Fats Domino
Antoine "Fats" Domino Jr. was an American pianist and singer-songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Between 1955 and 1960, he had eleven Top 10 hits, his humility and shyness may be one reason. During his career, Domino had 35 records in the U. S. Billboard Top 40, five of his pre-1955 records sold more than a million copies, being certified gold, his musical style was based on traditional rhythm and blues, accompanied by saxophones, piano, electric guitar, drums. His 1949 release "The Fat Man" is regarded as the first million-selling Rock'n Roll record. One of his most famous songs is “Blueberry Hill”. Antoine Domino Jr, was born and raised in New Orleans, the youngest of eight children born to Antoine Caliste Domino and Marie-Donatille Gros; the Domino family was of French Creole background, Louisiana Creole was his first language. Antoine was born at home with the assistance of a midwife, his name was misspelled as Anthony on his birth certificate.
His family had arrived in the Lower Ninth Ward from Vacherie, Louisiana. His father was a part-time violin player, he attended the Louis B. Macarty School until the fourth grade, leaving to start work as a helper to an ice delivery man. Domino learned to play the piano in about 1938 from his brother-in-law, the jazz guitarist Harrison Verrett; the musician was married to Rosemary Domino from 1947 until her death in 2008. After his success he continued to live in his old neighborhood, the Lower Ninth Ward, until after Hurricane Katrina, when he moved to a suburb of New Orleans. By age 14, Domino was performing in New Orleans bars. In 1947, Billy Diamond, a New Orleans bandleader, accepted an invitation to hear the young pianist perform at a backyard barbecue. Domino played well enough that Diamond asked him to join his band, the Solid Senders, at the Hideaway Club in New Orleans, where he would earn $3 a week playing the piano. Diamond nicknamed him "Fats", because Domino reminded him of the renowned pianists Fats Waller and Fats Pichon, but because of his large appetite.
Domino was signed to the Imperial Records label in 1949 by owner Lew Chudd, to be paid royalties based on sales instead of a fee for each song. He and producer Dave Bartholomew wrote "The Fat Man", a toned down version of a song about drug addicts called "Junker Blues". Featuring a rolling piano and Domino vocalizing "wah-wah" over a strong backbeat, "The Fat Man" is considered the first rock-and-roll record to achieve this level of sales. In 2015, the song would enter the Grammy Hall of Fame. Domino released a series of hit songs with Bartholomew, the saxophonists Herbert Hardesty and Alvin "Red" Tyler, the bassist Frank Fields, the drummers Earl Palmer and Smokey Johnson. Other notable and long-standing musicians in Domino's band were the saxophonists Reggie Houston, Lee Allen, Fred Kemp, Domino's trusted bandleader. While Domino's own recordings were done for Imperial, he sometimes sat in during that time as a session musician on recordings by other artists for other record labels. Domino's rolling piano triplets provided the memorable instrumental introduction for Lloyd Price's first hit, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", recorded for Specialty Records on March 13, 1952 at Cosimo Matassa's J&M Studios in New Orleans.
Dave Bartholomew was producing Price's record, which featured familiar Domino collaborators Hardesty and Palmer as sidemen, he asked Domino to play the piano part, replacing the original session pianist. Domino crossed into the pop mainstream with "Ain't That a Shame"; this was the first of his records to appear on the Billboard pop singles chart, with the debut at number 14. A milder cover version by Pat Boone reached number 1, having received wider radio airplay in an era of racial segregation. In 1955, Domino was said to be earning $10,000 a week while touring, according to a report in the memoir of artist Chuck Berry. Domino had 37 Top 40 singles, but none made it to number 1 on the Pop chart. Domino's debut album contained several of his recent hits and earlier blues tracks that had not been released as singles, was issued on the Imperial label in November 1955, was reissued as Rock and Rollin' with Fats Domino; the reissue reached number 17 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. His 1956 recording of "Blueberry Hill", a 1940 song by Vincent Rose, Al Lewis and Larry Stock, reached number 2 on the Billboard Juke Box chart for two weeks and was number 1 on the R&B chart for 11 weeks.
It was his biggest hit, selling more than 5 million copies worldwide in 1956 and 1957. The song was subsequently recorded by Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Led Zeppelin; some 32 years the song would enter the Grammy Hall of Fame. Domino had further hit singles between 1956 and 1959, including "When My Dreamboat Comes Home", "I'm Walkin'", "Valley of Tears", "It's You I Love", "Whole Lotta Lovin'", "I Want to Walk You Home", "Be My Guest". Domino appeared in two films released in 1956: Shake, Rattle & Rock! and The Girl Can't Help It. On December 18, 1957, his hit recording of "The Big Beat" was featur
Saenger Theatre (New Orleans)
Saenger Theatre is an atmospheric theatre in downtown New Orleans, on the National Register of Historic Places. Once the flagship of Julian and Abe Saenger's theatre empire, today it is one of only a handful of Saenger movie palaces that remain; the Saenger Theatre opened on February 4, 1927. The 4,000-seat theatre took three years to cost $2.5 million. Its opening prompted thousands to parade along Canal Street; the top ticket price was 65 cents, the bill for each performance included a silent movie and stage play, music from the Saenger Grand Orchestra. Architect Emile Weil designed the interior of an atmospheric theatre to recall an Italian Baroque courtyard. Weil installed 150 lights in the ceiling of the theatre, arranged in the shape of constellations of the night sky; the theatre employed special effects machines to project images of moving clouds and sunsets across the theatre's interior. In 1929, Julian Saenger sold the theatre for $10 million to Paramount Publix, which continued to operate the theatre throughout the Great Depression.
In 1933 Paramount Publix converted the theatre to "talking pictures" only. In 1964, ABC Interstate Theatres turned the Saenger into a piggyback theatre, building a wall in front of the balcony to divide the larger space into two smaller theatres; the upstairs theatre was known as the Saenger Orleans. On September 29, 1977 the theatre was designated a historic landmark by the New Orleans Landmark Commission; that December it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 1978, it was sold for more than $1 million to E. B. Breazeale, who spent an additional $3 million renovating it into a performing arts center. Pace Management invested in the renovation and was hired to run the theatre; the Saenger Theatre reopened in 1980 with a reduced seating capacity of 2,736. Johnny Carson made a gala performance at the theatre's grand reopening; the Saenger hosted a variety of events, including concerts in many musical styles, theater shows, presentations harkening back to the theatre's earlier history such as a showing of Abel Gance's Polyvision silent film spectacular Napoléon accompanied by a live full orchestra.
In April 1983, Styx recorded and filmed their performances on their Kilroy Was Here tour for their double live album and concert film Caught in the Act. In 1985, the management team of the theatre formed the Saenger Theatre Partnership, Ltd. a joint venture with 50 partners, to purchase the theatre from Breazeale. In the summer of 2002, the Saenger Theatre continued its cinematic roots and showed three classic movies in celebration of its 75th anniversary; the Summer Classic Movie Series became an annual event for the next 3 years. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, the Saenger Theatre suffered significant water damage; the water line was a foot above stage level, filling the basement and orchestra seating area. It was in the middle of a major renovation, so all carpeting and seating had been removed in anticipation of being replaced; the vintage Robert Morton Wonder Organ at stage level suffered some damage. The administrative offices of the theatre and the box office on Rampart Street suffered extensive water damage.
Photos taken after Katrina portrayed the Canal Street marquee as damaged, but staff had in fact removed the acrylic glass and other materials that could become flying debris during the storm. In early 2009 it was announced by New Orleans officials that ownership of the Saenger Theatre would be turned over to the Canal Street Development Corp. a city agency, who would lease the building to the Saenger Theatre Partnership, Ltd. for 52 years. A stipulation of the deal requires the Saenger Theatre Partnership to host a minimum of 80 shows and sell 100,000 tickets each year; the unique alliance secured $15 million in federal grants and federal tax credits, private financing as part of a $38.8 million restoration. A main focus of the restoration is to return the Saenger to its original state. Work will include stripping paint to reveal the building's original color scheme, along with using historic photographs to match hardware such as doors, light fixtures, windows as as possible; the escalator in the arcade will be removed, the main entrances will be recessed to reflect the original floor plan, marquees matching the originals will be installed.
Renovations will include updates, such as incorporating the adjacent 1101 Canal Street building to use as a restaurant and box offices. All work, including modern updates, will adhere to strict preservation guidelines set by various entities including the National Park Service; the marquee was ceremoniously re-lit in October 2009 to signify the Saenger Theatre's rebirth. The marquee will be lit every night until the theatre reopens in the fall of 2011. In the first months of 2010 restoration work was begun on the theater. In addition a website was launched and the broadway tour producers Broadway Across America announced that The Lion King will play at the Saenger during the 2011-2012 season; the full schedule has yet to be released. NOLA.com announced that construction on the theatre would begin in July 2010. However, in March 2011 it was announced that construction had not started, the Saenger would not be ready until at least the 2012-2013 Broadway season. In December 2011 New Orleans officials announced final financial hurdles had been cleared and construction would begin in earnest on the $51 million
Streetcars in New Orleans
Streetcars in New Orleans have been an integral part of the city's public transportation network since the first half of the 19th century. The longest of New Orleans' streetcar lines, the St. Charles Avenue line, is the oldest continuously operating street railway system in the world. Today, the streetcars are operated by the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority. There are five operating streetcar lines in New Orleans: The St. Charles Avenue Line, the Riverfront Line, the Canal Street Line, the Loyola Avenue Line and Rampart/St. Claude Line; the St. Charles Avenue Line is the only line that has operated continuously throughout New Orleans' streetcar history. All other lines were replaced by bus service in the period from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Preservationists were unable to save the streetcars on Canal Street, but were able to convince the city government to protect the St. Charles Avenue Line by granting it historic landmark status. In the 20th century, trends began to favor rail transit again.
A short Riverfront Line started service in 1988, service returned to Canal Street in 2004, 40 years after it had been shut down. The wide destruction wrought on the city by Hurricane Katrina and subsequent floods from the levee breaches in August 2005 knocked all the streetcar lines out of operation and damaged many of the streetcars. Service on a portion of the Canal Street line was restored in December of that year, with the remainder of the line and the Riverfront line returning to service in early 2006. On December 23, 2007, the Regional Transit Authority extended service on the St. Charles line from Napoleon Avenue to the end of historic St. Charles Avenue. On June 22, 2008 service was restored to the end of the line at South Carrollton Avenue & South Claiborne Avenue; the definitive history of New Orleans streetcars is found in Louis Hennick and Harper Charlton, The Streetcars of New Orleans, Pelican Press, the source for this summary of New Orleans streetcar history. On April 23, 1831, the Pontchartrain Railroad Company established the first rail service in New Orleans along a five-mile line running north on Elysian Fields Avenue from the Mississippi River toward Lake Pontchartrain.
These first trains, were pulled by horses because the engines had not yet arrived from England. The PRR received its first working steam engine the next year, first put it into service on September 27, 1832. Service continued in a mixed fashion, running sometimes with locomotives, at other times with horse traction. A round trip fare at that time was seventy-five cents; those first operations included inter-city and suburban railroad lines, horse-drawn omnibus lines. The first lines of city rail service were created by the New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad, which in 1835 opened three lines. In the first week of January, the company opened its Poydras-Magazine horse-drawn line on its namesake streets, the first true street railway line in the city. New York City was the only place to precede New Orleans with street railway service. A horse-drawn line to the suburb of Lafayette, centered on Jackson Avenue, opened on January 13. In September, the New Orleans and Carrollton started operating its third line, a steam-powered line along present-day St. Charles Avenue called Nayades, connecting the city with the suburb of Carrollton, terminating near the present-day intersection of St. Charles Avenue and Carrollton Avenue.
The Poydras-Magazine line ceased operation in March or April 1836, about the time that a new La Course Street line was opened along that street. That line ended in the 1840s, but the Lafayette and Carrollton lines continued becoming the Jackson and St. Charles streetcar lines; as the area upriver from the city began to be built up—much of the new development along the Nayades corridor—additional lines were created by the New Orleans and Carrollton. On February 4, 1850, branch lines were opened on Napoleon Avenues. Like the Jackson line, these were horse- or mule-drawn cars, operating from Nayades Avenue to the river along their namesake streets; the Louisiana line was patronized, was discontinued in 1878. The Napoleon line continued into the next century. Up until about 1860, omnibus lines provided the only public transit outside the area serviced by the New Orleans and Carrollton RR; the need was felt for a true citywide street railway service. Toward this end, the New Orleans City RR was chartered on June 15, 1860.
The first line and Esplanade, opened June 1, 1861, followed in quick succession by the Magazine and Prytania, Canal and Dauphine, Bayou Bridge and City Park. Despite the beginnings of war, the company continued service on its new lines. A few other efforts were attempted during the Civil War, but progress resumed soon after the war's end. In 1866, several additional street railway companies made their appearance in New Orleans; the first was the Magazine Street Railroad Co. which soon merged with the second, the Crescent City Railroad Co. The St. Charles Street Railroad Co. was next, followed in 1867 by the Canal and Claiborne Streets Railroad Co. and in 1868 by the Orleans Railroad Co. The horsecar lines of these companies covered different parts of the city, overlapping in some areas; the City RR operated a steam railroad to Lake Poncha
Bywater, New Orleans
Bywater is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Bywater District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: Florida Avenue to the north, the Industrial Canal to the east, the Mississippi River to the south, the railroad tracks along Homer Plessy Way to the west. Bywater is part of the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, it includes part or all of Bywater Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. During New Orleans Mardi Gras, the Society of Saint Anne marching krewe starts their procession on Mardi Gras morning in Bywater and gathers marchers as it travels through the French Quarter, ending at Canal Street; this walking parade of local residents and performers is preceded by the Bywater Bone Boys Social Aid and Pleasure Club, an early-rising skeleton krewe made up of writers, tattoo artists, set designers and numerous other pre–7 a.m. revelers. After Hurricane Katrina, many survivors flocked to the area as it was less affected by the storm, due to the higher elevation closer to the Mississippi river.
Bywater became part of what was known as the "Sliver by the River," meaning neighborhoods that saw no flooding, including Faubourg Marigny, the French Quarter and Irish Channel neighborhoods, parts of the lower Garden District including St. Charles Avenue. Bywater has an elevation of 3 feet. According to the United States Census Bureau, the district has a total area of 1.33 square miles, 0.94 square miles of, land and 0.39 square miles of, water. Desire Area Lower Ninth Ward Holy Cross Mississippi River Marigny St. Claude Florida Area The traditional boundaries of Bywater are: the Mississippi River to St. Claude Avenue, the railroad tracks along Homer Plessy Way to the Industrial Canal. Press Street's name came from a cotton press; the Bywater/Marigny stretch of Press Street was changed to Homer Plessy Way in 2018 to memorialize Homer Plessy, the plaintiff in Plessy v. Ferguson, the 1896 decision of the U. S. Supreme Court that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities.
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,096 people, 2,263 households, 1,030 families residing in the neighborhood. The population density was 5,421 /mi²; as of the census of 2010, there were 3,337 people, 1,763 households, 573 families residing in the neighborhood. The population density was 5,421 /mi²; the area now known as Bywater was plantation land in the colonial era, with significant residential development beginning the first decade of the 19th century as part of what was known as "Faubourg Washington," part of the predominantly Francophone "downtown" section of New Orleans. Many people from France and the French Caribbean settled here. During the century, it grew with both white Creoles of French and Spanish descent, as well as mixed-race Creoles of French, Spanish and Native American descent, they were joined by immigrants from Germany and Ireland. The Bywater is home to the site at which Homer Plessy was removed from an East Louisiana Railroad car for violating the separate car act, an event that resulted in the Plessy v. Ferguson case and the legal doctrine of "separate but equal."
Today, a historical marker stands at the intersection of Press Street and Royal Street to commemorate the event. There was little distinction between this area and what became known as the Lower 9th Ward until the Industrial Canal was dredged in the early 20th century, dividing the two. A generation knew the area as the "Upper 9th Ward," but as other parts of the 9th Ward above the Canal farther from the River became developed, a more specific name was needed. Inspired by the local telephone exchange designation of Bywater, which fit the neighborhood's proximity to the River and the Canal, the neighborhood was known as "Bywater" by the 1940s. Real estate development and speculation surrounding the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition prompted many long-term French Quarter residents to move down river, at first into Marigny. By the late 1990s the bohemian, artistic type of communities such as were found in the French Quarter mid-20th century had spread to Bywater, many long-neglected 19th-century houses began to be refurbished.
Bywater and neighboring Faubourg Marigny are two of the most colorful neighborhoods in the city. The architectural styles borrow from the colonial French and Spanish and have elements of the Caribbean; this blending over the last three centuries has resulted in an architectural style unique to the city of New Orleans. As the section of Bywater on the River side of St. Claude Avenue was one of the few portions of the 9th Ward to escape major flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it has made steady progress toward recovery, more so than many other parts of the city. Sallie Ann Glassman artist, Voodoo priestess Dave Pirner of the 1990s Grunge band Soul Asylum Neighborhoods in New Orleans St. Roch Cemetery in the Bywater Bywater Neighborhood Association St. Claude Arts District Faubourg Marigny Improvement Association
Esplanade Avenue, New Orleans
Esplanade Avenue is a historic street in New Orleans, Louisiana. It runs northwest from the Mississippi River to Beauregard Circle at the entrance to City Park. Esplanade Avenue was an important 18th-century portage route of trade between Bayou St. John, which linked to Lake Pontchartrain, the River. Many 19th-century mansions still line the street. Esplanade Avenue is the dividing line between the 7th Wards of the city. From the River to Claiborne Avenue, Esplanade has one lane of traffic in both directions, with a raised neutral ground in the center. From Claiborne to Carrollton Avenue it has one traffic lane in each direction, a dedicated bicycle lane, a smaller neutral ground; the segment from the River to Rampart Street separates the French Quarter from the Faubourg Marigny. Near the river on the French Quarter side is the old New Orleans Mint building. Passing by the Faubourg Treme neighborhood, Esplanade goes through the area known alternatively as Faubourg St. John or Esplanade Ridge, near the New Orleans Fairgrounds.
The house where Edgar Degas stayed during his time in New Orleans is in this section. Just past Carrollton Avenue is the entrance to the New Orleans Museum of Art. New Orleans Mint Buildings and architecture of New Orleans List of streets of New Orleans General Beauregard Equestrian Statue, until 2017 located in Beauregard Circle Media related to Esplanade Avenue, New Orleans at Wikimedia Commons Mary Louise Christovich. New Orleans Architecture: The Esplanade Ridge. New Orleans Architecture. 5. Pelican Publishing. ISBN 978-1-56554-072-9
Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel (New Orleans)
Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel is a Roman Catholic church located on Rampart Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. The back of the church is bordered by Basin Street; the church was built in 1862 as the "Chapel of St. Anthony of Benedict to serve as a burial church for victims of yellow fever, it was erected close to # 2, the primary Catholic cemeteries at the time. The church building is the oldest surviving church building in New Orleans. Since 1918, the church has been named Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel and has been staffed by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. In the 1930s, parishioners praying to Saint Jude had their prayers answered, which resulted in a tradition of regular novenas to Saint Jude and the erection of a shrine to Saint Jude; the St. Jude Shrine is located in the area to the left of the altar, it includes a relic of St. Jude; the church has hosted a series of "jazz" Masses. The statue of Saint Expedite is visited by Catholics, as well as some local followers of Voodoo; the church grounds feature a Marian grotto, located between the church and the adjacent rectory.
The history section of Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel's website http://www.neworleanschurches.com/olguadalupe/olguaralupe.htm
