YatBazaar

Interesting that hit pieces have popped up on both of the leading candidates in the LA-02 Dem primary.  Last week, there was one on Cedric Richmond, and now one on Juan LaFonta.

While the content and styles differ, it's clear that both pieces were dropped on bloggers by professionals.

Things that make you go, hmmmmmmm

what, you were expecting a nudie shot of @LorettaK? :-)

Encountered this little guy by one of the government buildings on my walk to the Canadian War Museum.

Majestic Mortuary on Oretha Castle Haley Blvd, in Central City. Photo by New Orleans Lady

It's no surprise that the pilot of the HBO series Treme ends with death. Antoine Batiste is, after all, a musician, and has to "play for that money." The ep starts with a second line parade, the joyous, Sunday-afternoon type, and ends with the solemn procession to the cemetery we call the "jazz funeral." In all too many teevee shows and movies about New Orleans, the jazz funeral is a backdrop, a gratuitous prop, but Treme presents this serious and time-honored tradition of New Orleans as it should be, just another part of life (and death) in the city.

(click "Read More" - the rest is after the jump because of spoilers)

NOPSI 442, a Perley A. Thomas arched roof streetcar, entering Carrollton Station, January 9, 1947.

This Charles Franck Studios photo shows one of the original arched roof streetcars returning to the barn. To replace some of their existing Brill double-truck streetcars, the New Orleans & Carrollton Railroad Company chose this design by Mr. Perley A. Thomas, who was then working for the Southern Car Company of St. Louis, MO. The design proved to be popular among riders in New Orleans. By 1923, Mr. Thomas had left Southern, setting up his own shop in High Point, NC. The newly-formed New Orleans Public Service, Incorporated (NOPSI) ordered additional streetcars from Thomas, and the legacy of the arched roof streetcars began.

NOPSI 442 is coming into the barn after running on the St. Charles line. Streetcars enter Carrollton Station from the Jeannette Street side and exit out the front, on Willow. Note the ad at the bottom right "1947up" - an imaginative way to promote the New Year.

Unfortunately, none of the 400-series streetcars have survived. NOPSI scrapped them, operating the 800, 900, and 1000-series cars around the city.

Jackson Square, New Orleans, 1895

Yes, I know, Jackson Square is in the Vieux Carre, not Faubourg Treme, but it plays an important role in the HBO series, Treme. There's no better place for street musicians to play than around the Square. Three sides of Jackson Square are blocked off as a pedestrian mall, St. Ann and St. Peter Streets on either side (in front of the Pontalba buildings), and Chartres Street, between the Square and St. Louis Cathedral.

The wrought iron fence around Jackson Square is the domain of the artists. Working in all media, the artists set up their easels next to the fence and hang their wares for sale on the fence. Spaced a bit out from the artists are the tarot readers and other fortune tellers. The artists often clash with the fortune tellers, making for interesting situations. Now, magicians encroach on the Square, adding another social class to the mix.

The musicians don't need to be on the shady, perfectly-lit spot, so they play in the middle of the closed-off streets. In the beginning of Ep 9, Annie and another busker are playing right outside the main gate of the Square, in front of the cathedral. This is prime real estate for the musicians; if you're not playing and making money, someone is going to come in and play to move you out. Notice how, when Annie watches Harley Watts (played by folk musician Steve Earle) work on a song, they're over by Washington Park on Frenchmen rather than at the Square.

The photo above is in the New Orleans Public Library's collections. It dates from 1895. Other than a few minor changes (no benches to sit on, no cupola on The Presbytere are two immediately visible), Jackson Square hasn't changed all that much in over 100 years.

Single-truck operation on Canal Street  The green streetcars on the left are Ford, Bacon & Davis cars operated by the New Orleans & Carrollton Railroad Company.  The red-yellow streetcar near the center of the photo is a Brill single-truck, operated by the New Orleans City RR.  The red-yellow car to the right is a mule-drawn "bobtail" car operated by NOCRR. 

The New Orleans & Carrollton Railroad Co. operated several of the uptown lines, most notably St. Charles Avenue and Magazine Street.  Their cars would appear onto Canal Street, run down the outer track for a block or two, then turn back for the return leg uptown. 

Nailing down the date of this photo is a challenge.  The color plate is from a postcard.  Postcards at the turn ofthe 20th Century were often black-and-white photos with color brushed in by an artist.  The massive statue of Henry Clay at Canal and St. Charles is gone; that puts the photo somewhere after 1901.  The building in the background with the gold cupola is the first Maison Blanche building.  It was deolished in 1911, and Newman built his second building (which is now the Ritz-Carlton Hotel) in that block.  The mule-drawn cars were phased out as the city's streetcar lines were electrified by 1910, so my guess this is 1901-1902.

The red-yellow livery of the NOCRR cars is interesting because NORTA used those cars to explain the choice of red for the 400-series Riverfront and 2000-series Carrollton cars. 

Mardi Gras Indian, photo by Kerry Maloney

One of the main story lines in Treme examines the subculture that are the New Orleans' Mardi Gras Indians. Albert Lambreaux (played by Clarke Peters) is a "Big Chief" of an Indian tribe, the Guardians of the Flame.

There are a number of theories as to why African-Americans in New Orleans began to mask as Indians, ranging from honoring Native American traditions to the hopes that acting like them would enable blacks to "pass." While the latter may have been a motivation for early Indian tribes, the tradition has such deep roots in the black communities of New Orleans that now it's "a black thing" as the t-shirts in Underground Atlanta proclaim.

Mardi Gras Indian, "Super Sunday" 2009, photo by Julia Pretus

Indian tribes are neighborhood groups. They often refer to themselves as "gangs." Every year their costumes would become more fanciful and elaborate, culminating in beautiful outfits worn over the last few decades. To paraphrase the song, every year, at Carnival time, the Indians make a new suit. It's considered bad form to wear last year's costume; in fact, many Indians would strip the feathers and beads from their suits, then burn the rest. In recent years, however, many Indians wear their older suits for corporate gatherings, conventions, and other tourism events in the city. This helps them offset the cost of the "new suit," which can set them back over $5,000 each!

Young Mardi Gras Indian, "Super Sunday" 2009, photo by Julia Pretus

Masking is a family event for many tribes. While their history is spotted with incidents of violence, today's Indians focus less on drinking and fighting and more on community.

Mardi Gras Indian, photo by Kerry Maloney

The tribes traditionally come out for Carnival Day, then re-appear for "Super Sunday," the Sunday closest to St. Joseph's Day (March 19th). On Mardi Gras, downtown and uptown tribes alike would make their way to the neighborhoods around the turning basin of the New Basin Canal, on the uptown side of Canal Street, where they would parade and dance. Pride in their costumes, neighborhoods, and tribes would often lead to violence, hence references to the "battlefield."

The Guardians of the Flame from HBO's Treme.

In the show, The Guardians of the Flame emerge from Poke's Bar in the Treme on Super Sunday. The tribe did not mask for Carnival, 2006, because Big Chief Albert was incarcerated at Central Lockup. Albert and his gang came out in classic style, with three costumed Indians: Spy Boy, Flag Boy, and Big Chief.

When marching through the streets, the Spy Boy would run two-three blocks ahead of the main group, literally spying for other Indians. The Spy Boy stays in visual contact with the Flag Boy, who carries the tribe's banner. In an interview, the late Big Chief "Tootie" Montana (whose daughter is a member of the Treme cast) explains that Spy Boys used to be lightly costumed so they could do their jobs in stealth. Nowadays, however, a tribe's Spy Boy will often be elaborately costumed and carry a stick. Only a Chief would be permitted to carry a stick in earlier times.

Big Chief Albert Lambreaux of the Guardians of the Flame from HBO's Treme.

Spy...Flag...Big Chief...the Guardians of the Flame head out on Super Sunday. The fictional tribe gets its name from the tribe of Big Chief Donald Harrison, Sr. His son, Donald, Jr., is an accomplished musician and Chief of the Congo Nation. Donald Jr. appeared in the pilot, playing with Delmond Lambreaux. The Lambreauxs are loosely based on the Harrisons. The Spy Boy of the fictional tribe is played by Otto DeJean, who is Big Chief of the 7th Ward Hard Head Hunters.

Mardi Gras Indian "Queen," on "Super Sunday" 2009, photo by Julia Pretus

Indian tribes usually have a "Queen." It's not surprising, since the women pitch in with all that sewing and often want to dress up.

Missing from the fictional Super Sunday march is the "Wild Man." The Wild Man wears a horned hat and, well, acts, wild. His job during the march is to clear the crowd in advance of the Indians and their Big Chief. The horned hat helps push people back in areas where crowds form. The Guardians of the Flame lost their Wild Man, Jesse, in the storm. A memorial service for Wild Man Jesse was held in Episode 3, which was attended by several real-life Big Chiefs and other Indian personalities. They chanted and sang "Indian Red," described by Dr. John as "their most sacred of songs."

The show depicts a peaceful meeting of two tribes, the Guardians of the Flame and the Congo Nation. The Spy Boys spot each other first, approach each other, strutting and dancing. The Flag Boys join the dance as they come up,finally joined by the Big Chiefs (Lambreaux and real-life Chief Donald Harrison, Jr.). These encounters could turn violent, as one tribe might demand that the other bow or kneel to them, acknowledging that their costumes and/or dancing was better. Indian pride being it is, this is where the phrase "won't bow down, don't know how" originates. The meeting of the Guardians of the Flame and the Congo Nation is non-violent, the Big Chiefs offering, as Delmond Lambreaux puts it, "respect for respect."

The two tribes pass each other, and the Guardians of the Flame encounter a white couple who are out photographing the Indians. They refer to Big Chief Lambreaux as "pretty," which is the highest praise one can give an Indian. As the couple shoots photos of Albert and his gang, several NOPD cars pull up. The history of violence among the tribes has always caused rocky relations between the Indians and the cops. After Super Sunday of 2005, a public hearing in the City Council chamber was held to work out the problems. "Chief of Chiefs" Tootie Montana literally died at the podium, suffering a massive heart attack as he made his case for the conflicts to cease. The show pays tribute to Big Chief Tootie, not only by having his son, Darryl (who is Chief of the Yellow Pocahontas Hunters) make a guest appearance, but by having NOPD come out to Pokes prior to the post-storm Super Sunday to (hopefully) work out a plan with Albert.

The Indians are a wonderful part of Treme and the overall culture of the city. The series does a great job integrating them into the overall fabric.

American Car Company car 511 at the Spanish Fort Station, 1911.

The New Orleans City RR Co. ran steam service from Canal and Basin Streets downtown out to Spanish Fort as early as the 1880s.  The 1880 Robinson Atlas shows tracks running out of the New Orleans Terminal Company station at Canal and Basin, up Bienville Street to what is now Robert E. Lee Blvd in Lakeview, then over to Spanish Fort.

With the closing of the Carondelet Canal and filling in of its turning basin, the Southern Railroad took over the railroad terminal at Canal and Basin.  The train service up Bienville Street was discontinued and service to Spanish Fort was operated as an extension of the West End streetcar line.  From the 1880s until the 1920s, Spanish Fort was a popular day-trip and resort destination for New Orleanians looking to beat the summer heat.  A number of restaurants, night clubs, and casinos opened up in the area, and it was one of the cradles of Jazz.

For more on Spanish Fort, check out my article for GoNOLA.com on the amusement area's history.

Thanks to H. George Friedman for this E.F. Keplinger photo.

A couple of twitpics from Ryan Smith of Da Paper/NOLA.com help put well blowouts into perspective:

and the caption:

The bottom line on this is that the basics haven't changed in forty years.  Something goes wrong, well blows up.  To stop the wild flow, drill a secondary well to catch/block the flow from the primary.  The main difference? The depth of the Macondo well is over 3000 feet more than "B-21" above.

I've often picked on Da Paper for weak use of Teh Internetz, but the extensive use of Da Twittah that the reporters and editors have picked up in recent weeks has yielded wonderful results, including my renewed respect for their skills.  Thanks, again, Mr. Smith

This a dark episode.

(Spoiler Protection - Click "read more" to continue)