Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Continue walking along Lakeshore Drive past several restaurants to your
left. Brisbi's and The Blue Crab opened in 2013, both as a dream by their
owners to bring waterfront dining back to the neighborhood. Landry's has
been around longer, its views of Lake Pontchartrain simply breathtaking.
As Lakeshore bends to the right, you'll see Louisiana's only working light-
house. In 2005, the lighthouse was severely damaged in Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita but the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation has since rebuilt and
transformed it into the New Canal Lighthouse Museum and Education
Center. The center offers programs on the history of the lighthouse, the eco-
logy of the Pontchartrain Basin, and the critical coastal issues facing South
Louisiana.
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Continue walk along Lakeshore Drive. To the right is the lakefront park,
which, with its playgrounds, picnic shelters, and picnic pavilions, is the ideal
place to spend a lazy weekend afternoon. Feel free to cross Lakeshore and
get a closer view of the lake. But be extra-cautious, because this is a busy
street.
One of the highlights of the walk—besides the lake itself—is the famed
Mardi Gras Fountain, between Canal Boulevard and Marconi Drive. Like
the Lighthouse, the fountain sustained severe damage in Katrina but is now
back to its original splendor. First built in 1960, the fountain is surrounded
by plaques depicting the crests of Carnival organizations and krewes, includ-
ing Rex, Bacchus, and Endymion.
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Continue walking on Lakeshore, cross the Orleans Avenue Canal, and turn
right on Marconi Drive. Walk down the steps on the left side of the street.
You are now in the Lake Vista subdivision, which, along with West and East
Lakeshore and Lake Terrace, makes up the lakefront's residential area. Lake
Vista is the most interesting of the three areas, its design based on the
Garden City movement under which all interior streets end in culs-de-sac
and separate pedestrian lanes meet at the center of the development.
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Walk eight blocks to Robert E. Lee Boulevard. Notice that the streets of Lake
Vista are named for birds, such as Hawk and Swan, and the lanes for
flowers, such as Azalea and Daisy. The neighborhood sustained substantial
damage in Katrina, and many homes were rebuilt higher and sturdier.
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At Robert E. Lee, turn right and continue walking over the Orleans Avenue
Canal toward Canal Boulevard. Cross Canal and walk back to your starting
point, just past Mount Carmel Academy, one of the city's oldest and most re-
