<GNOCDC> Dixon Neighborhood Snapshot

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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Although the information on this page is out-of-date, we are continuing to make it available, as it provides insight about this neighborhood pre-Katrina.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 As a result, you may find outdated information and broken links.

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Dixon Neighborhood Snapshot

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

In the sliver of land between the Pontchartrain Expressway and the large canal along Palmetto, at the base of the New Orleans Country Club, Dixon is one of the smallest neighborhoods in Orleans Parish, but it hosts a surprising number of programs serving the New Orleans community.

A bit about when Dixon was first developed

Dixon (North Hollygrove) neighborhood, like Hollygrove, was once part of the large McCarty Plantation. In 1833 the New Orleans Canal and Banking Company purchased this land and railroad lines were laid through it.


	Image courtesy New Orleans Public Library (nutrias.org). Permission for reuse required.
	1956 view from the Palmetto Street overpass looking to Airline Highway and the railroad tracks.[Alexander Allison Collection]

When the town of Carrollton, a “suburb” of New Orleans, was incorporated by an Act of the legislature in 1845, the area now known as Dixon was a part of it. But this part of Carrollton developed much later than the rest of Carrollton. The railroad tracks that bisect the neighborhood and the construction of the New Basin Canal along the present Pontchartrain Expressway discouraged residential development in the area.

The Dixon area finally began to be developed in the mid 1900s when many residences were built.

A tour of Dixon from Southeast to Northwest

A large number of small apartments are located along the southeast edge of Dixon (the boundary closest to the Carrollton Shopping Center). Moving northwest, the St. Theresa Little Flower of Jesus Church provides space to the New Orleans Charter Middle School and New Orleans Outreach. New Orleans Outreach provides opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to volunteer directly with public middle and elementary school children in Orleans Parish. The New Orleans Charter Middle School serves middle school students, providing instruction in basic skills as well as higher order skills. The Charter Middle School is adjacent to a large playground that it utilizes for a number of sports. This green space is also utilized by the Royal Castle Child Development Center, a licensed day care center located on the opposite end of the playground.

Dixon is then bisected by railroad tracks and Airline Highway. On the Metairie Country Club (northwest) side of these is a quiet residential area. In this half of Dixon, nestled among corner stores and small Baptist churches is the Mary McLeod Bethune elementary school and the New Orleans Job Corps Center. The Job Corps offers vocational training such as carpentry, culinary arts and welding as well as Advanced College Training, and School-to-Work programs.

Sources:

Louisiana Department of Education’s list of Charter Schools
www.doe.state.la.us/DOE/bese/charterlist.asp

New Orleans Outreach web site
www.nooutreach.org/

Louisiana Department of Social Services’ listing of licensed Child Care Centers
www.dss.state.la.us/departments/os/licensing/lic_details.asp?lic_number=4004

Listing of sites of Job Corp a program of the U.S. Department of Labor
www.jobcorps.org/reg4des.htm#r4dnewo

New Orleans Public School’s homepage for the Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School
www.nops.k12.la.us/SchoolWebs/schools.asp?school=Bethune

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 Dixon Snapshot

Last modified: October 5, 2002