NEW ORLEANS — More than 100 years ago, photographers from the Detroit Publishing Company went around New Orleans taking photos of the city. A digital collection of their photos is available for viewing on the Library of Congress website.
We thought it would interesting to return to the locations of these photos to see what has — or hasn’t — changed in a century.
[protected-iframe id=”d9980fe683e584347cd3d27cb99d648d-41641972-42258989″ info=”https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/juxtapose/latest/embed/index.html?uid=03fcc320-3133-11e8-b263-0edaf8f81e27″ width=”100%” height=”715″ frameborder=”0″ class=”juxtapose”]
Some time between 1900-1906, a photographer using the dry plate process took a picture of the corner of Canal Street and Carondelet Street facing the uptown side (away from the French Quarter).
What has changed is obvious. The beautifully ornate building on the right corner is gone. It was once the home of the L. Feibleman’s department store, which came down in the 1940s. The Gus Mayer building, another department store, replaced it. Today, the building is a CVS. But, you can still see the initials “G/M” on the front of the building.
The building on the left advertising cigars now sells athletic shoes as a Kids Foot Locker.
The skyline is different, too. The iconic white cupola of the Hibernia Bank Building stands out today, along with several other high-rise buildings nearby.
One feature that hasn’t changed is the Hennen Building, also known as the Maritime. Built in 1895, the 11-story building is considered New Orleans’ first skyscraper.
Also, the streetcar still stops at the corner of Canal and Carondelet.