Algiers, New Orleans

Algiers is a community within the city of New Orleans. It is the portion of Orleans Parish, Louisiana on the West Bank of the Mississippi River.

History

Jean Baptiste le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, was granted a large tract of land on the West Bank of the river opposite New Orleans in 1719. This date is sometimes given as the year of the town's founding, making it one of the oldest neighborhoods in what is now New Orleans, but development as a town as opposed to a private plantation did not actually occur until about 1800. The name is believed to have come from the proximity to the city as compared to France and Algeria. Another theory is that a soldier returning from fighting the Algerians in North Africa decided it looked just like that country when viewed from a ship.http://algierspoint.org/AHS/history.html algierspoint.org "Algiers History"]

A powder magazine was built here for safety reasons and because it stood on higher ground. A slaughterhouse was also established and Algiers went by the name of Slaughterhouse Point for some time. With the importation of enslaved Africans, Algiers was used as a holding area until those that survived the horrific crossing recovered enough to be dispatched across the river to be sold. Algiers was to become a holding area for the Cajuns that survived the Grand Derangement, when the British expelled them from Nova Scotia.The oldest part of Algiers is Algiers Point, across the river from the French Quarter.

The Duverjes built their plantation home in Algiers in about 1812. They would become the first family of Algiers and their home would later become the Algiers Courthouse. Algiers Point has been connected with the foot of Canal Street across the river by the Canal Street Ferry since 1827.

Algiers was incorporated as a city in 1840. In 1870 it was annexed to the city of New Orleans, becoming the 15th Ward of the city (one of the 17 Wards of New Orleans), an arrangement which has remained ever since, although there have been repeated discussions of secession.

In the 19th century, shipbuilding was an important industry here. In the 1850s Algiers became a major railroad center. Large railyards housed large amounts of freight and rolling stock, which was brought back and forth across the Mississippi River by barge until the late 1930s, when the Huey P. Long Bridge was built upriver at Bridge City, Louisiana. The largest railroad presence was the Southern Pacific yard. That location is still known to Algerines as "the SP yard." For decades it was largely vacant strip; parts have been redeveloped for housing in the early 21st century. In the yard's active days, a steam-powered Southern Pacific train ferry brought railroad cars from there across the Mississippi River. The Algiers railyards were known for their ability to repair or create replacements for any part needed for any type of locomotive. A fire destroyed most of the buildings in Algiers in 1895. Most of the gingerbread-fronted houses seen in the neighborhood today date from immediately after that fire.

It was also featured in the 1994 film Blue Chips.

Today

A number of New Orleans carnival krewes have their "dens" (warehouses where their floats are constructed and stored) in Algiers.

Algiers Point was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and designated a local historic district in 1994. [http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/LA/Orleans/state.html]

People from Algiers have traditionally been known as "Algerines". Noted Algerines have included jazz musicians Red Allen and Emmett Hardy and self-taught sculptor Herbert Singleton.

Algiers is home to many churches. There are numerous Roman Catholic and Baptist congregations. The oldest Lutheran congregation, Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church [http://www.lutheransonline.com/trinityalgiers] , was founded in 1875. Trinity's steeple was blown off by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. A Roman Catholic congregation, as well as Methodist and Episcopalian congregations are on the Historic Register of New Orleans, and some Algiers churches are listed on the National Historic Landmark lists.

There are two branches of the New Orleans Public Library located in Algiers. [http://nutrias.org/~nopl/info/branches/branches.htm] The Cita Dennis Hubbell Branch was built in 1907 as the Pelican Avenue Branch, one of three Carnegie libraries in New Orleans. Following years of neglect and hurricane damage, the library's roof was found to be in imminent danger of collapse and the library was closed indefinitely on 24 May, 2008. [http://www.hubbelllibrary.org/history.mgi] The Algiers Regional Branch, two miles away, is a larger library built in 1966. The newer library was damaged extensively by Hurricane Katrina, and remains closed. [http://www.hubbelllibrary.org/nopl/ar.mgi]

The area upriver from the point was historically known as McDonogh (which also extended into part of what is now Gretna, Louisiana). Below the point is a U.S. Naval Base. Down river from the Base are the neighborhoods of Aurora, and the English Turn area which was not substantially developed until the late 20th century.

On September 26, 2005, Algiers became the first major section of New Orleans to be reopened to residents after Hurricane Katrina. Although a number of buildings suffered wind damage from the storm, Algiers escaped the flooding which enveloped most of the East Bank of the city. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050926/ap_on_re_us/rita_new_orleans_hk2;_ylt=AgXaYK3Ylutd_X1vDwpW7p9vzwcF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl]

Education

Algiers is zoned to schools in the New Orleans Public Schools.

For the 2006-2007 school year, parents have a choice between the following NOPS operated schools:
* Benjamin Franklin Elementary School (K-8)
* Bethune Elementary School (K-8)
* McMain High School
* McDonogh 35 High School

In addition, students may attend schools operated by the Algiers Charter Schools Association ( [http://www.algierscharterschools.org/acsa.htm] )

The schools include:
* Martin Behrman Elementary School (K-8)
* Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary School (K-8)
* William J. Fischer Elementary School (K-8)
* Alice M. Harte Elementary School (K-8)
* McDonogh #32 Elementary School (K-8)
* Harriet R. Tubman Elementary School (K-8)
* Edna Karr High School
* O. Perry Walker High School

References

External links

* [http://wikitravel.org/en/article/New_Orleans/Algiers Wikitravel:New Orleans/Algiers]
* [http://www.algierspoint.org/ Algiers Point Association]
* [http://www.AlgiersAccent.com/ AlgiersAccent.com, The Accent of the Algiers Community]
* [http://algierspoint.org/AHS/ Algiers Historical Society]
* [http://www.algierspoint.us/ Algiers Point Information and Links page]
* [http://www.hubbelllibrary.org/ Cita Dennis Hubbell Library]
* [http://www.cityofno.com/ City of New Orleans]
* [http://www.sphts.org/ Southern Pacific Historical & Technical Society]