Gentilly
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[edit] History of Gentilly
Gentilly in the 18th Century was, like most of New Orleans, an expanse of uninhabitable swampy land, with the exception of some high ground which was found along the Mississippi River, the Bayou St. John and Gentilly (Bayou Sauvage) ridges, and various bayous in the area. Bayou Sauvage drained the Mississippi River, and yearly overflows of river sediment formed high ground and rich soil along the Bayou’s ridge. The land was naturally dry and had natural drainage that made it suitable for development. The Bayou was dammed, drained and filled in the mid 1800’s. Although vast areas of land in its vicinity were not yet suitable for development, land along the Gentilly Ridge still provided an important flood-free land route into the city.
With the advent of the railroad in 1830, resorts began to develop along Lake Pontchartrain. Although these resorts drew large crowds of people from the city – most traveling along Elysian Fields on the Pontchartrain Railroad. Because the railroad ran from the river to the lake, development of land north of the Gentilly Ridge was not encouraged. As the population of New Orleans grew, however, development did spread east-to-west along Bayou Sauvage’s high stretches of land.
Alexander Milne, a Scottish footman and philanthropist who made his fortune from a hardware business and brickmaking, believed that New Orleans would eventually expand northward to Lake Ponchartrain. He bought large tracts of swampy real estate in this area, and by 1834 he owned most of the lakeshore. As Milne predicted, New Orleans did expand nortward. However, most development occurred only up to the Gentilly Ridge and consisted of small dairy farms and truck gardens. The area bounded the ridge, up to Mirabeau Avenue, Elysian Fields Avenue, and Bayou St. John could not be developed until adequate drainage was provided for the area. The Paris Avenue Canal was dug in the 1930s, providing necessary drainage
Gentilly Terrace
[edit] Rebirth
Gentilly is part of the City Planning Commission's Planning District 6. While Gentilly's neighborhood associations have been active since Katrina, our neighbors have also joined together to form the Gentilly Civic Improvement Association. The GCIA joins the efforts of Gentilly's component neighborhoods to create a unified plan for our district. To do this we are working with experts from UNO's College of Urban and Public Affairs and Hewitt-Washington to develop the plan.
Well-known architect Andres Duany also helped us by holding a charrette. Find out more about the charrette and what we found.
[edit] How to Help Rebuild Gentilly
- We are organizing block captains to locate our neighbors and survey infrastructure in the area. Let us know about your plans.
[edit] Keep in Touch With Your Neighbors
- GCIA Forum Down for rebuilding 8/12/06. Back by 09/06.
- Gentilly After Katrina at Yahoo! Groups
[edit] Recovery
[edit] Recovery Resources
- Gentilly Demographic Information from the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center.
- City Councilwoman Cynthia Hedge-Morrell
[edit] Gentilly Neighborhood Associations
- Bancroft Park Neighborhood Association
- Burbank Gardens
- Edgewood Park Neighborhood Association
- Gentilly Heights East
- Gentilly Heights/ Vascoville Association
- Gentilly Ridge Association
- Gentilly Terrace and Gardens Association
- Indian Village Neighborhood Association
- Live Oaks Neighborhood Association
- Lake Terrace Property Owners Association
- Lower Gentilly Association
- Milneburg Civic Association
- Mirabeau Gardens Association
- Oak Park Civic Association
- Pontilly Association
- Seabrook Neighborhood Association
- St. Roch Bend Association
- Sugar Hill Association
- Virgil Park Association and Virgil Blvd Association
- Vista Park Civic Association
