Jess's Travel Blog: Cabildo and Presbytere

You can't say New Orleans without the thought of hurricane Katrina. Located in the French Quarter is the Presbytere. The Presbytere gave a history of hurricanes that had hit New Orleans and the structures that were built to protect the city. The Presbytere provided a lot of information about the hurricane that destroyed the city. After reading about the history of hurricanes and measures put in place to protect New Orleans from devestation, we turned the around the corner to the a timeline of hurricane Katrina. The timeline showed the story of evacuation. The main interstate heading into New Orleans was shut down and used for motorists to exit because of the traffic back up. Those who did not have the means to exit the city piled into the Superdome. At 0900 on August 29th the eye of the hurricane was resting over the city. Part of the Superdome roof had been ripped away by the wind. Mass panic had raced through the thousands of civilians who were taking shelter there due to the worry of the dome collapsing. The same day the water busted the levees and started taking over the city. We listened to heartwretching stories of families running to their attics only being able to grab a loaf of bread that was floating by. People had to cut holes into their roofs or climb out of windows with the hopes of being rescued. One of the most infuriating things about this horrible tragedy is many professionals had warned the city officials about the weaknessss of the levees and how easily they could be breached. Another angering aspect of the situation was the lack of state and federal support the city received during the rescue efforts. Employees of the nature services were mentioned to be the only agency that was resucing people and they did that without direction. In this time of despair there were stories that helped one regain their faith in humanity. Healthcare professionals worked endlessly to care for their patients. Once the generators stopped working, either due to fuel running out or malfunction due to water damage, nurses took turns manually venting their ill patients. At one facility, staff along with their patients, made banners out of bed linens to hang outside so people knew they were still there. Though I feel that the disaster wasn't handled properly by officials, both on the state and federal level, the heroic acts of other individuals prevailed. The citizens of the city vowed to make sure the city rebuilt and prevailed after hurricane Katrina. Thousands of volunteers throughout the United States went to New Orleans to volunteer. It's was hard to read the stories of those who were left behind. The museum left me feeling angry and heartbroken.

The timeline

More of the timeline and pictures of people lining up to get into the Superdome.

A statement from a writer Chicago Tribune

A man who had an apartment in government housing wrote about the days post Katrina

More of the wall

The process of marking housing post Katrina

Information about the fear and chaos that erupted

Banner made by patients and nursing staff

An explanation of the malfunctions

Garage door post Katrina

A picture of some damage

After we visited the Presbytere we had a break before going to Cabildo. For me the most interesting part was the information about the Battle of New Orleans. I liked this part of the museum for a couple different reasons. First, it was interesting to read about the influence of Andrew Jackson. I also enjoy the song so I wanted to read about the battle a little more closely. The small group I was walking with enjoyed the photo-op opportunity that was set up. My absolute favorite part of Cabildo was the largest painting I have ever seen. The painting was of the battle but we were not allowed to take pictures. Reading about the war was very interesting. It really proved what I had already assumed, that people of New Orleans stand behind each other and their beliefs.