Parkway Permeable Paving

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by Charlie London

There is no quick fix to flooding but there are some things you can do right now.
Old timers in Faubourg St. John know that the lot that used to be paved with cement at the corner of Hagan and Lafitte Streets used to be a veritable pond any time it rained. Parkway Bakery bought the lot several years ago for parking and paved it with a permeable surface. The area is a pond no more!

Remove cement around your home and install the system featured in the link or something similar and you will keep thousands of gallons of water off of your property.

A simple way to get thousands of gallons of water away from your property is to plant a tree. Details in the link:
http://www.northlandnemo.org/images/800TreeCityUSABulletin_55.pdf

And, believe or don’t, trees reduce crime. Details in the link:
https://fsjna.org/2012/12/plant-a-tree-reduce-crime/

featured-img-parkwayParkway Bakery. Those who frequent this restaurant know quality poboys and friendly folks can be found there.

pavers1eEven the President of the United States and his family heard how great the place was and decided to check it out.

pavers1gDriving down Jefferson Davis Parkway toward Bayou St. John, where Jeff Davis turns into Hagan, you may have noticed the transformation of the lot on the corner there.

pavers1bAs many assumed, the lot is going to be a place for cars to park. But, what was once a constantly flooded mess will now be an environmentally friendly place for folks to put their vehicles when they visit Parkway Bakery for poboys.

Jay Nix, owner of Parkway Poboys paved his parking lot in an environmentally friendly way.
Jay Nix, owner of Parkway Poboys paved his parking lot in an environmentally friendly way.
How could a parking lot be environmentally friendly? It’s not asphalt or cement but recycled plastic forms that are filled with gravel. This type of pavement allows the water to go through the parking lot so pools of water don’t form when it rains and there won’t be water running off in to the street further taxing the city’s pumping system.

See those yellow lines in the photos below? Those are not painted on lines like you would see on a regular parking lot but plastic inserts that snap into the molds.pavers1i

Permeable paving allows water to go through the parking lot instead of running out into the street.
Permeable paving allows water to go through the parking lot instead of running out into the street.

Want to know more? Check out the video report below from WDSU TV:

You can have an environmentally friendly driveway or porch installed at your home for about 7-10 dollars per square foot.
You can have an environmentally friendly driveway or porch installed at your home for about 7-10 dollars per square foot.
Yellow plastic inserts are snapped in to the molds to make lines for the parking lot. No paint!
Yellow plastic inserts are snapped in to the molds to make lines for the parking lot. No paint!

For more information about TRUE GRID PAVERS, click on the photos above or the link below:

http://www.truegridpaver.com/product-features/

Holiday Lights on North Hagan

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photos by Charlie London

Christmas night, I took a long stroll around Faubourg St. John taking random photos of lights neighbors had put up for the holiday. What was going to be a thirty minute walk turned into a four hour hike. While I did get a bunch of photos, they do not fully represent the enormity of enthusiasm Faubourg St. John residents have for the holiday season. So, if you would like to have your house added to this post or would like to have your street represented, please send high quality photos of the holiday lights on your street to [email protected].

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Imperial Theater

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The really cool Imperial Theater was at 814 N. Hagan St., at the corner of Dumaine Street. In its early days — the 1920s — the theater was the site of vaudeville shows. Later, many of the popular films of the day played at this neighborhood theater.

  Early on the morning of March 1, 1957, a fire burned the theater to the ground. Two firemen were injured as they tried to contain the blaze. Thirty people were evacuated from neighboring houses, but none of the houses sustained damage.

FROM: http://www.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/hey-blake-what-can-you-tell-me-about-the-imperial-theater/Content?oid=2020125

Rene Brunet Sr. hired the Boswell Sisters to sing at the Imperial before the trio became nationally famous. Price wars and giveaways also sought to lure audiences from one theater to another. Brunet recalled a Thanksgiving promotion that went awry when the prize turkey escaped and ran down Hagan Avenue.

Rene Brunet Sr. died of a heart attack in 1946, forcing his son to drop out of college to take over the Imperial. The young Brunet ran the theater until it caught fire and burned to the ground 10 years later. “It was a very dramatic thing for me,” Rene Brunet Jr. said. And while there wasn’t enough insurance to rebuild, he forged ahead.

FROM: http://whatssospecialaboutneworleans.blogspot.com/2010/07/prytania-theater-owner-remembers-old.html

Faubourg St. John neighbor Jean Lichtfuss says,
“I remember as a child being awakened by my mother to come to see a fire blazing somewhere in our neighborhood. My mom probably wasn’t interested so much in our seeing the fire as to be prepared in case we’d need to evacuate.

Anyway, in the darkened kitchen, my mom, my brother and I watched out the kitchen door as sparkes lit up the sky and large pieces of burning material flew through the air.

Because I felt safe with my mom, it was quite a spectacle, and only with a tinge of fear did I watch the plumes of smoke and the smoldering timbers land in our yard. We lived on Ursulines at the time.

I also remember many a happy Friday night or Sunday afternoon going to the Imperial. Mama sent us on Sunday afternoon when we were young and when we got older we met our boyfriends there on Friday night. We kids of the 50’s had it good.”