Baby Boomer Traveling: A Streetcar named Desire

Red, or green

Which do we choose???

As a visitor to the Big Easy, it becomes apparent very quickly that the streetcar is the easy way to travel. Items on our to do list during this visit were the Garden District and both the St. Louis #1 and Lafayette cemetery. So having planned those into our agenda we decided to take the streetcars to save time, money and effort. Or would that be aggravation.

Parking anywhere in the French Quarter, Garden District, Central Business District (CBD), or mid-town area is difficult to come by and expensive. Most city lots that we saw and our hotel confirmed this are day lots only. Your vehicle has to be moved at night. If the lot allows overnight parking, then your vehicle has to move during the day. So what this means is yes, you can drive out to the various places you would like to see but be aware that you probably won't be able to park anywhere near. And you will circle around quite a bit, before you do find a spot. So now that we've covered the money and time aspects. I believe you can without too much imagination figure out the effort/aggravation part. Just as an FYI, many of the hotels will tell you honestly on their website or when you call to make your reservations if they have parking available and how much it costs. We chose to use the hotel parking at a rate of $27.50 per day (standard size vehicle) and once our vehicle was parked we never moved it. Hence the reason for using the streetcars.

When visiting New Orleans, one of the things on most to do lists is just to ride the streetcar(s). There are three separate lines currently going into three different areas of the city from which you can choose. So sit back and relax, and we'll discover this part of the city together.

Let's start with the St. Charles or green line shall we. The green line (so named because of the olive green color of the cars) starts at Carondelet and Canal which is stop number 0 and it runs from there through the CBD, the Garden District, past both Loyola and Tulane Universities as well as the Audubon Zoological Gardens. Towards the end of the line the cars turn onto S. Carrollton and continue till they arrive at their final stop on Claiborne at Palmer Park.

The St. Charles streetcars are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as moving landmarks. It is the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world, having begun operations in 1835. All of the cars have been restored to their original circa 1920s beauty. The seats are wooden with brass fittings which allow the backs to be used for either front or rear facing passengers. The inside of the cars still have their bare electric light bulbs in the ceiling and as you ride, you will notice the rhythmic swaying of the cars as they ramble along.

Sounds wonderfully romantic and nostalgic doesn't it. However, first be aware that the operators do not call out stops so you must stay alert or you will miss your stop. This can be hard to do as we found out when you are unfamiliar with the city. Second our experience with the operators is that not only are stops not called out, but the operators are not extremely helpful or friendly. For that matter the ones we experienced were downright rude. Also on the green line, since these are historically restored cars if your visit is during the hotter parts of the year, you'll find all the windows down in the cars as there is no air conditioning. And for those with mobility issues, the cars are not handicap accessible. As for comfort, remember these are wooden seats without padding but keep in mind that you will not be on the cars for very long either. To go to the end of the line takes approximately 40 minutes.

Something to look for while riding the St. Charles is Lee Circle, which will be on your left. It is an unmarked (as far as I could see) small piece of land with a statue of Robert E. Lee in the middle of a beautifully landscaped green space. Next up will be the Garden District on your left. Your best bet for stopping there is Washington St. putting you in the middle of the district. Continuing on down the line, you will find Audubon Park and Zoo on your left. Along the right will be the universities of Tulane and Loyola, both of which are very beautiful campuses.

Hop aboard the Canal St. line known as the red line for stops that will take you through the Mid-city area. At the intersection of Canal St. and Carrollton the line splits off into two branches or spurs. The first one you can use to visit New Orleans historic cemeteries and the cars used for this spur will display the word "cemeteries" on the exterior signs. The second which turns north on Carrolton Ave. finishes at City park within walking distance of the New Orleans Museum of Art and Pitot House as well as other well known sites. Cars traveling along this branch display "city park/museum" on the outside signs for the cars.

Our experiences on this line were with the "cemeteries" cars. And we found that the stop for the cemeteries isn't really close to St. Louis #1 at all. Which meant we still had to walk several blocks to get there. However, these cars were handicap accessible and air conditioned. We didn't ride the "city park/museum" spur, so I can't comment on that it.

All aboard the Riverfront Line also a red line for a relaxing view of the beauty, charm and history of New Orleans as it glides it's way between the Mississippi river and the crescent city. At one end of the line is the French Market, the oldest public market in the country and at the other end of the line is the Ernest Morial Convention Center. Stops along the way allow visitors to glimpse Woldenburg Park, The Aquarium of the Americas, and Harrah's Casino to name just a few of the attractions. Again, this was a line that we didn't take because it is only about 2 miles in length and we felt that we could easily walk the areas that the line would have covered. However, we spoke with a group that was staying close to the Convention center area and they had taken the line to get to the French Quarter to save on the walking.

Streetcar fare is $1.25 per person, exact change.

$.25 for transfers (which is getting off and getting back on the same line)

There are also one day and multi-day passes that allow unlimited travel at a savings. If you plan to use the lines more than twice, look into purchasing a pass. Two rides per person is pretty close to the break even point. After that the pass saves you money.

Curious as to why I named this post A Streetcar named Desire? In 1947 Tennessee Williams penned “A Streetcar Named Desire,” effectively immortalizing the public transit line that, from the 1920s, served the French Quarter as well as the working class Marigny and Bywater neighborhoods, located downriver. Sadly, the last car to serve the Desire line rattled through town in 1948, a victim of transportation “progress.” It was replaced by diesel buses. Today the city is considering restoring that same line.

You will see these occasionally throughout town as some of the stops. Most of the stops were simply marked with small signs.

One of the red line cars taken while we were on another streetcar.

When we got off at the Washington St. stop, this is what greeted us.

This was across the street from the stop we used on St. Charles.

Store window near a stop we used that I thought would just make a good picture.

This was at one of the stops for the Canal St. car. We wanted to eat there, but there were only so many meals and way more restaurants than we could patronize.