city government

Palmer Park gets a new name: Marsalis Harmony Park

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The City Council voted Thursday (July 1) to change the name of Palmer Park to Marsalis Harmony Park. The new name for the park, located where the Carrollton and Claiborne avenues meet, was chosen with input from community members, who eventually settled on “Marsalis Unity Park” at a meeting of multiple neighborhood associations early last month. “Marsalis Harmony Park” was the second most popular name discussed. Palmer Park was named after the Rev. Benjamin Palmer, a prominent Confederate and vocal defender of slavery. The park’s new name honors the late renowned jazz musician and educator Ellis Marsalis, whose family still lives in the neighborhood.

community meetings

Carrollton neighbors back “Marsalis Unity Park” as the new name for Palmer Park

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The Carrollton area neighbors of Palmer Park agreed on “Marsalis Unity Park” as a new name for the park at a meeting hosted by Carrollton United. Palmer Park, which sits at the corner of Carrollton and Claiborne avenues, is currently named after the Rev. Benjamin Palmer, a 19th century minister who was a staunch vocal supporter of both slavery and the Confederacy. Originally called Hamilton Park, it was renamed in 1902, during the Lost Cause movement, for the New Orleans minister who preached to Confederate soldiers and was best known for a speech given after the election of Abraham Lincoln defending slavery and endorsing secession, according to New Orleans Historical. Marsalis, who died April 1, 2020, was a jazz musician, educator and lifelong New Orleanian who lived near Palmer Park for many years. Members of his family still live in the neighborhood.

sports and recreation

NORD’s outdoor pools are opening for the summer

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The New Orleans Recreation Development Commission outdoor pools are opening for the summer on Monday (June 7) with free summer swim lessons and other aquatic activities. 

Programming at select pools includes open swim, lap swimming, water aerobics and swim lessons. All programming is available free of charge to New Orleans residents. This summer, NORD has 10 season pools and three year-round pools open throughout the city. Four are currently closed. Swimmers have to plan ahead to use the pools — reservations are required for open swim times and lap swimming as well as for classes.

land use & development

Proposed subdivision of historic property causes controversy in Carrollton

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It’s rare that something as mundane as the subdivision of a residential lot gets much attention, but a proposal to sell and divide a historic property in the Carrollton area has led to protests from neighbors who want the land to be saved. The controversy concerns a lot on 914 Dante Street that holds a six-unit apartment building, plus a side yard with several mature, leafy trees. According to Susan Johnson of  the watchdog organization Town of Carrollton Watch, who has been researching the property, the lot was the site of a Union Army hospital during the Civil War. That hospital was later destroyed, possibly in a fire. The current structure was once home to F.C. Zeller, the mayor of the town of Carrollton before it became part of New Orleans. 

Riverlake Properties, the property owner, plans to request permission from the city to divide the lot into two.

sports and recreation

Uptown running club emerges during pandemic year

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Just before 9 a.m. on Sunday (April 11), a group of about 40 people gathered in one of Audubon Park’s fields near Magazine Street. Most of the group were in their 20s or 30s, but ages ranged from 4 up to 72. Some had a dog in tow. They are The NOLA Running Anoles, and they can now prove it. The president of the 7-month-old running club, Doug Crochet, distributed T-shirts to the members as they showed up that morning, and they were eager to change into their new shirts designed by local artist Alex Beard.

Students revitalize community gardens around Broadmoor

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Broadmoor is coming into full bloom this spring as the Broadmoor Improvement Association and Tulane students lead efforts to revitalize three local community gardens. Two of the gardens – the Food Forest on Toledano Street near Dorgenois Street and another produce patch at the Broadmoor Community Church – will produce fresh herbs and vegetables for the Broadmoor Food Pantry. A rain garden at South Miro and Gen. Taylor streets will help mitigate flooding and beautify the area with native plants like cattails, cypress trees and irises. 

The goal of the gardens is simple: “We grow food and we nurture plants to bring people together,” said Dorothy Jelagat Cheruiyot, a professor of ecology and biology at Tulane University. Cheruiyot’s students are working as busily as bees in the Broadmoor gardens each week as part of internships and classes related to urban agroecology, as well as an additional garden at the New Zion Baptist Church in Central City. But the ultimate goal is to recruit neighborhood volunteers so that the lots will truly be sustainable community gardens, with an emphasis on the community.

How junction boxes on Uptown neutral grounds are transformed from blight to works of art

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As Uptown resident Ivana Dillas drove home from work every day along Louisiana Avenue, she noticed how the junction boxes on the neutral ground attracted tags and graffiti and were surrounded by litter. “Studies have shown that neighborhood beautification reduces these unsightly activities, as well as crime,”  Dillas said. 

She saw the website address for Community Visions Unlimited, the organization behind the beautification initiative, written on painted boxes elsewhere and contacted them. She asked how she could help, especially along the Louisiana Avenue corridor. “I loved the idea of putting artists to work, and I began fundraising and directing donors to the CVU website,” Dillas said. Then Mayor LaToya Cantrell, who had supported the project when she was on the City Council, got wind of the effort, and her office stepped in with a significant donation. The section of Louisiana Avenue now has almost all of the junction boxes painted. 

Two of the Louisiana Avenue boxes, the “Horn Players” at Baronne and “The Dancers” at Carondelet, were painted by Linda LeBoeuf, the artist behind 39 art boxes citywide.

colleges

Tulane study to examine role of racial injustice in design of memorials and monuments

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By Barri Bronston, Tulane University

Researchers from the Tulane University School of Architecture and the School of Science and Engineering are embarking on a project that they hope answers questions about racial injustice and its impact on the design of urban spaces, monuments and memorials. The project, “Public Space and Scrutiny: Examining Urban Monuments Through Social Psychology,” won a 2020 SOM Foundation Research Prize, created by the architectural firm Skidmore Owings & Merrill to advance the design profession’s ability to address the world’s most critical issues. “With fewer than one in five new architects identifying as racial or ethnic minorities, our profession has some catching up to do if we intend to reflect the public for whom urban spaces are designed,” said Tiffany Lin, an associate professor of architecture. “This project proposes a study of existing public spaces, monuments, and memorials through the lens of social psychology in order to establish a broader frame of reference for future design.”

Lin will be conducting the study with Emilie Taylor Welty, professor of practice at the School of Architecture, and social psychologist Lisa Molix, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the School of Science and Engineering. The team will use an interdisciplinary approach to study how members of the community react to public spaces and monuments that memorialize contentious historical figures and events.

coronavirus

Viewpoint: Staying fit and safe during COVID-19

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All across our great city—from the beautiful Bywater to the oak trees adorning our Uptown streets—thousands of us are limiting our social activities, reminiscing about festivals gone by, and working from home during the Coronavirus pandemic. As we look positively towards the future with hopes of getting “back to normal,” many of our daily routines remain restricted, and social distancing, self-quarantining, and the closure of many gyms have made it harder to exercise. While it’s always important to stay active, regular physical exercise is emerging as one of the most vital parts of preserving our health and productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many, you may be missing the camaraderie of the gym, the relaxation of swimming laps at your local fitness facility, or the social connection of a spin class with a group of friends. The good news is, the beautiful parks that make our city so unique are the perfect playground to stay fit—and stay safe.

parks and greenspace

Iconic pavilion at The Fly is without its sail-like canopy

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 Who even calls the stretch of greenspace overlooking the Mississippi River “Audubon Riverview Park”? But that is its official name. The current pavilion in the park everyone refers to as “The Fly” has a history dating back more than 25 years. 

That structure, officially named “A Stage for Viewing,” was damaged in October’s Hurricane Zeta in October, and the process of replacing its shredded roof is still in play. 

It’s this structure’s predecessor that gave the stretch of land by the river its name. Few today can remember the original building that people thought resembled a butterfly. So the park gained the nickname “The Butterfly,” which was then shortened to “The Fly.”  The building, which housed concessions and restrooms, was actually supposed to resemble gull wings.