Lake Terrace
From New Orleans Wiki
Prior to the 1920s, much of the rest of the lakefront was marshy swampland comprised of scattered fishing shacks and camps. In an effort to develop strategies for providing improved levee protection from flood disasters, the Louisiana legislature named Colonel Marcel Garsaud to be Chief Engineer of the Orleans Levee Board in 1924. He was commissioned to plan and implement the reclamation and improvement of the lakefront.
In 1928, a plan was adopted that included provisions for a public park area between the lake drive and the lake, recreational features and residential development with one section of homes fronting on the lake. The principal reason for the adoption of this plan was its potential for becoming self-supporting. In 1926, prior to the adoption of the plan, pumping and draining of the swamps as well as seawall construction began.
By 1930, work on the lakefront plan began. The new lakeshore consisted of a stepped concrete seawall built 3000 feet from the shore with a filled area raised five to ten feet. Above the lake level were a beautiful public waterfront, beaches and parks. The transformation of the lakeshore allowed for the construction of the Lake Terrace and Lake Oaks subdivisions.
The Levee Board opened Lake Terrace in 1953. This area is bounded by Lake Pontchartrain, the London Avenue Canal, Robert E. Lee Boulevard and Bayou St. John. The area has 93 acres of park space. In 1964, Lake Oaks was opened, which was bounded by Elysian Fields Avenue, Music Street and New York Street.
With the opening of Lake Terrace/Lake Oaks, plans for lakefront development were fulfilled. The reclaimed lakefront realized its potential with additional housing and naturally beautiful recreational open space for the city.
