Just read a great book about the West Bank (NOLA)

Before somebody says “book board,” I have a wider comment. Richard Campanella is a geography professor at Tulane who has become THE authoritative geographical historian of New Orleans. I have read 3 or 4 of his books. I just read “The West Bank of Greater New Orleans.” It is a compelling read.

I never knew what an economic powerhouse the westbank was 100 years before there was a bridge across the river. It was where the railroad connected NO to everything west of the Mississippi. It had foundries and ship yards. The dry dock was invented on the westbank. I never knew that places like Algiers Point and Gretna and Marrero and Westwego are where they are because that’s where the ferries docked. There was a ferry from the foot of Walnut Street to present day Marrero for almost a century. Lots of discussion about the west bank’s connection to the Barataria, Jean Lafitte, the seafood industry, and how the 1893 hurricane basically emptied the coast of its people and sent most of them to the westbank.

And he is very respectful of the people of the wank. He talks about about how they have been looked down on by east bankers forever.

Highly recommend. I’m not from here, but I guess I’m westbank proud, brah.