re: How Powerful was Carlos Marcello?

Doesn't necessarily speak to "power" but of particular interest to me are stories I've always heard (from individuals I fully believe) of his "well-dressed" men convening with associates or contacts down Golden Meadow and Grand Isle way. It would've been 70s timeframe, and no there is nothing more specific beyond that I've heard. But it provides for a lot of fodder for one's imagination.

I think that is a direct connection. Care to elaborate? Where is or was Gino's?

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I like the "well dressed" comment. That jives with the guy who tells me he worked for him. Said all of the people who worked for him we're expected to be well dressed.

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So no track suits? frickit, I'm out.

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I recall reading in the '90s that NO upper crusters were having trouble finding enough girls to fill out their debutante balls

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But of course. Ainsley ran off to Dartmouth and turned into a lesbian. Schuyler is shacked up with her drug dealer boyfriend. Meanwhile Leighton, who has more money than all of them combined doesn't qualify because her great grandfather was a streetcar conductor.

On Bennington off College Dr.

Gino's

Great food and even better wine list.

I saw some large track suits running a poker game in Morgan City once maybe 10 or so years ago, but I didn't have a chance to make their acquaintance and discuss local history.

The biggest reason Nola fell behind Houston, Atlanta, etc.. is because we’ve never produced a president of the United States. Houston comeuppance was due to LBJ and then the Bush’s. Atlanta prospered from jimmy carter. This is the truth for most successful cities and it last for a while. If Louisiana ever had a president, Nola would prosper. There’s TONS of monies set up for decades through that office. As I see it there’s only 3 uniquely wonderful cities in the USA NYC, San Francisco and New Orleans. Everywhere else is Cleveland.

How did no one mention Mosca's as a favorite hangout? Can someone post their chicken a la grand recipe please?

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Can you elaborate further?

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The Mississippi River Basin overlays the largest contiguous block of arable land in the world with by far the largest amount of navigable water in the world. This makes whoever controls all the trade very important/wealthy. Prior to the advent of canals and railroads the ONLY way for all of those produced goods to reach market would have been through the mouth of the Mississippi.

This means that the southernmost major population center on the river would hold the keys to the gatehouse for everyone wanting to get into or out of the continent. In an ideal scenario that place really should have been Baton Rouge, but New Orleans is what was chosen.

Prior to industrialization wealth and influence were determined by ability to feed and grow your population (ie the more people you could sustain the wealthier you would be). New Orleans was sitting in the cat-bird seat for pre-industrial ilprominence.

NYC only became what it was after the Erie Canal linked it with the Great Lakes and its production. Chicago also only rose to prominence after the construction of its I&M and CSS canals linked it to the upper Mississippi waterways.

It’s hard to really overstate how important this location truly was prior to industrialization. Given enough time it should have been the natural concentrating point for capital and thus finance in most of the continent. The only comparisons that spring to mind are Buenos Aires, Alexandria, and Shanghai.