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February 2, 2004

Feature Photo: Mardi Gras Mambo...1890s Style

Let’s kick off the Feature Photo here on CanalStreetCar.com with an old shot. I wish I had this one for the book. This is Canal and Camp Streets from the late 1880s or early 1890s. Three bobtail mule cars are visible in the foreground. There’s a starter’s house on the right, in between the two cars on that side. The car on the left, No. 18, has “MAGAZINE ST.” painted on the side. There were two companies that ran streetcars on Magazine Street. The New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad Co. (the St. Charles Avenue people), and the Jefferson City Railroad Co. The JCRR operation ran from 1864 to 1881, so this car would belong to the NO&CRR if the photo dating is accurate. The NO&CRR opened their Magazine line in 1861 and it ran until 1948, when NOPSI replaced the streetcars with trolley coaches.

The parade going by is most likely Rex, since the other parades prior to the 1900s were night spectacles.

I purchased a print of this photo off of eBay, so I can’t speak to its origins. In fact, because of that I probably wouldn’t have included it in the book even if I would have had it before deadline. If anyone has more info on the photo itself, please let me know.

Posted by Edward J. Branley at February 2, 2004 5:03 PM

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