Elysian Fields Avenue is a broad, straight avenue in
named after the Avenue des
Champs-Élysées in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
. It courses south to north from the
Lower Mississippi River to
Lake Pontchartrain
Lake Pontchartrain ( ) is an estuary located in southeastern Louisiana in the United States. It covers an area of with an average depth of . Some shipping channels are kept deeper through dredging. It is roughly oval in shape, about from w ...
, a distance of approximately . The avenue intersects with
Interstate 610,
Interstate 10
Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally p ...
, and
U.S. Highway 90
U.S. Route 90 or U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) is an east–west major United States highway in the Southern United States. Despite the "0" in its route number, US 90 never was a full coast-to-coast route. With the exception of a short-lived ...
, Gentilly Boulevard passing by Brother Martin High School. The part between
North Claiborne Avenue (
Louisiana Highway 39
Louisiana Highway 39 (LA 39) is a state highway in Louisiana that serves Orleans, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines Parishes. In New Orleans, LA 39 is referred to as North Claiborne Avenue, while in St. Bernard Parish, it is known as Judge Perez Drive ...
) and
Gentilly Boulevard (U.S. Route 90) is Louisiana Highway 3021 (LA 3021); the piece from N. Claiborne Avenue south to
St. Claude Avenue carries
Louisiana Highway 46 (which turns east on St. Claude Avenue).
For more than half of its route, from the river to Gentilly Boulevard (U.S. Route 90), it is six lanes wide; the remainder north of Gentilly Boulevard is four lanes wide. Anchoring the lake end and river end (northern and southern termini) respectively are the
University of New Orleans and the
Esplanade Avenue Wharf.
The location of Elysian Fields Avenue originated in the early 19th century placement of a
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface f ...
on the
Marigny Plantation, which at that time was just outside New Orleans proper (the present
French Quarter). In 1831 the
Pontchartrain Railroad was built from that location straight to Lake Pontchartrain.
[
] The railroad carried both goods and passengers.
Among the railroad's steady revenue sources was mail, which was carried from New Orleans to Lake Pontchartain for transfer to
Mobile,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = " Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...
-bound ships. The railroad, which came to be known locally as "Smoky Mary", operated until 1935.
The tracks were removed in the 1950s.
Lakeshore Drive
At the end of Elysian Fields where it meets the lake. Lakeshore Drive runs along the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain. It is a recreational park space along the lake used for sun bathing, running, swimming (Swimming is allowed only by the Seabrook Bridge and you can only swim to a certain point), fishing and crabbing on the seawall steps, and leisurely walks, etc. This space is used mostly by locals and residents of New Orleans.
Public transit routes
Two
RTA bus routes operated on Elysian Fields Avenue: ''one local'' (est. August 4, 1924; first known as Frenchmen, later, as of January 1957, just Elysian Fields
r Elysian Fields – Pont. Beach/UNO and later, in January 1989, 55 Elysian Fields), ''the other an express'' (est. December 5, 1960, first known as Express 91 – Pontchartrain Beach via Elysian Fields, later 56 Elysian Fields Express).
''A Streetcar Named Desire'' reference
Elysian Fields is the setting for Tennessee Williams' 1947 play "A Streetcar Named Desire". Williams presents the setting as multi-cultural and vibrant with Jazz culture and social life. Blanche Dubois, the tragic heroine of the play, is seen to be "incongruous" to the setting, which is used by Williams' to highlight the cosmopolitan nature of the city and decay of the Old South, which Blanche symbolises.
Geographic coordinates
* – northern terminus at Lake Pontchartrain
* – Gentilly Boulevard
* – Interstate 610
* – Interstate 10
* – southern terminus at Mississippi River
Major intersections
See also
*
Brother Martin High School
Brother Martin High School is a private, Catholic, all-male college preparatory school run by the United States Province of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was established by the brothers in 1869 as St. Aloysius Col ...
References
External links
La DOTD State, District, and Parish MapsDistrict 02Orleans Parish{{NOLA Streets
Streets in New Orleans
3021