MID-CITY AND PARKVIEW  

Back in the nineteenth century, this area of town which extended lakeward from the Vieux Carré and Faubourg Tremé was called "back of town." It ran all the way out to the Cemeteries between the two canals, the New Basin Canal and the Old Basin Canal (also known as the Carondelet Canal). Today the canals are gone, and Mid-City is roughly bounded by the railroad right-of-way (just northeast of Conti and St. Louis Streets), Claiborne Avenue, the Expressway and City Park Avenue. In the early twentieth century, homes and businesses were built along Canal Street out to the Cemeteries. The Marquis de Lafayette once owned the land that now comprises Canal Street. The streetcars ran along its beautiful neutral ground until 1964 when they were replaced by buses. The wonderful news is that in 1997 work is under way to restore the Canal Street Streetcar Line to its original glory.

Mid-City was once the geographical center of New Orleans. Canal Street is the main artery and is crossed by Carrollton Avenue, Jefferson Davis, Broad and Galvez Tulane Avenue is a busy commercial thoroughfare where Pelican Stadium once stood. There are many good restaurants in the area (like Mandina's, Liuzza's and Christian's), as well as schools and churches. St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, Jesuit High School, and Warren Easton High School are just some of the notable area landmarks. Every year on the Sunday before Mardi Gras, the Krewe of Mid-City parades along Canal Street with its beautiful aluminum foil floats and the best bands in Dixie.

Parkview is a lovely neighborhood wedged between Mid-City and the Esplanade Ridge. It is bounded by the lush greenery of City Park on one side, Bayou St. John with its broad vista, Orleans Avenue, Rocheblave Street, and Mid-City on the southwest (the railroad right-of-way). Five of our early twentieth century presidents have street names in their honor in Parkview, and in these years the area was developed with a handsome assortment of homes following. Bungalow style architecture and colonial revival are the predominant styles of this almost exclusively residential neighborhood. Parkview and a good bit of Mid-City was originally part of the Faubourg Jackson. The Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans calls this historic neighborhood Parkview, but many call the major portion of this area Bayou St. John/City Park. To some, this often includes the other side of Bayou St. John and extending across Esplanade to the Fair Grounds. This would be the City Park end of the Esplanade Ridge.