Campaign of the Month: October 2017
Blood & Bourbon
Algiers
Algiers is located across the Mississippi River from the rest of New Orleans. The Algiers Point neighborhood, an affluent residential suburb, connects to the city by bridge and ferry. Outside of this enclave, Algiers is one of the most crime- and poverty-blighted neighborhoods in New Orleans. Homicide statistics mark the almost African-American neighborhood as having the highest death toll in all of any neighborhood in the United States, despite civil advancements making expansion in the neighborhood not only possible but profitable. Algiers’ housing styles vary wildly from nicer newer houses built under and around the Crescent Connection in Algiers Point, to still wind damaged shacks left behind from Hurricane Katrina. Algiers was one of the first neighborhoods to be repopulated afterwards thanks to being spared the flooding.
Algiers is one of the oldest wards in New Orleans and was originally settled in 1719 as an independent community. During the 18th and 19th centuries, it was the site of pens that held enslaved Africans who were rested, cleaned up, and ferried across the river to the French Quarter to be sold. New Orleans annexed Algiers in 1870. A great fire devastated Algiers Point in the 1895; Victorian style residential and small business architecture from the rebuilding period just after the fire still dominate Algiers Point. A few older buildings also survive.
From 1852, the railroad was the lifeblood of Algiers and brought jobs to many, employing up to 4,000 men at one time. The railroad would eventually close down in the 1970s and when combined with the oil bust in the 1980s, threw many men into unemployment. Algiers suffered. People moved away. Businesses closed and the once-charming homes fell into disrepair. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, home buyers realized that Algiers Point was New Orleans’ “best kept secret” with plenty of wonderful old buildings ready for renovation. Algiers Point is now a highly sought-after area to live, as it is close to the French Quarter “without all the madness that goes with it.” High walls were erected and a private security company was hired to keep out the poverty-blighted neighborhood’s residents.
Algiers has also become the epicenter of construction for New Orleans’ great tradition of Mardi Gras. Many krewes have their “dens”, their base of operations for float building in this coastal neighborhood, offering tours and workshops to tourists. Along with one of the oldest-running ferries in North America, connecting Algiers point to the foot of Canal Street.
Kindred Residents
Despite the district’s importance to New Orleans’ festivities, Kindred consider Algiers part of the Outlands and hold little interest in it. Vidal has never bothered to name a regent.
Julius Baudoin
Lineage: gen. and sire unknown, e. late 20th century
Status: Bourbon Sanctified ••, Caitiff -, Camarilla 0
The sole Kindred resident of Algiers, Julius has made his domain in the parish since the 1970s.
Locations
Algiers Courthouse
(225 Morgan St.)
One of the few attractive historic sites in Algiers, the Algiers Courthouse is seemingly caught in a perpetual loop of being nearly torn down, then saved and renovated by its own historical preservation society. It’s picked up slightly in recent years and been used as a site of yearly crayfish boils, community events, and weddings.
Black Star Books And Caffè
(800 Belleville St.)
Black Star Books And Caffè is a community-owned bookstore and café. They offer a wide selection of books, including new releases, used books, and rare and out-of-print books. They also have a full coffee bar with a variety of coffee drinks, pastries, and sandwiches. Occasional poetry slams are held in evenings.
Crown & Anchor
(200 Pelican Ave.)
The Crown & Anchor English Pub is a traditional English pub that offers a wide selection of beers, spirits, and cocktails, as well as a full menu of pub food. The atmosphere is mellow and inviting, with vintage décor, colorful regulars, and regular dart competitions. The pints are considered somewhat overpriced.
Federal City Inn and Suites
(740 Hebert St.)
The Federal City Inn and Suites is one of the only three hotels in all of Algiers, and despite the district’s rampant crime, it’s well-kept and well-secured. Many customers are military personnel visiting the surrounding Marine Corps Reserve and Marine 4th Division offices.
Mount Olivet Episcopal Church
(530 Pelican Ave.)
Algiers’ oldest structure, constructed in 1854, and one of the few to survive the Great Algiers Fire and two hurricanes. It is also the oldest church building in continuous use on the West Bank of New Orleans. The church building was deconsecrated and moved to its present location to serve as a parish hall in 1880. A new brick church structure was built in its place, but it was torn down in 1961 due to structural problems. The building, upon being re-consecrated, again became the parish church building.
New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy
(425 O’Bannon St.)
Uniformed Type 2 charter school where students are cadets in the Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Program. The military school’s “accept all” policy makes it a popular destination for the parents of troubled youths to send their children—and there are no shortage of those in Algiers.
Tout de Suite
(347 Verret St.)
Algerines claim this establishment is the “cutest little café in all of Orleans.” It serves French & Cajun-inspired fare for breakfast and lunch, as well as coffee, teas, and gluten-free baked goods.
by:
False_Epiphany