New Orleans City Guide, 1938

by Work Projects Administration, Lawrence N. Powell (Introduction)

In 1938, under the direction of novelist and historian Lyle Saxon, The Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration produced this delightfully detailed portrait of New Orleans. Containing recipes, photographs and folklore, it is consistently hailed as one of the best books produced about the city. Remarkably, many of the sites and attractions the WPA chronicled in 1938 are still around today.

Genres: History

430 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2011

Reviews

[NOLaBookish aka blue-collared mind · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Garrett County Press for re-releasing this! I have lent my original copy out way too much and am actually without it right now. When I heard this was being released, I went and bought it that day.

I am a big fan of this series and have 5 or so originals, found after hours, weeks of bookstore searching here and elsewhere. I also collect any source materials or reference on what I consider the heyday for encouraging local writing and collective history work. The Guide series allowed local people to be paid for writing short pieces on their own place, and more importantly I think, to speak about current social conditions for the first time in "travel" type books.

Some of the information is not found anywhere else and if you really want to understand your Crescent City, buy this. Buy it also because this publisher is to be thanked for this and many other great work brought forth by these guys.

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lyle Saxon at his little less racist than Gumbo Ya-Ya New Orleans infatuation. This is a fun book for people to read if they live in New Orleans and can orient themselves in the neighborhoods the writers mention. As I read the book I wrote down names, barrooms, addresses I wanted to go back to research later and spent hours charmed by fun facts about New Orleans that were only mentioned in the book.

I may take one of the driving tours.

[Sean Bradford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great blast from the past, enjoyed seeing how much has not changed, and now have more landmarks I have not visited added to my too visit list. We could really use another Federal Works Program for artists here in 2020. This book is just one of the fruits of that program initiated after the Great Depression to put writers and artists to work

[Elizabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Uncle gifted me a first edition copy of this old but goodie...If you love New Orleans, you must read this. Filled with history, flavor, and shock at the times...some have changed, some have not...but you will garner so much from this one volume!

[Rabizoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was very interesting - especially the wording from that era and the little historical facts you pick up along the way. Confess didn't read everything, but parts that caught my eye were fascinating - like the dances/balls and the racial differences that have always been.