The 9th Ward and Surrounding Areas

On Wednesday after our tour of the bayou we traveled into the city of New Orleans itself. Scattered among the rebuilding and recovery were homes, businesses, and whole areas that were either abandoned or for whatever reason still not rebuilt.

Here are pictures from the 9th Ward and surrounding areas. Specifically we visited what is called the Lower 9th Ward. Remember this storm occurred in 2005 and much of the damage and devastation is still in place. The houses that are empty have been empty since 2005 - more than three years. Some of the homes below are being rebuilt but it has taken a long time. In the 9th Ward notice how many homes are just missing with empty lots where homes used to beThe

The 9th Ward is known as the birthplace of Bounce music. I will give some YouTube examples latter.

What do those Xs Mean?
Homes were marked with an X by the search teams that entered them. Here is a link to a PDF file that explains the system: http://www.spcavolunteers.org/dart/26.pdf

On some of these pictures, you can click on them to enlarge, you will notice the X is still very visible.









This house had the lawn cut and was gutted. The process of being rehabilitated is underway.

Interior of the house. Someone has gutted it and cleaned up the material. The floor will be replaced as will the plumbing and electrical.

The same house. Another view of the interior.


This house has not been touched.

Notice the plant growth around this abandoned house.


A restored shotgun house in the 9th Ward that has been rebuilt. Beautifully done. A shotgun house is a house that is only one room wide and usually two - three rooms deep. That design was common for poor folks such sharecroppers and others. Where I live, here in Columbia Missouri, there is one shotgun house that I know of at the corner of Garth and Worley. That househas been sold to some people who want to preserve it.



More pictures from the 9th Ward. Notice the plant life and unattended lawns.

Another college group with their professors. They gutted this house two years ago. Now they are back helping with the final repairs as the family prepares to move back in. A success story but it took a long time.