<GNOCDC> Black Pearl Neighborhood Snapshot

Home Pre Katrina Home Orleans Parish Uptown/ Carrollton District Black Pearl Snapshot

This information is pre-Katrina.
Although the information on this page is out-of-date, we are continuing to make it available, as it provides insight about this neighborhood pre-Katrina.

Post-Katrina, we will not be making any changes or updates to this page. As a result, you may find outdated information and broken links.

For current data about New Orleans and its neighborhoods, visit our homepage.

Black Pearl Neighborhood Snapshot

Census 2000 Data Tables: People & Household Characteristics, Housing & Housing Costs, Income & Poverty, Transportation, Employment, Educational Attainment, Immigration & Language, Disabilities, Neighborhood Characteristics

Black Pearl, so named in 1974 by city planners, is a sort of microcosm of New Orleans. Driving through it, one notices that Black Pearl has some surprisingly varied and interesting architecture for such a small triangle of land. The recently developed Uptown Square area provides several new community assets to the neighborhood. In fact, people have recently begun to call this neighborhood Uptown Triangle.

One resident, Richard McCarthy, had this to say about life in Black Pearl:

“There is a lot of long term stability in the neighborhood. There are clearly defined boundaries so there are not many people roaming through the neighborhood. It's really quiet. Except for the boats and trains, which I really love hearing. I love being near the river. And it doesn't flood here. It's diverse. Definitely a microcosm of New Orleans.”

What kind of architecture can be found in Black Pearl?

Many large homes and apartment buildings line the St. Charles Ave. border of Black Pearl. Moving from St. Charles toward the river, one continues to see a number of large and elaborate structures, including one geodesic dome-shaped house.


	© GNO Community Data Center
	A quiet street in Black Pearl.

The streets closest to the river are classic New Orleans: shotgun houses interspersed with corner stores and churches. This part of Black Pearl has been fertile ground for New Orleans’ indigenous musical talent. Mahalia Jackson – who’s gospel singing introduced Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington D.C – used to sing at Mount Moriah Baptist Church on Millaudon St. in Black Pearl.

What are some of the community’s assets?

	© GNO Community Data Center
	George W. Carver Playground.

Every afternoon, neighborhood children can be seen enjoying the George W. Carver playground and community center located in Black Pearl. Dog owner and joggers frequent the new path along the top of the levee that borders Black Pearl. Uptown Square, located at the tip of Black Pearl, offers the Tulane Family Health Center and the Lambeth House retirement community.

The Crescent City Farmer’s Market at Uptown Square (every Tuesday from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm) offers residents soft shell crabs, mushrooms, pies, pasta, and the widest and freshest selection of seafood, fruits and vegetables direct from the food producer. The market has successfully attracted produce shoppers from around the city to Black Pearl and introduced them to surrounding businesses.

Crescent City Farmers’ Market
Spearheaded by a partnership of farmers, citizens, business and governmental leaders, chefs, and nutrition advocates, the Market is a not-for-profit project of the ECOnomics Institute, housed at Loyola University's Twomey Center for Peace through Justice.

	Image courtesy New Orleans Public Library (nutrias.org). Permission for reuse required.
	Bookbinding in process, September 1938.

1938 WPA Bookbinding project

In the late 1930s the Works Progress Administration (WPA) engaged in a statewide bookbinding project. They hired hundreds of people to clean and rebind thousands of books.

At Benjamin Banneker public school in Black Pearl (then the McDonogh High School #24) 144 African American workers hired by the WPA refurbished more than 25,000 books.

Black Pearl used to be part of Carrollton

At one time Black Pearl was part of Carrollton, a “suburb” of New Orleans established around 1835. The New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad, which ferried commuters from Carrollton to New Orleans, was a significant contributor to the rapid growth of the area. Carrollton was incorporated by an Act of the legislature in 1845, and had an independent city government.


	© GNO Community Data Center
	A bicyclist pedals down Garfield Street .

In 1853, the levee was built to protect Carrollton from the Mississippi River. In 1874, Carrollton was annexed to New Orleans and became the 7th District of New Orleans.

Black Pearl was sparsely populated until after New Orleans fell to Union troops early in the Civil War. Black Pearl historically was inhabited by both domestic workers and the affluent families for whom they worked.

Additional sources of information

1999 Land Use Plan
www.new-orleans.la.us/cnoweb/cpc/1999_lucontents.htm

Neighborhood Profiles Project Document prepared by the City of New Orleans Office of Policy Planning and the City Planning Commission. Published December 1980. Study available at the Williams Research Center (non-circulating collection).

Home Pre Katrina Home Orleans Parish Uptown/ Carrollton District Black Pearl Snapshot

Last modified: October 5, 2002