Записки Самарского обывателя

I walked a few blocks up Tulane Avenue from the Medical District to the Orleans Parish Criminal Courthouse in Mid-City. Signs of Katrina were too evident to miss: water lines on several houses, abandoned homes, some of them gradually falling apart, windows and doors on many still boarded with plywood.

On some side streets in the same district. The first house probably burned after a new coat of paint barely attempted to cover the water line.

A house put on high support but looking rather dead. Only the birds made window carvings their nest and sing a song about a city gone underwater.

Even one house in my neighbourhood still retains the sign from inspection. This is probably left for history, or simply because owners don’t have money on paint.

And it all began in the Central Business District, where even a big shopping centre remains closed. The escalators stopped, the elevators’ doors are gone or broken, all merchandise removed, and garbage visible here and there. I came for a sale in Macy’s and to browse through Gap’s collection but was shocked to see it like that – closed and empty, after so many years, in the very centre, in a shopping mall, with stinking steps to the entrance.

Charity Hospital still stands abandoned, with metal fences around, removed signs. Windows were repaired, but some have cross paint on them. The government couldn’t decide on the fate of the 1938 building. But I hope it stands against all odds.

This city continues to be the one with sharp contrasts between richness and poverty, between restored and shabby, between reconstructed and abandoned. But it is a living city nonetheless.

All pictures are expandable (click on them).

Today (thanks to an ad in the Times-Picayune newspaper) I got to the official ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Roosevelt Hotel. All pictures are expandable (just click).

Все фотографии кликабельны.

The Roosevelt Hotel opened in 1893 as The Grunewald (Louis Grunewald was the owner). In 1908 the part facing University Place was opened (picture to the left). In 1923 the hotel was renamed The Roosevelt Hotel in the honour of the former US President Theodore Roosevelt. The Roosevelt was acquired by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts in 1965. Although officially renamed The Fairmont (at first the "Fairmont Roosevelt", later the "Fairmont New Orleans"), for decades the hotel continued to be called "The Roosevelt" by many locals. After Hurricane Katrina the hotel was closed for years. In 2007 the hotel was sold to Hilton Hotels and was restored to become The Roosevelt in the Waldorf-Astoria family of hotels. The hotel reopened to public on the 1sy of July 2009 but the official ribbon-cutting ceremony was held only today.

The ceremony was supposed to be held at the University Place entrance but due to the weather (it rained in the morning) everything was moved inside the long lobby that connects the University Place and the Baronne Street entrances. So the workers had to take away the red carpet while the honorary guests were seated inside, and any person could also enter the hotel and see the ceremony.

 Nobody stopped people, whether guests of the hotel or just curious visitors like me. No one stopped me from freely wandering inside and the first thing I was offered were a paper fan (in my pocket in the picture) and a cocktail (mimosa). This was expected but still quite unusual for a Russian kind of experience. No one forbade me from taking pictures (well, I didn’t try to get to the press row or anywhere close to the mini-stage).

University Place façade details:

Entering the hotel:

At the times when it was the Fairmont Hotel, the lobby floor was covered with carpeting. I once was here in August 2005, days before Katrina. When the restoration took place in 2007, carpeting was removed and the historical mosaics were found there. They are now once again open to public:

The floor of the famous Sazerac bar:

Other interior pictures. There are actually lots of eagles on the walls both inside and outside. Somehow, when seeing these on the lobby walls in the yellow light I felt a bit like in the 1930s Germany. But then it is simply one of the symbols of the United States, and only natural in a hotel named after one of the presidents.

An authentic mailbox and a sign with the special Braille characters for the blind:

And an authentic car. It is still in use:

Baronne Street façade details:

View from under the canopy at the Baronne Street entrance:

Welcome back to New Orleans, the Roosevelt!

Today I went to the Quarter and shot along Dauphine and Chartres streets. The following will be of particular interest to my Russian friends and readers, so I’ll continue in Russian.

Перемещено: http://samaralife.com/gorod-pobedivshiy-sebya/

There are some updates in my photoblog. “From the St. Charles Streetcar Window” series is enlarged with 10 new shots here.

One more picture – St. Charles Tavern.

All these pics were shot yesterday before my ferry ride.

Last night I took a ferry to Algiers on the West Bank, which is geographically speaking is to the south-south-east of the city. The ferry runs every day from 6 in the morning till midnight every 30 minutes; passengers ride for free, motorists for $1 each way. The ferry has an upper deck with seats and protective net, and a lower deck for cars. But most passengers, especially tourists, go down to the lower deck to enjoy the unobstructed view on the river and the city. The ferry departs from the foot of Canal Street (between Aquarium of the Americas and World Trade Centre).

All pictures are expandable by clicking your mouse. Все фотографии кликабельны.

Во вторник вечером я покатался на бесплатном (для пеших пассажиров) пароме через Миссисипи на так называемый Западный Берег (который, на самом деле, расположен к юго-востоку от Французского квартала). Паром работает с 6 утра до полуночи и отправляется каждые полчаса. Можно переправиться и на машине за $1 в каждую сторону. На верхней палубе есть сиденья, а по краям натянута металлическая сетка безопасности. Но большинство людей, особенно туристы, сразу же спускаются на нижнюю палубу, где перевозятся и автомобили. Отсюда можно свободно смотреть на реку и город.

Кстати, для самарцев хотелось бы отметить, что все те небоскрёбы и высотки, что есть на фотографиях, расположены не в историческом Французском квартале, а в (тоже историческом, но американском) Central Business District и вдоль Canal Street, которая неофициально разделяет эти две части (официально это делает следующая Iberville Street).

На сайте Полит.ру размещён материал под названием “Записки самарского обывателя”, подписанный неким Сергеем Хазовым. Обсуждение данного материала ведётся уже в блоге gregor_zamza и в сообществе samara_ru.

Самарский Обыватель® считает свои долгом заявить, что не имеет ни малейшего отношения к самарскому обывателю Сергею Хазову и его статье.

Перемещено: http://samaralife.com/gorod-pobedivshiy-sebya/

Today Mike and Larry took me out to Nottoway Plantation with the South’s largest existing plantation house. Built in 1857-1858 in the Italianate style by the architect Henry Howard it boasts 64 rooms (we were shown only a few), 22 columns, and 200 windows. It was saved from destruction in the Civil War by the former guest of the house. It now belongs to an Australian. There is a bed & breakfast in the parts of the house, you can have a meal in the restaurant or come for a guided tour.

After the Nottoway Plantation we went to the Grapevine Café for a delicious and plentiful lunch with (for me) house salad with ranch sauce, gumbo with rice and potato salad, hamburger steak with another potato salad and vegetables, and cheesecake with strawberries, all eased with water and iced tea.

All pictures below are clickable and will open bigger-sized in new windows/tabs.

On the way back the landing airplanes brought some rain and lightning with them while we were crossing the swamps and an edge of Lake Pontchartrain, but the rain was left behind as quickly as we got into it.

(All pictures can be opened in bigger-sized new windows by clicking on them. Все фотографии кликабельны.)

Today, on the last Saturday of a month, Arts Market of New Orleans is held in Palmer Park on Carrollton/Claiborne, some 5 blocks from our place. It is an event that draws local artists, photographers, craftsmen and craftswomen, as well as crowds of locals and guests who enjoy the art, the park, snowballs and food. Today I was among them.

I got quickly absorbed in browsing the photos of local photographers. The moment I saw the first photo stand I knew I’d spend some bucks there. It only proved more so with moving from one stand to another. I didn’t look for woodwork, paintings, prints, or other stuff – I was slowly moving from photographer to photographer.

First came Joshua Lee Nidenberg with his stunning photos of oaks in the foggy light, post-Katrina shots, cool doors, signs and other details of the city, as well as great pictures of swamps and their creatures. I bought a piece with pelicans and an amazingly kind alligator pic.

Then there was Remy with some traditional and some artistic photos, mostly of different places in New Orleans. We talked a lot about how black&white/sepia photos are befitting New Orleans’ architecture, how more than 10 megapixels per shot can kill a good shot with too much detail, how some people buy shots from photographers and then resell them in the Quarter to unaware tourists, and other things. I bought a great view of Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop in the Quarter (Remy is holding it, by the way; with a bigger version behind his back).

Later I saw some amazing HDR-shots and long-exposure masterpieces of Alan Zakem. He takes pictures with streetcar movement mixed with night lights of Canal in a very dynamic and vibrant way. I bought probably the best picture (you can see it here). But I also liked a day shot, that turned out to be a late evening picture looking like early morning one (link).

Finally, there was a stand of Lane Lefort with his peaceful and wonderful photos of birds, foggy waterways and the city. And it all came at a very affordable price (compared to all other photographers). So here I shelled out for a few framed pictures and a couple of ones in form of postcards with envelopes.

By the end of my visit I was sweating like a pig in the daytime heat. A snowball with ice-cream flavour helped me cool a bit but it was really the cooling of a moment. Still, that was also New Orleans tradition – snowballs. Technically speaking, snowballs are shaved ice with the syrup poured over until the ice all becomes soaked in the right colour and flavour. You are given a straw and a spoon to either eat it or drink it while it melts, or both, which I did. These are probably the best way to cool you down in NOLA’s heat for cheap (mine was $2, but they say, you can get snowballs for a dollar).

В четверг вечером я наконец-то выбрался в The Bourbon Pub. Народу было мало, я спокойно занял место у барной стойки и заказал тот коктейль, с которого всё здесь и начиналось четыре года назад – rum punch (с вишенкой и долькой лимона). Медленно потягивая оранжеватую жидкость из стаканчика, я смотрел по сторонам, на людей, и на телеэкраны, где шли музыкальные клипы в клубном стиле. Но из народу смотреть было практически не на кого, а в планах на вечер ещё было подкрепление, допив коктейль, я отправился в Verti Marte. Это заведение на Royal Street предлагает голодному заполнить желудок приготовленными прямо при владельце желудка po’boy sandwiches, разными салатами и прочей едой, несколькими видами десерта. Напитки, включая вино, можно приобрести здесь же. Выбираете и заказываете необходимое, ждёте минут пять, платите на кассе и уходите в поисках места для удовлетворения желудка.

Мой желудок был пустым. Это, кстати, позволило коктейлю быстрее всосаться в кровь, что, в свою очередь, имело стимулирующие психологические последствия – идя в Verti Marte, я улыбался без какого-либо внутреннего принуждения. Просто было радостно и хорошо на душе. Да-да, именно на душе, хотя борцы с алкоголем могут и накинуться на меня за такие слова.

А наполнять желудок я решил на Jackson Square, прямо под сенью St. Louis Cathedral. Присев на лавку, я открыл свёрток и обнаружил там французскую булку (такой батончик длиной сантиметров в 30), разрезанную пополам, между половинами которой расположились meat loaf (вкуснейший мясной фарш, отрезанный пластиной), дольки помидора, листья салата. Вся начинка была приправлена майонезом. Помидоры, салат и майонез – это базовая начинка po’boy sandwich. Заказывая такую основу, уточняют – dressed, то есть, с помидорами, салатом и майонезом. Огурчики и лук – по выбору дополнительно. Самая распространённая версия происхождения названия – от слов “poor boy”, ведь это самая простая и доступная еда в округе. Традиционные сэндвичи включают креветки и устрицы. Но я не любитель морской и речной пищи.

А потом я снова вернулся в the Pub, где попросил бармена какой-нибудь другой коктейль. Он спросил только, с каким напитком (водкой, ромом или джином) и доверяю ли я ему. А почему бы и не довериться? Правда, приготовленный коктейль оказался на удивление похож на всё тот же rum punch (и по цвету, и по вкусу, и по вишенке с лимоном). Ну, да ладно. Музыка на экранах была заводной (кстати, и кантри там тоже прокрутили три-четыре композиции, под которые народ оживился). Я уселся на высокий табурет возле стены, уставился в экраны (не забывая оглядывать и окружающих) и принялся вовсю дёргать ногой в такт музыке, иногда подпевая. Так прошло часа полтора. На тот вечер моя миссия была почти выполнена. Я успел сесть на трамвайчик и в 11 вечера уже был дома.

On Thursday evening I finally got to the Bourbon Pub. It was quite a slow night, so I sat at the bar and ordered a drink with which it all began for me there four years ago – rum punch. I was sipping the orange liquid, watching the few people and music videos. When I left I found out the psychologically medicinal influence of alcohol on an empty stomach – I was walking smiling and the smile was sincere. I was so happy.

I went to Verti Marte – a deli on Royal Street where you can order all sorts of po’boy sandwiches,  side dishes and desserts, as well as buy drinks and wine. Sandwiches are made at your presence and you get a hot packet, pay at the register and go in search of a place to enjoy the food.

I enjoyed mine on Jackson Square, right in front of the St. Louis Cathedral. On opening the package I found a foot-long Louisiana French bread cut in half with meat loaf, tomatoes, lettuce and mayo. So, my po’boy was “dressed”, or with the basic dressing of tomatoes, lettuce and mayo. Traditional versions come with fried shrimp and oysters, but I am not into seafood.

Later I returned to the Pub for another cocktail. I asked the bartender for something different. He only asked whether I’d like my drink with vodka, gin or rum and if I trusted him. Well, I trusted him and got something extremely similar to rum punch – the same colour, taste, cherry and lemon. Anyway, the next hour and a half I spent sitting there, sipping my cocktail, watching the music and people. The latter were expecially lively when the former was some country. I left, caught a streetcar and was at home at 11pm.

А в пятницу по пути в Wal-Mart снова фотографировал в the Lower Garden District.

On Friday I took some pictures in the Lower Garden District on my way to Wal-Mart.

Вот, например, жилой дом 1869 года постройки (1421 Josephine Street). Это редкий пример использования готических приёмов в жилом строительстве в Новом Орлеане: обратите внимание на стрельчатые арки под балконом и стрельчатые двери.

Here’s a house at 1421 Josephine Street built in 1869. It is a rare example of Gothic detailing in domestic architecture – pay attention to the arches in the lower gallery and doorway.

Или вот такие голубые ставни на окнах The Avenue Pub на St. Charles Avenue.

Blue shutters on The Avenue Pub on St. Charles Avenue.

Пятница выдалась солнечной и жаркой. Вот теперь я начинаю узнавать Новый Орлеан с его потом, стекающим с лица и не поддающимся вытиранию.

Friday was hot and sunny. Only now I start recognising typical summer New Orleans with sweat streaming down your face, impossible to wipe.

А ещё я познакомился с Табитой Бетюн. Она фотограф и уже пару раз замечала меня на улицах с фотоаппаратом. И вот теперь, как оказалось, я снимал рядом с её домом. Мы разговорились, а результатом стала небольшая уличная фотосессия семейства Бетюн – матери, дочки Оливии и ей отца (мужа Тэбби). Результат можно посмотреть в фотоблоге.

I also met Tabitha Bethune. She is a photographer and had seen me a couple of times in the streets with a camera. This time I happened to shoot around her house and she decided to talk to me. We chatted a bit and the result – pictures of Tabby, her husband and daughter Olivia can be found in my photoblog.