm Surge Revisited

In the 1960s, a controversial "Dixie Freeway" that would have been designated I-410 would have created an "outer loop" encompassing St. Bernard Parish, the westbank areas of New Orleans and Jefferson, and back across the river in St. Charles Parish where I-310 now runs. Environmental concern for the wetlands south of New Orleans and economic considerations derailed those plans.

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina flooded and, in many cases, severly damaged many of the city's major roadways, including I-10, a vital transportation corridor leading out of New Orleans. It was unclear at the end of August 2005 when many of these damaged or flooded roadways would or could be re-opened.

Public transit

Public transit around New Orleans proper is operated by the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority ("RTA"). In addition to the many bus routes, there are three active streetcar lines moved by electric motors powered by DC wires overhead:

  • The St. Charles line (green cars, formerly connecting New Orleans with the then independent suburb of Carrollton) is the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in New Orleans and a historic landmark.
  • The Riverfront line (also known as the Ladies in Red since the cars are painted red) which runs parallel to the river from Canal Street through the French Quarter to the Convention Center above Julia Street in the Arts District.
  • The recently restored Canal Street line, which uses the Riverfront line tracks from Esplanade Street to Canal Street, then branches off down Canal Street and ends at the cemeteries at City Park Avenue with a spur running from the intersection of Canal and Carrollton Avenue to the entrance of City Park at Esplanade near the entrance to the New Orleans Museum of Art.

The green cars of the Saint Charles line are maintained by RTA employees and the red cars of the Riverfront and Canal Street lines were built by RTA employees.

The city is also the scene of the Tennessee Williams play "A Streetcar Named Desire." The streetcar line to Desire Street became a bus line in 1948, but may be restored as a light rail streetcar line.

Air transportation

The metropolitan area is served by Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (IATA code MSY, ICAO code KMSY), which serves multiple millions of passengers with nearly 300 nonstop flights per day to or from destinations throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The airport also handles a significant amount of charter operations from Europe. MSY features multiple daily operations from cargo-only operators as well, and serves as a nonstop gateway to Mexico for Federal Express.

Armstrong International Airport is owned by the City of New Orleans, but is located within the city of Kenner.

Within the city itself is Lakefront Airport, which is a general aviation airport, and the New Orleans Downtown Heliport, located on the roof of the Louisiana Superdome's parking garage. There are also several regional airports located throughout the metropolitan area.

The airport was closed for an undetermined period after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in August 2005.

Water transportation

A freighter on the Mississippi River in New Orleans

The Port of New Orleans handles about 145 million short tons (132 million tonnes) of cargo a year and is the largest faction of the Port of South Louisiana, the latter being the largest and busiest shipping port in the western hemisphere and the 4th busiest in the world.

About 5,000 ships from nearly 60 nations dock at the Port of New Orleans annually. The chief exports are grain and other foods from the Midwestern United States and petroleum products. The leading imports include chemicals, cocoa beans, coffee, and petroleum. The port handles more trade with Latin America than does any other U.S. gateway, including Miami.

New Orleans is also a busy port for barges. The barges use the nation's two main inland waterways, the Mississippi River and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, which meet at New Orleans. The port of New Orleans handles about 50,000 barges yearly.

There are also two ferries that cross the river near the Garden district and the French Quarter. These ferries are free of charge to pedestrians, but motorists pay a $1 fee to cross on them.

Rail transportation

New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal is the passenger rail center for the city, and it is served by three trains operated by Amtrak: the Crescent to New York City, the City of New Orleans to Chicago, Illinois, and the Sunset Limited from Jacksonville to Los Angeles.

In addition, the city is served by six Class I freight railroads. The Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads approach the city from the west, the Norfolk Southern and CSX from the east, and the Canadian National and Kansas City Southern from the north.

Education

Greater New Orleans has around 200 parochial schools. The New Orleans City and Jefferson Parish Public School Systems are the area's largest with each being both home to nearly 100 individual schools. Saint Tammany and the River Parishes are also home to their own respective public systems.

Institutions of Higher Education

Sports

New Orleans is the home of the New Orleans Saints National Football League team. The city also has an Arena Football League team, the New Orleans VooDoo, owned by the Saints' owner, Tom Benson. The New Orleans Hornets of the National Basketball Association moved to the city starting in the 2002–2003 season; they were previously based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The New Orleans Zephyrs AAA minor league baseball team plays in adjacent Metairie.

Historical teams included the New Orleans Pelicans baseball team (1887–1959), the New Orleans Breakers of the United States Football League, the New Orleans Night of the Arena Football League (1991–1992), and the New Orleans Brass ice hockey team (1997–2003). Former basketball teams were the New Orleans Buccaneers (c. 1967–1970), and the New Orleans Jazz (1974–1980) which became the Utah Jazz.

The city also hosts two college football bowl games annually: the New Orleans Bowl and the Sugar Bowl.

Sports venues

Media

Newspapers

The major daily newspaper is the New Orleans Times-Picayune, publishing since 1837.

Television stations

Nielsen Media Research DMA (Designated Market Area) year 2004-5 rank: 44/210

  • 676,000 homes reached
  • WWL, Channel 4 (CBS affiliate)
  • WDSU, Channel 6 (NBC affiliate)
  • WVUE, Channel 8 (FOX affiliate)
  • KLFY, Channel 10 (CBS affiliate)
  • WYES, Channel 12 (PBS member station)
  • WHNO, Channel 20 (Independent)
  • WGNO, Channel 26 (ABC affiliate)
  • WLAE, Channel 32 (PBS member station)
  • WNOL, Channel 38 (WB affiliate)
  • WPXL, Channel 49 (PAX affiliate)
  • WUPL, Channel 54 (UPN affiliate)

See also

Template:Mapit-US-cityscale

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