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Norman C. Francis Parkway is a parkway located in New Orleans, Louisiana. The parkway was originally developed and finished in 1910 and still exists to this day. It runs southwest to northeast between Rendon Street and Clark Street. Eventually, the parkway turns into Moss street while Dumaine street runs perpendicular at the northeast end. At the southeast end, the parkway turns into Octavia Street and Walmsley Avenue is perpendicular to the southeast end of the street. Many popular landmarks run along this parkway such as Xavier University of New Orleans, Bayou St. John, and Comiskey Park. The parkway was recently renamed from Jefferson Davis Parkway, or more commonly known as Jeff Davis Parkway, to Norman C. Francis Parkway.

A man on a bike takes a photo of the new street sign for Norman C. Francis Parkway
Norman C. Francis Parkway
Former name(s)Jefferson Davis Parkway
NamesakeNorman C. Francis
Maintained byCity of New Orleans Department of Public Works
Length2.1 mi (3.4 km)
LocationNew Orleans
Southwest endWalmsley Avenue
Northeast endDumaine Street

Location

The street is located southwest of the head of Bayou St. in Gert Town all the way to the Carondelet Canel. Norman C. Francis Parkway is located in the southern portion of New Orleans.[1] It runs southwest to northeast.

Landmarks

Norman C. Francis Parkway has multiple landmarks along the length of its street. Xavier University of Louisiana is one of those landmarks. Xavier University of Louisiana is a historically black college/university (HBCU) that was founded on October 6, 1925, by Saint Katherine Drexel.[2] Another landmark located on the parkway is Bayou St. John. Bayou St. John is a bayou that at one time was four miles long and now serves as an aisle between four prominent neighborhoods.[3] Comiskey Park is also located on the Parkway.

Origin of the name

Norman C Francis Parkway was renamed in January 2021.[4] Before this, the street was named Jefferson Davis parkway, or more commonly known as Jeff Davis Parkway. From 1861 to 1865 Jefferson Davis was the president of the confederate states. There was a lot of controversy surrounding this matter within the community due to an HBCU, Xavier University of Louisiana, being located on the parkway.[4] During the summer of 2020, the Black Lives Matter Movement was growing growing and receiving large amounts of awareness at a fast rate and the renaming of confederate monuments and streets was one of the many issues the movement addressed.[4]

Norman C. Francis

Xavier University of Louisiana which is located on the southern end of Norman C. Francis Parkway

Norman C. Francis was the president of the Xavier University of Louisiana from 1968 until 2015. Xavier University of Louisiana is a Historically Black College/University located on the southern portion of the street[2]. Norman C. Francis was the first black president of the university and was an activist that advocated for the black community.[5] After Hurricane Katrina & Rita, he was named a chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. He was an advocate for change in the university and assisted the students while amplifying their voices while he was president.[5] He earned many awards and honors and was one of the many reasons why the university gained attention at a national level. He attended college at Loyola University New Orleans, and he is the first African American student to attend their institution.[5] His accomplishments and his influence in New Orleans are why the city made the decision to honor him with the street name in the January of 2021.[6]

History

The parkway that was proposed in 1904 was originally proposed as a speedway instead of a parkway[7]. It was supposed to be what connected the two major parks in the city at the time. Both parks still exist to this day. There was a portion of the parkway that was going to be named after John Hagan, who was an influential merchant in New Orleans[7]. He was a land speculator who had lots of funds. He also was an important developer for the city of New Orleans. They asked for funds for this new speedway not from the city of New Orleans, but from the property owners in the area.[7] But in 1910, 6 years after the first proposal is when the park of that avenue was named Jefferson Davis parkway. There was a statue on the corner of canal street and Jeff Davis parkway honoring the dead confederate president.[7] This was not the first choice for the location of the monument. In 2017, there were two other monuments as well that were removed due to the background and demand for change in New Orleans.[7]

References

  1. ^ Matteson, Steve. "City of New Orleans" (PDF). City of New Orleans. Retrieved 2021-03-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ a b "Xavier University of Louisiana". www.xula.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  3. ^ "Bayou St. John | The Cultural Landscape Foundation". tclf.org. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  4. ^ a b c LANDRIEU, LATOYA CANTRELL, MITCH LANDRIEU, MARC MORIAL, SIDNEY BARTHELEMY and MOON. "Rename Jeff Davis Parkway for Dr. Norman Francis, New Orleans mayors say in powerful editorial". The Advocate. Retrieved 2021-03-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ a b c "Norman Francis's Biography". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  6. ^ "City of New Orleans Honors Dr. Norman C. Francis in Street Renaming". https. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  7. ^ a b c d e Hermad, Ned (2017). "Evolution of the Parkway" (PDF). New Orleans Bar Association. Retrieved 03/15/2021. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)


See also

Category:New Orleans Category:Streets in New Orleans Category:Neighborhoods in New Orleans

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