What condition is the French Quarter in? And the Natchez?

[Cannikin]

I've been away from the news all day

[Kire]

1. it's going to be one helluva Mardi Gras this year

[LSparkle]

2. Big fire at Bourbon and Canal

They're saying it could burn down an entire block. (I thought I heard that was close to the French Quarter - never been to NO, so I'm not sure.)

[jobycom]

4. Canal is one edge of the French Quarters. Bourbon Street

is obviously one of the central streets. A lot of good restaurants and bars in that general area, from pubs to world class restaurants.

ANd a lot of sex shops.

Canal Street is one of the central streets through New Orleans, and divides the French Quarters from the rest of downtown. Very wide street. Plenty of old stores along both sides.

[sui generis]

3. I heard the Aquarium and Zoo were both okay earlier today

don't know how old that info was, but was dated today.

How's the garden district? A lot of history all over that city is being destroyed. Almost all of the original GD homes are on 6 - 8' pylons already, because it's flooded much before, but this is a real stinker this time.

[jobycom]

5. I heard that, too

Audoban Park is pretty high, if I recall. My parents always talked about riding their bikes down Monkey Hill as kids, back in the forties and fifties, I guess. So if there are hills, it's higher than most of New Orleans.

[barb162]

7. glad to hear the animals are okay; I was wondering

[jobycom]

6. The French Quarters are five feet above sea level

And Lake Ponchartrane is three feet above it, so the Quarters is not flooded.

The reason that part of town is so old is because it was built on high ground and survived the many floods of New Orleans' history. Once again, it may be the central remaining part of the city around which everything else is rebuilt. Also, the houses were built solid back then, so the wind has not done much to it. Now, if they can survive the fires, they should be okay.

I saw a video yesterday of one of the restaurants in the area bringing gourmet food to the survivors in the area, since the food would go bad soon anyway. The streets didn't look too bad. There were some collapsed brick facades, and some holes in walls, but many of the signs were still hanging over the sidewalks and I even saw some stone trash cans still in place.

[giant_robot]

8. Why don't you have a look on Google Earth?

I'd do it myself, but I'm a little underpowered in the computer and internet connection departments.

http://earth.google.com/

edited to add link.