Bus Terminal Bathroom

Bus Terminal Bathroom
Patrolman Mancuso was ordered to stakeout the bus terminal bathroom on Canal St. This was punishment for not arresting anyone and for being generally inept.
In 1932, Greyhound Bus Lines opened a brand new bus terminal at 1520 Canal Street to great fanfare. That station was the one where Patrolman Mancuso encountered George and tried to arrest him. In 1957, Greyhound announced that they’d be building a much larger facility at Tulane and South Clairborne Aveneues.
Meanwhile, in 1954, The New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal (NOUPT) opened at 1001 Loyola Ave. It replaced several train terminals and consolidated rail travel very neatly. In the 1970’s, the NOUPT shortened two platforms so that Greyhound could use the facility as an intermodal station.
Today, the Greyhound Bus station looks like this…

3/10/09 Edit: Heres a link to a circa 1950's photo of the Greyhound Bus Station...

http://louisdl.louislibraries.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/CLF&CISOPTR=9607&CISOBOX=1&REC=2

St. Joseph Street

St. Joseph Street
While pushing his Paradise Vendors’ cart, Ignatius plays with a cat on St. Joseph St., and tries to stuff him into the bun compartment. Someone watches him and then complains to the Board of Health. Of course, the Board of Health contacts Mr. Clyde and he confronts Ignatius about it. Mr. Clyde is angry that Ignatius was on St. Joseph, because “that’s all warehouses and wharfs out there.”
St. Joseph Street probably doesn’t look that much different than it did in Ignatius’ time, but the businesses there probably do. There are still plenty of warehouses, in fact, its called the Warehouse District. Now, most of them are art galleries, and lofts.
Here are a few photos of St. Joseph St. from August 2008...

The buildings in the second and third photos sit right across the street from one another. The red brick building has been turned into apartments (or maybe condos), and the grey building looks like its still being used as a warehouse.
The fourth photo is of a business called The Foundry. They cater and host events, weddings, and business meeting.
The fifth photo shows the Dixie Mill Supply Company and it looks like they’ve turned the building into lofts.

Charity Hospital

Charity Hospital
In several places, Mrs. Reilly talks about sending Ignatius to Charity Hospital’s psych ward. I never made it over to Charity to get photos, but here are a couple I pulled off the internet…

The first photo shows the hospital’s main entrance.
The second photo shows the Charity complex, circa 1960.
The hospital was very badly damaged during Hurricane Katrina, mainly by flooding. The damage was so extensive that there are no plans to renovate. The hospital will be demolished and a brand new facility will be built to replace it.

Eads Plaza

Eads Plaza
While pushing a Paradise Vendors’ hot dog cart, Ignatius wastes most of one morning here. If you go to New Orleans looking for Eads Plaza, you won’t find it. That’s because the name of the plaza has been changed to Spanish Plaza.
Let’s go back to the beginning…James Buchanan Eads was a self-taught engineer who improved the navigability of the Mississippi River by building jetties in the New Orleans section of the river. You see, silt had built up on the river bottom, making it hard to get in and out of the New Orleans ports. What was once the number two port in the country had slipped to number eleven.
The jetties were a bit controversial because they would narrow the river somewhat. Eads thought that the river’s flow would speed up in the narrower section and wash the silt away. Others thought he was wrong and New Orleans would end up with an even bigger problem than they already had.
Eventually, Eads won over enough of his critics to get the project started. Work on Eads’ jetties began in 1875 and within four years, New Orleans once again became an important port.
Eads Plaza was built at the end of Canal Street, adjacent to the River in order to honor him.
In the 1960’s, Spain wanted to give a gift to the city of New Orleans that would signify their common history. Eads Plaza was redesigned and reworked to honor that vision. In 1976, Spain dedicated the Spanish Plaza to the people of New Orleans. As it stands now, the plaza’s focal point is a fountain, which is surrounded by mosaics representing the seals of the different Spanish provinces.
Here are a couple of photos of the plaza and one of the plaque commemorating the plaza itself…

Spanish Plaza sits at the foot of the New Orleans World Trade Center, which opened in 1965. Here’s a photo of it…

Pirates Alley

Pirates Alley
While working for Paradise Vendors, Ignatius wandered over to the St. Louis Cathedral where he knew a ladies’ art guild would be hosting a hanging of art on the wrought iron fence at Pirates Alley.

There are a lot of legends about Pirate’s Alley and about its name. Most of them are probably not true but they’re romantic and fun and add to the city’s mystery. One of the rumors says that pirates used to hang out there, recruiting new crew members and plotting their next adventure. Another says that Andrew Jackson met there with the pirate Jean Lafitte to plan their defense of the city during the War of 1815 and the Battle of New Orleans.
Either way, the alley is also famous because William Faulkner lived there for about a year in 1925. While living there, he wrote his first novel, “Soldier’s Pay.” His apartment was on the first floor and today, the entire floor has been converted to a book store.
Pirate’s Alley runs along St. Louis Cathedral from Royal Street to Chartres and Jackson Square.
Here are a few photos of the iron fence surrounding St. Louis Cathedral. The first two show the rear of the Cathedral and the third shows the view looking from Royal Street to Jackson Square. There’s a lot of room for the ladies’ art guild to hang their artwork…

St. Louis Cathedral was built in 1794 and then expanded with a central clock and bell tower in 1819. During a major renovation in 1849, most of the structure was demolished and the vast majority of the building actually dates from 1850.

Preparing for his day of work, Ignatius had decorated his hot dog cart and he “taped a sheet of Big Chief paper on which he had printed in crayon: TWELVE INCHES (12) OF PARADISE.” The ladies of the art guild did not appreciate the double entendre, nor did they appreciate Ignatius’ presence and critique of their art.
After a short argument, Ignatius moved on down Pirate’s Alley and sat on the cathedral’s side steps to rest his feet.
Here’s a photo of the side steps, and I’m assuming that the fence with the gate wasn’t there to prevent Ignatius’ much-needed and much-earned rest…

While sitting on the side steps, Ignatius has a little tiff with Dorian Greene. During their conversation, Ignatius decides to recruit Dorian and his friends to join his revolutionary group, which he hastily organized to spite Myrna Minkoff.

Dorian's House

Dorian Greene’s House
Ignatius talked Dorian into hosting a party to kick off his subversive political movement. Dorian didn’t really need much motivation to host a party and he happily invited all his sodomite friends.
Dorian tells Ignatius that his apartment is “on St. Peter Street, the yellow stucco building just off Royal.”
When Ignatius arrived he noted that the building had three stories and two dormer windows in the roof. The building also had a gate that covered a carriageway.
Here are a couple of photos of 831 St. Peter St., which is between Royal St. and Bourbon St. This is probably the best candidate for Dorian Greene’s house, although the dormer windows are not present in the roof…

St. Louis Cathedral -- Cabildo -- Arcade

St. Louis Cathedral
George spent some time here, hiding out during the day with the package he’s carrying for Lana. I talked about the cathedral in the Pirate’s Alley section, but here’s the photo again…



Cabildo
George spotted Patrolman Mancuso and hid behind an arch in front of the Cabildo. The original Cabildo building was destroyed in a fire in 1788 and was rebuilt in 1795. It was the seat of the Spanish colonial government. The Cabildo has seen many historic events, such as the transfer of the Louisiana Purchase. After the Civil War, it was the home of the Louisiana Supreme Court from 1868 to 1910. It’s been a museum since 1911.
Here’s a photo of the Cibaldo…




Arcade
After spotting Patrolman Mancuso, George dashes down the arcade which leads to St. Peter St. Here it is…

When I took this photo in August 2008, you can see that there was considerable construction activity. This little arcade runs between Pirate’s Alley and St. Peter St.