Lakeview - named for its close proximity to Lake Pontchartrain - is
a moderately affluent neighborhood filled with frame cottages and brink
ranch-style homes. This section of the city is marked as being bound by
Lakeshore Drive, Orleans Avenue, City Park Avenue and the Jefferson
Parish line. Within this area are four separate neighborhoods:
Lakeview, Lakewood, West End and Navarre.
This area was originally owned by the Capuchins, an order of priests.
These priests sold the land to Don Almonester y Roxas during the
Spanish rule of New Orleans. Mr. Almonester y Roxas is known for
rebuilding the St. Louis Cathedral using her personal funds. His
daughter was the Baroness Pontalba, who built the famous Pontalba
Apartment that flank Jackson Square. Almonester's properties also
included parts of present day City Park, as well as the Lakewood
Neighborhood.
After the
Almonesters, Alexander Milne acquired most of Lakeview and the
lakefront and during this time the New Basin Canal was build by Irish
immigrants. It was the main artery from Lake Pontchartrain to other
parts of the city – both downtown and uptown. Not only did this canal
add to the character of the neighborhood, but also it provided needed
transport of many items across the lake. It also served as a boundary
between east and west sections of Lakeview.
The
Lakeview neighborhood was one of the first residential areas to develop
around the beauty and leisure that surrounded the lakefront scenery.
Modern
development of Lakeview began with a resort now called West End –
originally called New Lake End. This was area was frequented and
developed by citizens involved in coastal trade, yachters and boaters
between 1835-1876.
In 1880, the New
Lake End took the name West End. A hotel, a restaurant, a garden and
various amusement parts were built on a large wooden platform
constructed over water. The City of New Orleans acquired land from
Mexican Gulf Ship Canal, which had begun construction of a harbor,
complete with railroad facilities on the embankment at the New Basin
Canal and the Seventeenth Street Canal. By 1921, New Orleans had
completed improvements and built a seawall 500 feet further out in the
lake and filling in the space that later became West End Park.
During this time, drainage of the whole area began. In 1905, the first
cottage was constructed in Lakeview on Julia Street - now called West
End Boulevard. The house was an office and a tool house for the men
clearing the swamps and building new roads. All the swamps were drained
by 1909 – draining ditches were installed and streets were ready. The
New Orleans Land Company began promoting and selling this land.
Flood
and fire is a common theme in New Orleans' history. Lakeview's first
school was built in 1913 and destroyed by fire two years later.
Lakeview School was built in 1915 – the first public school in the
area. The first Catholic Church, Ave Maria Chapel, was erected in 1912
and destroyed by a storm in 1915. Another chapel was built at Milne and
Harrison in 1917 to replace Ave Maria Chapel. In 1923, St. Dominic's
Church and School were built on Harrison Ave. where they still remain
today.
Lots in the area did not sell
as quickly as expected. In the early 1900s, the area remained rural,
although by 1926, Lakeview had gained prestige. The Depression slowed
development in the 1930s, but development picked up in the 1940s and
continued until World War II.
After
the Second World War, the area underwent a complete modernization. West
End Boulevard was completely repaved and buses replaced the streetcar.
In 1949, the New Basin Canal was closed. While this decreased
industrial uses, a commercial area emerged along Harrison Ave, Canal
Boulevard and Robert E. Lee.
A
beautiful recreational area is along Lakeshore Drive. On a beautiful
weekend afternoon, couples sunning on blankets and family barbeques dot
the landscape near Lake Pontchartrain.
In 2005, this area was one of the hardest hit by the flood caused from
Hurricane Katrina. Residents and businesses continue to rebuild the
area and restore it to a great mix of residential, recreational and
commercial use.
From: http://www.neworleansonline.com/tools/neighborhoodguide/lakeview.html
