I found this plaque embedded in the bricks outside the Oil & Gas Building, on the corner of Common and Rampart in the CBD. It reads "One hundred years after Col. Drake [?] completed the nation's first successful oil well in Titusville, Pennsylvania, the New Orleans Oil Centennial Committee deposited historical documents here to commemorate the occasion."
A celebration of oil's first century, eh? Hope they enjoyed the party, 'cos according to some geologists, we are approaching the end of the "peak oil" era. Some estimate that global oil supplies will begin to decline in mid-century, and that by 2050 the decline in production rates -- from having used up this limited resource -- will be precipitous.
In a hundred years, if that plaque is still there, it might seem like more of a tombstone than a time-capsule.
[Apologies for the off-set photo cropping ... it couldn't be avoided.]
This may not look like much, but it's scenes like this that make me adore this town. Here's a humble shotgun, could be almost anywhere in town, reasonably well-kept on the outside, with a sweet motorcycle out front. Homes like this may or may not survive the waves of rebuilding and gentrification that are beginning to sweep our area, but I for one would be happy as a clam in a house like this one.
Browsing through some photos on my computer for a few parting shots for NOLApics, I came across this one from Mardi Gras 2007. The character in the quilted suit is a bit too creepy for me, but the dude with the painted eyes seemed to think it was pretty funny. The child seemed to have some freaked-out fascination with him...or her...or it...
We pick the best images added to the Blogging New Orleans Flickr group and post a resized version with a link to the original here. Just add your photos to the pool and you could see your image posted here! Be sure to check back for another NOLApic.
This picture was taken four years ago today on the Paddlewheeler Creole Queen. Our photographer rushed us up to the deck in order to catch the New Orleans skyline as we headed back to shore.
We pick the best images added to the Blogging New Orleans Flickr group and post a resized version with a link to the original here. Just add your photos to the pool and you could see your image posted here! Be sure to check back for another NOLApic.
I found this picture in our Flickr group. It was taken by journalist Dani Bora, who came down last month to cover the work of Common Ground Relief for NEED magazine. This image belongs to a photoset on Flickr of other images from his trip, which depict volunteers gutting homes and also show the empty slabs where homes once stood.
Two years later and we've still got so far left to go...
We pick the best images added to the Blogging New Orleans Flickr group and post a resized version with a link to the original here. Just add your photos to the pool and you could see your image posted here! Be sure to check back for another NOLApic.
I took this picture a year ago, on a drive down Highway 90 to survey the damage on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, one year after Hurricane Katrina. Growing up on the Coast, the S.S. Hurricane Camille was always a memorable local landmark. The boat was planted firmly ashore by Hurricane Camille in 1969, and had since been turned into the site of a tourist trinket shop.
It's kind of crazy...growing up there, Hurricane Camille was almost this mystical sort of force that we grew up hearing about. It was The Big One, the one that changed everything. The one you thought would never happen again. I certainly hoped I'd never live to see any other storm change the face of the Coast as completely as Camille did.
We pick the best images added to the Blogging New Orleans Flickr group and post a resized version with a link to the original here. Just add your photos to the pool and you could see your image posted here! Be sure to check back for another NOLApic.
Lunch was provided today by Dunbar's. It has been YEARS since I have tasted Dunbar's fried chicken. The cornbread was moist and buttery, the beans, lightly seasoned and perfectly textured. This is the real reason why I have sat through speaker after speaker here at the N.O. Yacht Club.
We pick the best images added to the Blogging New Orleans Flickr group and post a resized version with a link to the original here. Just add your photos to the pool and you could see your image posted here! Be sure to check back for another NOLApic.
I took this picture sometime in October 2005, shortly after returning to NOLA following the Katrina evacu-cation. We found this mannequin on the corner near my boyfriend's old apartment in the Bayou St. John neighborhood. People randomly added stuff to it. (Just take a peek at this picture for a view of the same mannequin a few nights prior; it lost some pieces and gained some.)
This is a perfect example of what I love about the people of this city. Even in tough times, we still try to have a sense of humor and the absurd. It reminds me of a saying my boyfriend has. It goes something like, "When things get rough, you can either go crazy, or go zany." I think we know what direction the folks in my neighborhood went.
We pick the best images added to the Blogging New Orleans Flickr group and post a resized version with a link to the original here. Just add your photos to the pool and you could see your image posted here! Be sure to check back for another NOLApic.
The Baby turned two today. We spent the morning in good company at the Aquarium of the Americas. For a special birthday dinner we got take out from Mikimoto and an ice-cream cake from Baskin-Robbins. It was an all around great day. I guess I can't really refer to her as "The Baby" any longer. I hereby crown her "Lil Miss."
We pick the best images added to the Blogging New Orleans Flickr group and post a resized version with a link to the original here. Just add your photos to the pool and you could see your image posted here! Be sure to check back for another NOLApic.
This is one of my favorite buildings in the French Quarter, and possibly in the city. This cute little shotgun sits at the corner of Chartres and Barracks. Inside reside two adorable bulldogs (you can sort of see them in the window in this picture). I don't personally know the owners or residents of this house, but I pass by it often, as it's on my way to work, and they always seem so nice and cheery whenever I've passed them. I mean, look at all the beautiful flowers they've planted outside! How could people like that not be nice?
We pick the best images added to the Blogging New Orleans Flickr group and post a resized version with a link to the original here. Just add your photos to the pool and you could see your image posted here! Be sure to check back for another NOLApic. We went to a wedding this weekend at Southern Oaks Plantation in New Orleans East. It was a stunning location and the bride arrived and departed in a horse drawn carriage ... of course.
We pick the best images added to the Blogging New Orleans flickr group and post a resized version with a link to the original here. Just add your photos to the pool and you could see your image posted here! Be sure to check back for another NOLApic.
When I returned to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, in mid-October 2005, I spent a lot of time in the French Quarter. For awhile, the Quarter was sort of like the base of operations for a lot of people. We live in Mid-city and while luckily our place didn't get any major damage, our gas didn't get turned back on until almost Thanksgiving. Which meant no gas to cook with and no hot water for showers. Luckily we had access to a friend's apartment in the Quarter, where we were able to take showers, and we spent a lot of time eating at places like Envie and Flanagan's Pub.
One of the most interesting things about the Quarter during that time was seeing all of the artwork people had done to their abandoned fridges. Most refrigerators were thrown out, since food had been left to rot inside for so long during the prolonged evacuation. I spotted this pair of fridges on Royal Street...these two were probably my favorites out of all the creatively decorated fridges I saw.
We pick the best images added to the Blogging New Orleans Flickr group and post a resized version with a link to the original here. Be sure to check back here for another NOLApic.
Wow, I wish I'd come across this picture earlier, which serves as an interesting supplement to Matt's post from this morning about the homeless situation.
Posted to the BloggingNewOrleans Flickr group by dsb_nola, this photo is of Steve Wheeler, who the photographer met outside of City Hall. According to the image's description, Mr. Wheeler is one of many homeless who have taken up residence in the gazebo which sits just outside of City Hall. He is also the Vice President of the Homeless Pride Association, which hosted a march for housing just yesterday morning. The group has been talking with the Mayor's Office and the City Council about ways in which to help the city's homeless population, and they are trying to join forces with a non-profit organization or create one of their own in order to help empower the homeless of New Orleans.
This situation is truly heartbreaking. Obviously these people are trying to improve things for themselves, and as Matt noted, most of them have regular jobs. I can only hope that as more people recognize this situation, more pressure will be put on City Hall until something is done. But then again, when was the last time City Hall did anything right?
We pick the best images added to the Blogging New Orleans Flickr group and post a resized version with a link to the original here. Be sure to check back here for another NOLApic.
I took this picture back in March on Chartres Street in the Marigny. I often see this car parked in that area. Not sure who it belongs to, but I love it. Definitely one of the most noticeable and most memorable cars around town. I love all of the creativity and civic pride embodied here with the crazy, colorful fleur de lis spray painted all over this SUV. Although I've gotta admit, I'd have to own a real clunker to be brave enough to do something like that to my car.
