New Orleans from 1900 to 1920

by Widmer, Mary Lou

• ISBN13: 9781589804012
• ISBN10: 1589804015
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-05-30
• Publisher: Pelican Pub Co Inc

Summary

Nationally, it was an era of explosive growth and quality-of-life improvements. Transportation became more accessible; indoor plumbing, gas, and electrical service transformed and civilized life. Pre-World War I New Orleans prospered as well, largely due to the invention of the Wood screw pump. The pump cleared water from marshy, undeveloped land, enabling New Orleans to stretch its geographic boundaries into the suburban neighborhoods of Lakeview, Mid-City, and Gentilly. Signature sounds of New Orleans filled the air, from the bustle of workmen in the riverfront cotton warehouses and grain elevators to the steam whistle of the Smoky Mary as she chugged her way across the tracks from the Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain. Jazz music wafted from French Quarter windows, and children's giggles emanated from lakefront and urban amusement parks. Mary Lou Widmer's family accounts of the first two decades of the twentieth century present this recent history in a way that brings back fond memories on a long walk down memory lane. Book jacket.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. 9
Preface	p. 11
Acknowledgments	p. 13
The Neighborhoods	p. 17
The Electric Era	p. 35
Family Life	p. 41
Politics: Mayors and Suffragettes	p. 55
Celebrating the Centennial	p. 63
Parks, Camps, and Amusement Centers	p. 69
Panic in the Streets	p. 79
The Arts	p. 91
Storyville	p. 97
The Sicilian Immigration	p. 103
Fashions: Hems and Hobble Skirts	p. 111
The War to End All Wars	p. 117
Architecture	p. 123
Health Care	p. 133
Lagniappe	p. 137
All Around the Town	p. 139
Index	p. 149
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