About
this Gallery
New Orleans
"My darling New Orleans,
My praline hometown...."
—Little Queenie
These are photographs made nine months before Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. One of the most unique cities in the world, New Orleans was, perhaps still is, arguably the only American city devoted principally to Being.
These pictures were made in the Le Cirque Bar; looking out the Cirque Hotel onto the statue of Robert E. Lee at Lee Circle; and along Canal Street near the Mandina's, the incomparable neighborhood grill, home of shrimp rémoulade, oysters po'boys, gumbo, and an aristocracy of waiters. The restaurant was destroyed in the flood, and the Mandina family took refuge in Baton Rouge. Here is Tony Mandina speaking about the change:
"Let me just say that I want to go home, make no mistake about that. We belong on Canal Street. Maybe the government will see this. And then maybe we can get some people down here to fix this damn levee system."
To keep in touch with New Orleans, I like to visit Gumbo Pages.