BUS TOUR & MUSEUMS (Day 5 - part 6)

We then walked to building adjacent the other side of the cathedral.

Originally called the Casa Curial (Ecclesiastical House), the Presbytere was started in 1798 as a matching structure for the Cabildo. The second floor was not completed until 1813. A presbytery (presbytère in French) is a rectory (where a minister or priest is housed). While it was intended to serve as the residence for religious clergy, it was instead used for commercial purposes until 1834, at which point it was used by the Louisiana Supreme Court. In 1853, cathedral officials sold it to the city, and in 1908 the city sold it to the state. It became part of the Louisiana State Museum in 1911. The main floor focused on hurricanes while the second floor was all about Mardi Gras.

(right) Click on the map for a larger image

"Living with Hurricanes: Katrina & Beyond"

Springtime floods, hurricanes and storm surges constantly challenged those who lived here. They built levees and spillways to control the water, screwpumps to remove excess rainwater, and raised houses to avoid street flooding. ... A flood near Baton Rouge, 1867

Primitive levees began being built shortly after the city's founding in 1718, but they often breached. The Great Flood of 1927 submerged nearly one-third of Louisiana. Inadvertently, success in preventing river floods increased the risk of flooding from the Gulf of Mexico. The destruction of coastal wetlands allows storm-induced surges of gulf water to intrude farther upland.

Hurricane "Billion Dollar Betsy" hit in 1965.

News footage and videos from Hurricane Katrina, 2005

Some areas began to flood in the early morning of August 29. But where levees breached, water rushed in suddenly, rising several feet in just a few minutes. People barely had enough time to reach the attic. Once there, however, they faced extreme heat and a lack of food, water and medicine. Many people (especially the elderly) died from dehydration, heat stroke or heart attacks.

Fortunately, having learned from Hurricane Betsy, many people kept hatchets in the attic to chop their way out of the roof.

The main room was filled with numerous exhibits and tv screens

Timeline summary of Katrina:

Friday August 26
The tropical storm appears and becomes a Category 2 hurricane (with winds reaching 100 mph). Louisiana declares a state of emergency.

Saturday August 27
The storm becomes a Category 3 hurricane and voluntary evacuations begin.

Sunday August 28
The hurricane becomes a Category 5 with 150 mph winds. The mandatory evacuation of New Orleans begins, with the Superdome to serve as a shelter of last resort. By that evening, some 1.2 million people have evacuated while abut 100,000 remained in the city. Up to 12,000 people are crammed into the Superdome.

Hospitals immediately discharged as many patients as possible. When the storm hit, some 2,500 patients and 11,000 staff remained in 25 hospitals. Many were self-sufficient for several days. But as the water rose, generators began failing. Staff had to switch to hand-ventilators. Temperatures rose to over 100 degrees in the buildings. 147 patients died. The last of the hospitals were evacuated four days after the storm.

After the city flooded on August 29th, even more people began rushing into the Superdome, bringing the numbers up to 24,000 people. Buses began evacuations on September 1, but still more flood victims began showing up. Eventually the population reached 35,000. The breakdown of the plumbing systems combined with the loss of power caused extremely bad conditions, as people sat in stifling, humid, noxious darkness. The hurricane had also blown off a large section of the roof, leading to a fear that the entire building might collapse. By the time of the final evacuations, some people had been there for six days.

Several tv monitors scattered about played continous videos of stories told by survivors

The next room focused on science and engineering, especially on how levees worked.

The basic structure ... Numerous examples of failure

Damage from water overtopping, erosion from waves, levee instability due to water force, water seeping under levee, soil collapsing, impact of floating objects (even ships), damage from fallen trees, etc.

Unfortunately we thought the museum closed at 5 pm but it actually closed at 4 pm. So we only had about 20 minutes to run through all the exhibits. "Mardi Gras: It's Carnival Time in Louisiana"

Mardi Gras (meaning Fat Tuesday in French) is the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and prayer. It's the last day to eat rich foods. It is scheduled 47 days before Easter (which is the first Sunday after the full moon that follows the spring equinox) and can occur on any Tuesday from February 3 through March 9th.

Built upon a European foundation, Mardi Gras in Louisiana evolved into a multicultural celebration that includes African and Caribbean influences. It began as a day of simple acknowledgement in 1699, since people were more concerned with survival than partying.

By 1781, the Spanish colonial authorities forbade slaves and free black people from wearing masks or feathers, which the white population did for masquerade balls and simple street processions. This became an area of conflict and there was even talk of abolishing the holiday due to scandalous and rowdy behavior. By the 1850s, the day of play was becoming a symbol of anarchy.

Fortunately by the 1870s, New Orleans was attracting large numbers of visitors for the festivities. Parades consisted of elaborate floats and costumes. Since this brought money to the town, it began to promote Carnival as a tourist attraction.

The spectaculr costumes

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