Archive for the 'New Orleans Origionals' Category
New Orleans Ferry, it’s free to ride as a pedistrian. Warehouse District by the Spanish Plaza to Algiers
March 10th, 2008 categories: New Orleans Origionals, Warehouse District
The Canal Street Ferry runs daily til mid-night from the foot of Canal Street to Algiers on the west bank. You go due east to get there. Going east to get west is sort of a New Orleans thing - a leftover from Christopher Columbus. The entrance is between the Aquarium of the Americas and Harrah’s Casino next to the River Walk. Since people cannot walk the Mississippi River Bridge the ride is free. The ferry service has been running since 1827.
Autos have to pay as they do on the bridge. The Mississippi River is the biggest and longest river in the United States so why not take a free ride. The Ferry docks in between the French Quarter and the Warehouse District so if you are downtown its a great way to take a break and get some great photos.
Its just another thing you can do that most people will not think about but its a hidden treasure. Its natural air conditioning in the summer.
” The Algiers ferry leaves the Canal Street docks every half-hour starting at 6 AM. Destination is Algiers, best known for Mardi Gras World, a warehouse-cum-fun park where the floats for the annual festival are assembled and housed. Best bet is to take this ferry at twilight, staying on for the round-trip (about 45 minutes) and returning to see the New Orleans skyline twinkling under the Southern skies. The ride is free to pedestrians and a mere dollar for cars.
An alternative boat ride is the “zoo cruise” which leaves the River View docks of the Audubon Park Zoo on a regular basis, floating downriver to the Aquarium of the Americas at the foot of Canal Street. You can take the ride in either direction, or both, for a nominal charge. The Mississippi River is hard to miss in New Orleans — just ask anyone for directions.” According to this tour guide its a thing to do. Living here you forget interesting things to do are not expensive.
There is even a Friends of the Ferry site and club.
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Bromeliads, A New Orleans Treat, they love the weather!
March 8th, 2008 categories: NOLA Gardens, New Orleans Origionals
I cannot even remember how I fell into this hobby but it was well before my real estate career started. Bromeliads are a sub-tropical family of plants related to Pineapples. They love the New Orleans weather. I happen to grow these guys because they are easy to grow and the blooms sometimes will last for several months. I have over 100 in pots and flower beds around the house. They need little soil, hate the cold weather, and love the rain and humidity. They can enjoy the shade of Oaks for months at a time.
I cannot give you a lot of scientific info on these plants but they are easy to take care of. I re-pot most of the plants yearly in a mixture of peat moss and garden soil. The pups are the new plants grown off the older plants after they bloom. Sometimes there can be 3-4 pups on a plant. You can break these off and replant. They will even grow with little soil as long as they have shade and water. I planted several in a tree several years ago and they are doing great.
The Bromeliads and the variety that they come in seem to be endless. Being in the real estate business its perfect for picking up new varieties as you meet other bromeliad lovers. You can check out the New Orleans Bromeliad Society for a schedule of their activities. They will have several shows and it’s another place to pick up some unusual varieties. Come on over and I will give you a couple as I have to start repotting and dividing them.
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New Orleans Sailing, the Lake or the Mississippi River?
March 3rd, 2008 categories: Lakefront, New Orleans Origionals
Lake Pontchatrain, in my mind, is the best metropolitan sailing venue in the country. Sure the Chesapeake is beautiful, but unless you live in mega-buck Annapolis, there is a two hour drive between you and your boat. If you live anywhere but Uptown, the Lake is a bike ride from your home, bike as in Schwinn, not Harley.
Because the Lake is immediately north of the city, it is a sailor’s paradise. The prevailing winds here are out of the south, so we Lake sailors have great wind and minimal waves. Today was an awesome example, winds south, southeast at 20 knots and there was not a ripple on the water as we zipped along about a half mile off the beach.
For cruisers, there are trips across the lake to overnight in one of the bayou anchorages. For racers, there are races one night each week and on the weekend. For the more adventerous in the group, the Lake feeds right into the Mississippi Sound and the Gulf.
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The best real estate purchase ever!
February 20th, 2008 categories: French Quarter, New Orleans Origionals
That buy was the Louisiana Purchase. According to the “Geopolitical Intelligence Report,” and who can argue with a title like that, there must be a New Orleans. The rationale is that it was the Mississippi River which set America apart from other nations. We were the first country to produce more than we consumed with an economical way to transport that surplus to the world market. That mode of transport was barge traffic on the Mississippi. The authors of the report mention the impact of the oil business and tourism, but it is the port which makes New Orleans necessary.
The Louisiana Purchase was signed at what we now call the Cabildo which now serves as the Louisiana State Museum on Jackson Square since 1911. The Cabildo was constructed between 1795 and 1799 and was the seat of the Spanish government in the new world. The “Sala Capitular” was on the second floor where the Louisiana Purchase was signed on 1803. It later became a courtroom for the Louisiana Supreme Court.
The other historical note is that is that the famous case of Plessy vs. Ferguson case was decided here and later upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1892. The “separate but equal” clause became the law of the land. The law required separate railroad cars for whites and blacks. This was later overturned in 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954. As you can see there was a lot of history in the French Quarter and this is only a slice of it.
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New Orleans Warehouse District Condos, You are on the Mississippi River
February 6th, 2008 categories: New Orleans Origionals, Warehouse District
The boundaries of the New Orleans Warehouse District are some nationally known natural boundaries and plus the man made ones. The one natural boundary is the Mississippi River as it nears the Gulf Of Mexico in the Crescent City. At this point the Mississippi River has some amazing stats, the river over 200 ft. deep at this point, 436,000 tons of sediments flows past this point on average. That is a lot of dirt form the Mississippi River Valley. The amount of water is amazing at 600,000 cubic feet per second.
The other boundaries are the Mississippi River Bridge that connects Algiers on the West Bank and New Orleans on the East Bank. The New Orleans French Quarter is down river and and an easy walk from all areas of the Warehouse District is the historical boundary. The last boundary to the west is the Louisiana Super Dome, home of the Saints. Now you have a pretty good idea of where you are.
The odd thing is that very few condos have views of the Mississippi River. One River Place is the only condos built on the river in the Warehouse District. The Tracage Condos near the Mississippi River Bridge on Annunciation Street are in the pre sale stage and will have plenty of units with views in the 25 story condo complex. You can visit the River Walk shopping complex for some great views of the Mississippi River next to the New Orleans Convention Center. The nice thing about the entire Warehouse District are is that your car is not needed every day.
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