I know I promised in Barcelona pictures, but I wanted to put this up first.
I drove down to New Orleans this weekend, with my little Sony camera. I drove around the city for about two hours taking video, just wanting to get a sense of what the city was really like today.
The good news is that most of the city, especially to the west, looks in good shape. Of course, that means that the video was completely dull, as it only showed rain, windshield wipers, and blurry houses going by.
It was different in the east part of the city, and in the areas by the levees that broke. The video below doesn't really do justice, because in most areas things look sort of okay at first glance but much less so on further inspection. Blurry video from a car in the rain mostly only gives you that first glance. In the worst areas, I was able to slow down or stop, zoom in, and sometimes take photographs that give you a better picture of what it looks like.
I'll let the rest of this speak for itself.
My motel by Louis Armstrong Airport
Chef Menteur Avenue (Northeast New Orleans)
Franklin Avenue (Eastern New Orleans)
Community resentment on St. Claude Avenue (bordering Lower 9th Ward)
Lower 9th Ward (southwest end)
Lower 9th Ward (northwest end)
Lower 9th Ward (northwest end) - On foot
More photos (click to enlarge):
1 comment:
This is an incredible post. Both shocking and frightening. I find it interesting, however, that the French Quarter is "back to normal" and find myself wanting to see the pictures of it too...to compare, to assure myself that the New Orleans I know is still there.
And that is the problem, isn't it? I never knew the 9th ward, and no one else did either. Your post reminds us of how easily we forget or overlook the poor, the workers, the parts of us that struggle. Your post reminds me that even today (Sept. 11, 2006), when I am holding my heart with remembrance, I have forgotten (too) much.
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