Broadmoor is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

of the city of

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. A subdistrict of the Uptown/ Carrollton Area, its boundaries as defined by the New Orleans City Planning Commission are: Eve Street to the north, Washington Avenue and Toledano Street to the east, South Claiborne Avenue to the south, and Jefferson Avenue, South Rocheblave Street, Nashville Avenue, and Octavia Street to the west. It includes the Broadmoor Historic District which was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2003 and increased in its boundaries in 2007.

History

Broadmoor is low-lying ground in New Orleans, and was only substantially developed beginning in the early 20th century after improved drainage was initiated (see:

Drainage in New Orleans Drainage in New Orleans, Louisiana, has been a major concern since the founding of the city in the early 18th century, remaining an important factor in the history of New Orleans today. The central portion of New Orleans metropolitan area, metropol ...

). Before being developed, the area was a large marsh and was a fishing spot for Uptowners. Early construction were mostly high raised houses for fear of repeats of historic floods, but after decades with little problem more low lying residential structures were built in Broadmoor. The first area drainage canals were built in 1885. In 1903 a pumping station at Broad Street and Washington within the Broadmoor boundaries opened in 1903. In 1915, pumps more powerful than previous ones were established at that pumping station. After 1915, smaller groups of people began settling the area.Seidman, p
61
During the early 1920s a sharp population increase occurred in Broadmoor. Over one third of Broadmoor's houses and the Wilson School, the first public school in Broadmoor, were built during that decade. Population growth continued for several years In the late 1950s and the 1960s many people began moving to suburbs in Jefferson Parish and New Orleans East, leading to population losses for Broadmoor. Broadmoor was hit hard by the May 8th 1995 Louisiana Flood, after which extensive improvements of drainage were constructed. Broadmoor flooded badly in the aftermath of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

in 2005. A Bring New Orleans Back Commission preliminary report map showed Broadmoor as a suggested area to be turned into park land; this suggestion is strongly objected to by residents, hundreds of whom were already back in their homes by January 2006, many living in the upstairs of two story homes while they worked on gutting and repairing their flooded ground floors. In 2016, the National Register of Historic Places listed the neighborhood's vacant

Gem Theater Gem Theatre or Gem Theater may refer to: *Gem Theatre (Detroit) *Gem Theater (Deadwood, South Dakota) *Gem Theatre (Kannapolis, North Carolina) *Gem Theater (New Orleans) *Gem Theater (Pioche, Nevada) {{disambiguation Lists of theatres ...

. Later that year, the restored building opened as a microbrewery.

Geography

Broadmoor is located at and has an elevation of . According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the district has a total area of . of which is land and (0.00%) of which is water. It is in proximity to some of the wealthier communities in New Orleans, such as Uptown and the Garden District. It is also in proximity to Claiborne Avenue, the street connecting

Downtown New Orleans In New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, downtown has historically referred to neighborhoods along the Mississippi River, downriver (roughly northeast) from Canal Street, New Orleans, Canal Street – including the French Quarter, Tremé, ...

with Jefferson Parish.

Adjacent Neighborhoods

* Gert Town (north) * Central City (east) *

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

(south) * Freret (south) * Marlyville/Fontainebleau (west)

Boundaries

The New Orleans City Planning Commission defines the boundaries of Broadmoor as these streets: Eve Street, Washington Avenue, Toledano Street, South Claiborne Avenue, Jefferson Avenue, South Rocheblave Street, Nashville Avenue, and Octavia Street.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 7,232 people, 2,915 households, and 1,788 families residing in the neighborhood. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was 12,914 /mi² (4,986 /km). The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 68.2% African American, 25.8% White, 0.6% Asian, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.7% of the population. As of the

of 2010, there were 5,381 people, 2,203 households, and 1,275 families residing in the neighborhood. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 61.1% African American, 28.8% White, 1.0% Asian, 0.3% Native American, 0.4% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.7% of the population.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) a.k.a. New Orleans Public Schools (NOPS) and the Recovery School District (RSD) operate and charter public schools. Andrew Wilson Elementary School is located in Broadmoor. Wilson, the first public school in Broadmoor, was built in 1922. Larry Abramson of ''

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

'' said "This once-grand edifice was neglected before [

], and as a school it was not known for high achievement."Abramson, Larry.
New Orleans School Devastated By Katrina Reopens
" ''

''. December 21, 2009. Retrieved on March 18, 2013. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 caused flooding in the school's lower level. The building was abandoned for several months, and Abramson said it was "crumbling". Wilson Elementary moved to a temporary location several miles from the original school. Broadmoor Improvement Association opposed a proposal among New Orleans city leaders to raze the school building and convert it into green space. LaToya Cantrell, an activist, proposed restoring the school. Area activists convinced authorities at the federal, state, and local levels to fund a $30 million renovation and addition. Wilson Elementary was scheduled to reopen on January 4, 2010. Abramson said "They turned the stately but tired building into a dream of a school — light-filled, high tech, souped up with all sorts of eco-friendly features."

Public libraries

The Rosa F. Keller Library and Community Center of the New Orleans Public Library is in Broadmoor. It was rebuilt after

, and had its grand opening on March 16, 2012. The Keller site consists of the modernized library building and the 1918 Hardie-Fattel house, a historic house attached to the library which serves as a community center. The renovated house portion includes classrooms, meeting rooms, a teaching kitchen and a coffee shop. Outside are an outdoor reading garden, a terrace along Napoleon Avenue that has chairs and umbrellas, and a water garden along Broad Street. The restoration of the Keller site was partially financed by a $2 million grant from the

Carnegie Corporation The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Since its founding, the Carnegie Corporation has endowed or othe ...

. The architecture firm Eskew+Dumez+Ripple was selected for the restoration.

Notable residents

Broadmoor resident musician and producer

Dave Bartholomew David Louis Bartholomew (December 24, 1918 – June 23, 2019) was an American musician, bandleader, composer, arrangement, arranger, and record producer. He was prominent in the music of New Orleans throughout the second half of the 20th century ...

named his Broadmoor Records label after the neighborhood.

Poppy Z. Brite William Joseph Martin (born May 25, 1967), formerly Poppy Z. Brite, is an American author. He initially achieved fame in the Gothic fiction, gothic horror genre of literature in the early 1990s by publishing a string of successful novels and shor ...

writer.

Walter Isaacson Walter Seff Isaacson (born May 20, 1952) is an American journalist who has written biographies of Henry Kissinger, Benjamin Franklin, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Jennifer Doudna and Elon Musk. As of 2024, Isaacson is a profes ...

, American writer, biographer, and philanthropist. David Ferrie once lived on Louisiana Avenue Parkway. Broadmoor has been the home of three mayors of New Orleans, Moon Landrieu, Mitch Landrieu, and

Latoya Cantrell LaToya Cantrell (''née'' Wilder; born April 3, 1972) is an American politician serving as the Mayor of New Orleans, Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana since May 7, 2018. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, Cantrell is the first woman to h ...

References

* Seldman, Karl F. ''Coming Home to New Orleans: Neighborhood Rebuilding After Katrina''.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2013. , 9780199945511.

Notes

External links

Broadmoor Improvement Association

Broadmoor Development Corporation

Andrew H. Wilson Charter School

April 6th, 2006 Tour of Broadmoor
{{National Register of Historic Places Neighborhoods in New Orleans Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana National Register of Historic Places in New Orleans