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Much of the city is located below sea level and is bordered by the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, so the city is surrounded by levees. Until the early 20th century, construction was largely limited to the slightly higher ground along old natural river levees and bayous, since much of the rest of the land was swampy and subject to frequent flooding. This gave the 19th century city the shape of a crescent along a bend of the Mississippi, the origin of the nickname The Crescent City. In the 1910s engineer and inventor A. Baldwin Wood enacted his ambitious plan to drain the city, including large pumps of his own design which are still used when heavy rains hit the city. Wood's pumps and drainage allowed the city to expand greatly in area.
Canal Street, looking away from the river, 1920s
In the 1920s an effort to "modernize" the look of the city removed the old cast-iron balconies from Canal Street, the city's commercial hub. In the 1960s another "modernization" effort replaced the Canal Streetcar Line with busses. Both of these moves came to be regarded as mistakes long after the fact, and the streetcars returned to a portion of Canal Street at the end of the 1990s, and construction to restore the entire line was completed in April of 2004.
The suburb of Metairie, Louisiana saw great growth in the 2nd half of the 20th century.
While long one of the USA's most visited cities, tourism boomed in the last quarter of the 20th century, becoming a major force in the local economy. Areas of the French Quarter and Central Business District which were long oriented towards local residential and business uses switched to largely catering to the tourist industry.
A century after the Cotton Centennial Exhibition, New Orleans hosted another World's Fair, the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition .
A view across Uptown New Orleans, with the Central Business District in the background, 1990s
The modern New Orleans skyline, as seen from across the Mississippi River in the Algiers neighborhood New Orleans is well known for its creole culture and the persistence of Voodoo by a few of its residents, as well as for its music, food, architecture and good times.
New Orleans is usually pronounced by locals "Noo Or-lins" "N'Awlins," or "Noo OR-lee-anns". The distinctive local accent is unlike either Cajun or the stereotypical Southern accent so often misportrayed by film and television actors. The City has the nicknames the Crescent City the Big Easy, and the City that Care Forgot. Many visitors consider New Orleans' motto to be "Laissez les bontemps rouler", or, "Let the good times roll."
Favorite tourist scenes in New Orleans include the French Quarter (known locally as "the Quarter"), which dates from the French and Spanish eras and is bounded by the Mississippi River and Rampart Street, Canal Street and Esplanade Ave. A popular visiting spot in the quarter is the French Market (including the Café du Monde, famous for café au lait and beignets). The Natchez, an authentic steamboat with a calliope tours the Mississippi twice daily.
There are three active streetcar lines, the Riverfront line (also known as the Ladies in Red since the cars are painted red) which runs parallel to the river from Canal Street through the French Quarter, the St. Charles line (green cars, formerly connecting New Orleans with the then independent suburb of Carrollton), and the recently restored Canal Street line (which uses the Riverfront line tracks from Esplanade Street to Canal Street, then branches off down Canal Street and ends at City Park Avenue with a spur running from the intersection of Canal and Claiborne Avenue to the entrance of City Park at Esplanade). The city is also the scene of the Tennessee Williams play " A Streetcar Named Desire." The streetcar line to Desire Street became a bus line in 1948, but will be restored as a light rail line.
St. Charles Avenue is home to Tulane and Loyola Universities; many stately 19th century mansions; and Audubon Park and Audubon Zoo.
Because of the high water table, New Orleans cemeteries mostly use above ground crypts rather than underground burial. New Orleans created its own spin on the old tradition of military brass band funerals; traditional New Orleans funerals with music feature sad music (mostly dirges and hymns) on the way to the cemetery and happy music (hot jazz) on the way back. Such traditional musical funerals still takes place when a local musician, a member of a club, krewe, or benevolent society, or a noted dignitary has passed. Until the 1990s most locals preferred to call these "funerals with music", but out of town visitors have long dubbed them "jazz funerals". Younger bands, especially those based in the Treme neighborhood, have embraced the term and now have funerals featuring only jazz music.
New Orleans has always been a center for music with its intertwined European, Latin American, and African-American cultures. The city engendered jazz with its brass bands. Decades later it was home to a distinctive brand of rhythm and blues that contributed greatly to the growth of rock and roll. In addition, the nearby countryside is the home of Cajun music, Zydeco music and Delta blues.
The city is also famous for its food. Specialties include Po'boy and Muffaletta sandwiches; Gulf oysters and other seafoods; etoufee , jambalaya, gumbo and other Creole dishes; and the Monday evening favorite of red beans and rice. (Louis Armstrong often signed his letters, "red beans and ricely yours".)
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