John Magill is a renowned New Orleans historian. In this podcast, the second of two parts, John continues exploring the little-known history of New Orleans' expansion as he discusses the city’s early suburbanization. Since 1969, when Hurricane Camille brought extensive flooding to the area, John has been fascinated by the role water has played in influencing how New Orleans has expanded. He explains that areas of the city that were previously underwater were able to be developed because of a new drainage system. Interestingly, however, John notes that as early as the 1920s, people who lived in the Lakeview neighborhood were already complaining about subsidence. As the city continued to grow, by the 1950s it began to expand into Eastern New Orleans. According to John, "By the late 1950s, Gentilly and Lakeview had filled in very dramatically; this was where you began to see movement outside of the city.” In the 1960s, people began moving to the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain and beyond. In this podcast, John shares many other fascinating tidbits about how and why New Orleans grew the way it did.
Listen to the podcast here.