Room Two: Rise of The Monster
Planning for the Automobile
As the automobile became the conveyance of choice in New Orleans and throughout the United States, cities gradually adopted master planning scenarios to accommodate new highways through established urban cores. Planning for a new highway system in New Orleans has been widely discussed but the process of selection and planning for the Claiborne Avenue section rarely appears in the literature. Planning began in earnest in the mid-1940s when the city contracted Robert Moses to develop his Arterial Plan for New Orleans. The plan Moses developed suggested a widening of Claiborne Avenue but maintained that a grade-level roadway would be sufficient for the anticipated traffic burden of Interstate 10. Additional aspects of the plan called for the filling-in of the New Basin Canal for the Pontchartrain Expressway leading to a bridge over the Mississippi River; an elevated Riverfront Expressway; and an elevated expressway above Elysian Fields Avenue to connect back to Claiborne Avenue and continue eastward over the former trackbed of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Plans evolved over the next decade until the release of a study authored by Louis C. Bisso, the director and secretary of the City Planning Commission of New Orleans. Bisso, unlike Moses, recognized the commercial importance of this section of Claiborne Avenue but, like Moses, continued to limit his call to a widening of the existing avenue.[1]
[1] Robert C. Moses, Arterial Plan for New Orleans, 1946; Louis C. Bisso, Prospectus for Revitalizing New Orleans’ Central Business District, 1957.
The Oak Trees of Claiborne Avenue
Mature live oak trees lined the Claiborne Avenue neutral ground on either side. The canopy of trees provided shade for social gatherings, Mardi Gras revelers, and those strolling casually along the avenue. Sidney Barthelemey remembered the oaks as an integral part of the Claiborne Avenue community. "Beautiful, beautiful oak trees all along the Avenue. It really was a beautiful area. And people would just gather, picnic, socialize on Claiborne Avenue, and-and so it was-it was a hub of activities with the businesses interacting with the community, with Mardi Gras and other celebrations that took place in that area." The loss of the oaks made national news, as well. The Baltimore Sun lamented that highway construction in New Orleans "has already felled four lanes of ancient oaks on Claiborne Avenue."[1] The city Parks and Parkways Commission saved forty of the trees for replanting elsewhere in the city.
[1] William Pahlmann, "Saving a City," Baltimore Sun, October 12, 1966.
Sidney Barthelemy discusses the oak trees on Claiborne Avenue
Lost Claiborne
When construction of the interstate began in earnest, residents immediately felt the loss of their established ways of life. Businesses closed, gathering places changed character, and the atmosphere shifted from that of a shady boulevard to a hot, concrete streetscape. Jazz historian and photographer William "Bill" Russell documented some of the landmarks that began to disappear as construction of the highway proceeded. The intersection of Claiborne and St. Bernard Avenues had once included a traffic circle with a landscaped green space at the center. Russell's photograph of Louisiana Undertaking highlights the changing character of life and death as a result of the interstate. Neighborhood landmarks, such as the home of founding-era jazz clarinetist Alphonse Picou, suffered in the aftermath. Though Picou, pictured behind his bar, had died in 1961, his home continued to serve as a place of reverence in the neighborhood. Analysis of city directory listings show a steep decline in the number of businesses located on Claiborne Avenue in the decade after construction ended in 1969.