The St. Charles Streetcar, the longest of New Orleans' Regional Transit Authority (RTA) three streetcar lines--the other operating lines are the Riverfront Line and the Canal Street Line, is the oldest continuously operating street railway system in the world.
Designated as Route 12, the line travels a total of 13 miles, beginning at the intersection of Claiborne and Carrollton Avenues, across neutral ground in the center of Carrollton Avenue towards the Mississippi River. At the intersection of Carrollton and St. Charles Avenues, the line bends and continues on neutral ground onto St. Charles Avenue to Lee Circle, where it shares a single track with opposing streetcar traffic before continuing on neutral ground along Howard Street. The final leg is carried across Carondelet, sharing the road with vehicular traffic. At the intersection of Carondelet and Canal Street, the streetcar loops around onto Canal Street for one block and then back onto St Charles Avenue for its return trip to the Garden District.
The rolling stock for the line, in the 900 series, consists of green vintage 1924 Perley Thomas cars. They operate at a heritage line, or excursion, speed--not exceeding 10 miles per hour, and following the reserved right of way. The stations consist of modest uncovered ground level concrete areas to the sides of the track.
Planning for the line began in 1831, and work began as the New Orleans and Carrollton Rail Road in February 1833, the second railway in Greater New Orleans after the Pontchartrain Rail Road. Service began on September 26, 1835, originally without a dedicated right-of-way, and powered by steam locomotive. As the area along the line became more urbanized, objections to the soot and noise increased, and transport was switched to cars hauled by horses and mules. While the city's first experiments with electric powered cars were made in 1884, the line was not electrified February 1, 1893. In 1922 the New Orleans & Carrollton Rail Road was sold to New Orleans Public Service Incorporated (NOPSI), which consolidated the city's various lines over 200 miles of trackage. In 1972 automatic fareboxes were introduced, and the job of a separate conductor was eliminated from streetcars.
In 2005, service along the route was suspended due to damage from Hurricane Katrina. The small section from Canal Street to Lee Circle was the first to be restored. The section continuing up to Napoleon Avenue was re-opened on November 11, 2007, and on December 23, was extended up to Carrollton Avenue, near the line's original terminus. The remaining line was restored in 2008.
St. Charles Streetcar National Register #73000873 (1973)
Garden District National Register #71000358 (1971)
Tags: New Orleans Louisiana Orleans Parish NOLA Orleans County Garden District landmark trolley Perley Thomas route 12 Regional Transit Authority RTA railway NOPSI Perley Thomas NOPSI New Orleans Public Service Incorporated New Orleans Public Service Inc New Orleans & Carrollton Rail Road streetcar Perley A. Thomas Car Works New Orleans and Carrollton Rail Road St. Charles Line St. Charles Streetcar National Register of Historic Places NRHP U.S. National Register of Historic Places historic district U.S. Historic District
Tags: galleria condominiums plant New Orleans Louisiana Orleans Parish NOLA Orleans County Garden District
Lafayette Cemetery, bounded by Washington Avenue, Prytania Street, Sixth Street and Coliseum Street, was established in what was once the City of Lafayette in 1833 to accommodate the residents of the adjacent Garden District. The area was previously part of the Livaudais plantation, and the square had been used for burials since 1824. Laid out by Benjamin Buisson, it consists of two intersecting roads, dividing the property into four quadrants.
The first available burial records are dated from August 3, 1843. The second Protestant cemetery to open in New Orleans, it is the resting place of many German and Irish Protestants, as well as numerous Americans who had migrated from the east coast. Yellow fever victims fill much of the cemetery--241 were buried in 1841; and in 1847, another 613 (of the approximately 3,000) victims were buried here. In 1853, an outbreak left more than 8,000 dead, and bodies were often left at the gates of Lafayette Cemetery.
Wall vaults, or "ovens", added in 1858, line the perimeter of the cemetery here. Among the notables buried here are Confederate Brigadier General Harry T. Hays; Samuel Jarvis Peters, an influential city politician and land developer, who was fashioning the area north of Canal Street into a second Municipality; the Brunies family, of jazz fame; and the Smith & Dumestre family tomb, in Section 2, with 37 names carved on it, with dates ranging from 1861 to 1997. Also depicted are veterans of various wars, including the Civil War and a member of the French Foreign Legion. 8 tombs lists ladies as "consorts." Several distinctive monuments are for the deceased of "Woodman of the World," an insurance company still in existence which offered a "monument benefit." The Lafayette Hook and Ladder Co. No. 1, the Chalmette Fire Co. No. 32, and the Jefferson Fire Company No. 22, all have group tombs here. The later, one of the more striking monuments in the cemetery, was built in 1852 and embellished with a typical pumper. The "Secret Garden" is a square of four tombs built by friends, "the Quarto," who wished to be buried together. According to Save Our Cemeteries, the Quarto held secret meetings, but the last member destroyed their book of notes. The only evidence of their existence are two keys from their minutes, which have been made into broaches and belong to their descendants.
In her book Interview with a Vampire, Anne Rice often gives Lestat and Claudia free reign to wander around the cemetery. Rice staged a mock burial here on July 14, 1995 to promoted her book, Memnoch the Devil.
Garden District National Register #71000358 (1971)
Tags: cemetery tomb gravestone grave tombstone New Orleans Louisiana Orleans Parish NOLA Orleans County Garden District landmark lafayette cemetery Lafayette Cemetery #1 Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 National Register of Historic Places NRHP U.S. National Register of Historic Places historic district U.S. Historic District
Lafayette Cemetery, bounded by Washington Avenue, Prytania Street, Sixth Street and Coliseum Street, was established in what was once the City of Lafayette in 1833 to accommodate the residents of the adjacent Garden District. The area was previously part of the Livaudais plantation, and the square had been used for burials since 1824. Laid out by Benjamin Buisson, it consists of two intersecting roads, dividing the property into four quadrants.
The first available burial records are dated from August 3, 1843. The second Protestant cemetery to open in New Orleans, it is the resting place of many German and Irish Protestants, as well as numerous Americans who had migrated from the east coast. Yellow fever victims fill much of the cemetery--241 were buried in 1841; and in 1847, another 613 (of the approximately 3,000) victims were buried here. In 1853, an outbreak left more than 8,000 dead, and bodies were often left at the gates of Lafayette Cemetery.
Wall vaults, or "ovens", added in 1858, line the perimeter of the cemetery here. Among the notables buried here are Confederate Brigadier General Harry T. Hays; Samuel Jarvis Peters, an influential city politician and land developer, who was fashioning the area north of Canal Street into a second Municipality; the Brunies family, of jazz fame; and the Smith & Dumestre family tomb, in Section 2, with 37 names carved on it, with dates ranging from 1861 to 1997. Also depicted are veterans of various wars, including the Civil War and a member of the French Foreign Legion. 8 tombs lists ladies as "consorts." Several distinctive monuments are for the deceased of "Woodman of the World," an insurance company still in existence which offered a "monument benefit." The Lafayette Hook and Ladder Co. No. 1, the Chalmette Fire Co. No. 32, and the Jefferson Fire Company No. 22, all have group tombs here. The later, one of the more striking monuments in the cemetery, was built in 1852 and embellished with a typical pumper. The "Secret Garden" is a square of four tombs built by friends, "the Quarto," who wished to be buried together. According to Save Our Cemeteries, the Quarto held secret meetings, but the last member destroyed their book of notes. The only evidence of their existence are two keys from their minutes, which have been made into broaches and belong to their descendants.
In her book Interview with a Vampire, Anne Rice often gives Lestat and Claudia free reign to wander around the cemetery. Rice staged a mock burial here on July 14, 1995 to promoted her book, Memnoch the Devil.
Garden District National Register #71000358 (1971)
Tags: cemetery tomb gravestone grave tombstone New Orleans Louisiana Orleans Parish NOLA Orleans County Garden District landmark lafayette cemetery Lafayette Cemetery #1 Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 National Register of Historic Places NRHP U.S. National Register of Historic Places historic district U.S. Historic District
Lafayette Cemetery, bounded by Washington Avenue, Prytania Street, Sixth Street and Coliseum Street, was established in what was once the City of Lafayette in 1833 to accommodate the residents of the adjacent Garden District. The area was previously part of the Livaudais plantation, and the square had been used for burials since 1824. Laid out by Benjamin Buisson, it consists of two intersecting roads, dividing the property into four quadrants.
The first available burial records are dated from August 3, 1843. The second Protestant cemetery to open in New Orleans, it is the resting place of many German and Irish Protestants, as well as numerous Americans who had migrated from the east coast. Yellow fever victims fill much of the cemetery--241 were buried in 1841; and in 1847, another 613 (of the approximately 3,000) victims were buried here. In 1853, an outbreak left more than 8,000 dead, and bodies were often left at the gates of Lafayette Cemetery.
Wall vaults, or "ovens", added in 1858, line the perimeter of the cemetery here. Among the notables buried here are Confederate Brigadier General Harry T. Hays; Samuel Jarvis Peters, an influential city politician and land developer, who was fashioning the area north of Canal Street into a second Municipality; the Brunies family, of jazz fame; and the Smith & Dumestre family tomb, in Section 2, with 37 names carved on it, with dates ranging from 1861 to 1997. Also depicted are veterans of various wars, including the Civil War and a member of the French Foreign Legion. 8 tombs lists ladies as "consorts." Several distinctive monuments are for the deceased of "Woodman of the World," an insurance company still in existence which offered a "monument benefit." The Lafayette Hook and Ladder Co. No. 1, the Chalmette Fire Co. No. 32, and the Jefferson Fire Company No. 22, all have group tombs here. The later, one of the more striking monuments in the cemetery, was built in 1852 and embellished with a typical pumper. The "Secret Garden" is a square of four tombs built by friends, "the Quarto," who wished to be buried together. According to Save Our Cemeteries, the Quarto held secret meetings, but the last member destroyed their book of notes. The only evidence of their existence are two keys from their minutes, which have been made into broaches and belong to their descendants.
In her book Interview with a Vampire, Anne Rice often gives Lestat and Claudia free reign to wander around the cemetery. Rice staged a mock burial here on July 14, 1995 to promoted her book, Memnoch the Devil.
Garden District National Register #71000358 (1971)
Tags: cemetery tomb gravestone grave tombstone New Orleans Louisiana Orleans Parish NOLA Orleans County Garden District landmark lafayette cemetery Lafayette Cemetery #1 Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 National Register of Historic Places NRHP U.S. National Register of Historic Places historic district U.S. Historic District