Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Fall 2007 - (Page 1)

Volume 18, Number 3; Fall 2007 About our cover: Abandoned in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and now threatened with demolition, New Orleans’ Charity Hospital retains an art deco grandeur. The elaborate grille above the main entrance was designed by sculptor Enrique Alferez. photograph by Cheryl Gerber 10 Big Charity: A History of New Orleans’ Public Hospital by Robert D. Leighninger, Jr. Founded in 1735 at the bequest of a French colonial seaman, the Charity Hospital system tended to the indigent sick of New Orleans for more than 270 years before Hurricane Katrina dealt the care facility a potentially fatal blow. Page 16 24 Making Groceries:Orleans Markets A History of New by Sally K. Reeves Prior to the advent of refrigeration, the sale of perishable goods in New Orleans was strictly limited to governmentlicensed markets that greatly added to the city’s coffers. New Orleans’ Faubourg 36 Rooted in Tradition Tremé: by Keith Weldon Medley One of the oldest neighborhoods in New Orleans boasts a long history of accomplishments from free people of color and their Creole descendants. Page 30 50 Chinatown New Orleans 60 A Question of Secession by Richard Campanella Unique in much of the urban South, New Orleans’ Central Business District once contained an exotic enclave of the Far East. Copyright 2007 Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, Inc., an independent, non-profit, tax-exempt organization, all rights reserved. ISSN 1082-4553 LOUISIANA CULTURAL VISTAS is published quarterly: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3) Louisiana corporation, 938 Lafayette Street, Suite 300, New Orleans, LA 70113-1027; (504) 523-4352; toll-free in-state 1(800) 909-7990. Annual subscription is $16. Single copy back issues, if available, are $5. A one year, four-issue subscription is included in annual Endowment memberships; minimum $35. For subscriptions outside the U.S., shipping and handling charges will be added. e-mail: lahum@leh.org The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities is supported by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Board of Directors has determined that the publication of this periodical is necessary in the transaction of the public business required of the Endowment. Views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or policy of the Endowment board or staff. Query the Editor prior to sending manuscripts. Page 51 by Gary D. Joiner Of all the Southern states, Louisiana had the most to lose by joining the Confederacy. 74 The Unnatural History of Cypress Parish 80 Terra Incognita fiction by Elise Blackwell; photographs by Richard Sexton Set in southern Louisiana in the weeks preceding the great flood of 1927, an excerpt from a new novel depicts a place and way of life about to be forever changed. photo essay by Richard Sexton Photographer Richard Sexton captures the constantly changing environment of the Gulf Coast. Page 84 2 3 4 20 48 49 58 68 70 92 94 96 Friends & Letters Editor’s Column Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Historic New Orleans Collection Jazz Notes (music history by Bruce Raeburn, Ph.D.) Louisiana Association of Museums Louisiana Foodways (by Jessica Harris, Ph.D.) Louisiana Architecture (by Karen Kingsley, Ph.D.) Louisiana State Museum Bookstand (book review by Thomas Uskali) Sound Advice (music reviews by Ben Sandmel) Forum (guest commentary by John Quirk) Fall 2007/LOUISIANA ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES 1 http://www.leh.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Fall 2007

Contents Friends & Letters Editor’s Column Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Big Charity: A History of New Orleans’ Public Hospital Historic New Orleans Collection Making Groceries: A History of New Orleans Markets New Orleans’ Faubourg Tremé: Rooted in Tradition Jazz Notes Louisiana Association of Museums Chinatown New Orleans Louisiana Foodways A Question of Secession Louisiana Architecture Louisiana State Museum The Unnatural History of Cypress Parish Terra Incognita Bookstand Sound Advice Forum

Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Fall 2007

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