Central City, New Orleans

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Coordinates: 29°56′29″N 90°05′13″W / 29.94139°N 90.08694°W / 29.94139; -90.08694
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Central City
CDT)
Area code504

Central City is a

Mardi Gras Indian
traditions.

History

The area closest to Saint Charles Avenue developed first, in the first half of the 19th century, booming with the opening of the New Orleans & Carrollton Railway, which became the

Jim Crow law era and a major hub for the Uptown African American community, overtaking the older South Rampart Street area in importance. At its height in the years after World War II
, the Dryades Street district boasted over 200 businesses, with businesses owned primarily by Jews and some African Americans.

The commercial portion of Dryades Street began a decline in the late 1960s, which became a steep nose-dive by the 1980s. At the low point somewhere around 1990, blighted and vacant buildings predominated. The blighted area got city attention, and the old commercial section of Dryades Street was renamed after local civil rights activist Oretha Castle Haley, who was one of the young college students who boycotted Dryades Street in 1960 (although black shoppers were welcomed, the businesses did not hire black cashiers or clerks) and participated in lunch counter desegregation demonstrations on Canal St. Projects to improve the neighborhood gradually saw fruit by the start of the 2000s. A large part of Central City was above the flooding which devastated the majority of New Orleans in the aftermath of

Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans). As there were many vacant buildings and vacant lots in this rare piece of high dry ground, greater attention has been drawn to Central City in post-Katrina redevelopment of the city, including the redevelopment and updating of old public housing apartments built in the 1940s during segregation. The Melph, Magnolia Projects, and Calliope Projects were located in Central City. Magnolia has been redeveloped and is now the mixed-income Harmony Oaks. Calliope has been partially redeveloped into the mixed-income Marrero Commons. Melpomene (known as the Guste apartments) includes a multi-story building for senior citizens, as well as newer townhouses and additional new replacement units under construction in 2015. Central City has a significant Civil Rights History. In addition to the boycott on Dryades Street, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was founded with Martin Luther King Jr. in Central City in 1957.[2] The New Orleans chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality was founded and located in Central City as well.[3]

Geography

Central City is located at 29°56′29″N 90°05′13″W / 29.94139°N 90.08694°W / 29.94139; -90.08694 [4] and has an elevation of 0 feet (0.0 m).[5] According to the United States Census Bureau, the district has a total area of 1.41 square miles (3.7 km2). 1.41 square miles (3.7 km2) of which is land and 0.00 square miles (0.0 km2) (0.0%) of which is water.

It is located between the

Louisiana Superdome and the Garden District.[6]

Adjacent neighborhoods

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 19,072 people, 8,147 households, and 4,016 families residing in the neighborhood.[7] The population density was 13,526 /mi2 (5,155 /km2). As of the census of 2010, there were 11,257 people, 5,279 households, and 2,142 families residing in the neighborhood.[7]

Crime

Central City was home to the

crack epidemic in the mid 1980s[8][9] The overall crime rate in Central City is 93% higher than the national average. For every 100,000 people, there are 15.16 daily crimes that occur in Central City. It is safer than 44% of the cities in Louisiana. There is a 1 in 19 chance of becoming a victim of any crime. However, the number of total year-over-year crimes in New Orleans has decreased by 7%.[10] In 2014, Central City was ranked 2nd most dangerous neighborhood with 122 violent crimes in a three-month period.[11][12]
Criminal organizations like the 39ers Gang, Young Melph Mafia ,Dooney Boys ,Central Capos, Slangz, and Byrd Gang have been known to operate out of Central City.

Boundaries

The New Orleans City Planning Commission defines the boundaries of Central City as these streets: MLK Boulevard, South Claiborne Avenue, Pontchartrain Expressway, Magazine Street, Thalia Street, Prytania Street, Felicity Street, St. Charles Avenue, Toledano Street, Louisiana Avenue and Washington Avenue.[13]

Landmarks

Café Reconcile on Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard

Major streets include Baronne, Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.,

Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and Simon Bolivar. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard is near a Martin Luther King statue and memorial on Claiborne Avenue, and the boulevard is part of the route of New Orleans's annual Martin Luther King Day parade. A memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. is on boulevard at the intersection of Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard. It is a bronze sculpture by the late Frank Hayden, and was commissioned by the city and unveiled in 1976.[14]

Neighborhood businesses include

po'boy
sandwiches respectively for generations. The "Main Street" of Central City is Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard, formerly known as the Dryades Street commercial district for over 100 years. It is a nationally accredited Main Street, as well as a member of the Louisiana Main Streets Network, as well as a Louisiana Cultural District. Long-time anchors include the Ashe Cultural Arts Center and Cafe Reconcile. Other commercial borders and streets include St. Charles Ave., S. Claiborne Ave., and LaSalle/Simon Bolivar.

Central City is a designated National Register Historic District, and contains several individually landmarked buildings as well.[15][16]

Education

Orleans Parish School Board and the Recovery School District manage public schools, which are all charters.

The

KIPP Central City Academy is located in the Carter G. Woodson Middle School building; the new Woodson building was dedicated in 2012. KIPP Central City Primary is also in Central City at the former Guste Elementary.[17]

New Orleans College Prep was established in 2006. The original New Orleans College Prep school building is in Central City.[18]

Central City also is home to the NET Charter High School, James Singleton Charter School and Edgar Harney Charter School.

The New Orleans Public Library operates the Central City Branch in the Mahalia Jackson Center.[19]

Notable residents

See also

  • New Orleans neighborhoods

References

  1. ^ "New Orleans Ward Boundaries".
  2. ^ "Our History | sclcnational.org". Archived from the original on February 6, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  3. ^ http://www.louisianaweekly.com/new-orleans-desegregation-was-rooted-in-the-1960-dryades-st-boycott/
  4. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  5. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  6. ^ Ripley, Amanda (May 14, 2006). "The Gangs of New Orleans". Time. Archived from the original on July 11, 2007. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Central City Neighborhood". Greater New Orleans Community Data Center. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  8. ^ "High Homicide Rate Leaves New Orleans Fearful". The New York Times. May 31, 1994.
  9. The Times-Picayune
    . June 16, 2016.
  10. ^ "Central City, LA Crime Rates & Map".
  11. ^ "I-Team: Crime stats reveal most dangerous neighborhood in New Orleans". July 4, 2014.
  12. ^ "Crime data analysis: In Central City gun violence is bad, might be getting worse". August 9, 2015.
  13. ^ Greater New Orleans Community Data Center. "Central City Neighborhood". Retrieved June 21, 2008.
  14. ^ Foundry, Modern Art (May 22, 2012). "......life long quest to bring people together, to achieve understanding". Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  15. ^ "National Register of Historical Places - Louisiana (LA), Orleans County". Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  16. ^ "HDLC - Map - City of New Orleans". Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  17. The Times-Picayune
    . October 30, 2012. Retrieved on March 25, 2013.
  18. ^ "History". (Archive) New Orleans College Prep. Retrieved on March 17, 2013.
  19. ^ "Branch Libraries". New Orleans Public Library. Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Central City New Orleans.
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