Sometimes, the location of a place is hard to understand. New Orleans, like Venice, is built in a location that at first sight seems curious in the extreme. How could it be that these cities, built so precariously in the face of a watery threat, were to become among the greatest in the world? How could a site below sea level, in a swampy curve of the Mississippi River, become one of the most visited cities in the United States, and possess a unique kind of magic that separates it from other cities?
It seems that the challenge posed by the location, the opportunities created and the resilience of the inhabitants were decisive. By a strangely circuitous route, places that seem to have little promise are transformed because they create an opportunity at a particular time. This guide, richly photographed, endeavours to highlight these plights. New Orleans has been described by Lawrence N Powell, in his study of New Orleans as "The Accidental City". Accidental it certainly is, and as a result it has assumed a supremely organic character.
It really is about growth; growth against the odds. The city has a unique spirit born of its constant battle for survival, frequently handicapped by nature's capacity to destroy in the form of hurricanes. It twists and turns radially with the river, extending itself in accordance with prevailing needs, with developments responding directly to the demands of the ordinary people (and eventually the wealthy) who live and work in this sub-tropical location. In spirit and character, New Orleans appears to rise, in the face of apparently overwhelming odds, to become an irreplaceable work of the human imagination.
