Desire Through Time

History

The Desire Neighborhood was originally a Cypress swamp, drained in the early 1900’s. In the 1920’s the land started developing into residential areas. Makeshift homes were constructed by low income white families along Peoples Avenue and St. Ferdinand street. Even then homes were scarce, with possibly over 500 residents (Office of Policy Planning, 1978), especially as the Mobile, New Orleans, and Texas railroads were built. During this time, the Colored Industrial home and School Association would become one of the major property owners of this area.

Before the neighborhood was a neighborhood, the city opened a dumping site in 1909. The site became the Agriculture street landfill, named for its location. The landfill would be active until the 50’s, then reopened after Hurricane Betsy so that the city could dump debris. The landfill would be designated a Superfund site in 1994, meaning a place polluted with toxic materials, it would also be home to Gordon Plaza residents starting in the 70’s.

After WWII, the Desire area would become a predominantly black neighborhood. Influenced by the G.I Bill, many families would be able to purchase homes advertised for Black Veterans. Many of these homes did not have sewerage, but the residents were a close knit community with schools, churches, and businesses. In 1948, The Club Desire would open its doors on Mardi Gras day. The club, owned by Charley Armstead, was pivotal to the Desire community. The building could hold up to 1,000 people, and hosted musicians such as Fats Domino, Ray Charles, and Dave Bartholomew’s Orchestra. The Club Desire was a place for the neighborhood to dress up and hear music, when most other clubs would not serve to Black Americans. Eventually, the club closed, and Hurricane Katrina damaged the building enough that it could not be used. Pictures and documentation of the club can be found at The Historic New Orleans Collective. 

Overall, the Desire neighborhood is rich with history. Even though it is isolated from the rest of the city, it does not deserve to be forgotten.

Desire Housing Project

The Desire housing project, opened in 1956, was home to up to 13,000 people with 1860 units to live in. Like other projects in New Orleans, it was home to low income Black Americans. While the Project had its share of problems, this was again a resilient community who cherished each other. The buildings were made of wood and brick veneer, which was originally to save money. This would be one of the larger issues within the project, because as soon as it was opened, there were issues with the buildings. HANO, the Housing Authority of New Orleans would refuse to fix issues, and refuse to center the residents. The lack of transportation was another issue the Desire residents had to face. Desire is bounded by train tracks on two sides, as well as the Industrial Canal on another. There was only one bus line that came to Desire, and that was obviously not enough. In 1965, Hurricane Betsy strolled in and inundated the apartments with 6 ft. of water. Many residents were able to move back, especially those in the upper apartments, but the buildings would not recover. In 1970, a shootout occurred between the New Orleans Police Department and the Black Panther Party. At first the police came to confront the Panthers for an assault that happened near headquarters the night before, resulting in a shootout where the police shot at least 30,000 rounds. None of the members or children inside the building were injured. Less than a month later, police tried to evict the members, but Desire residents barricaded the apartment the Panthers were in, and the police had no choice but to leave. The police then came Thanksgiving morning, disguised with a priest and barged in, arresting the party inside, they were eventually found not guilty of all charges. The black panthers were an integral part of the Desire community in the late 60’s and early 70’s. They ran free breakfast programs, taught classes, and all together organized the community. Even with differences, they worked with Johnny Jackson Junior when he ran the Community Center to provide for the Neighborhood. Starting in the 90’s, the projects began to get torn down. By 2001, the history of the desired projects would be left in pictures, and in memories.

Gordon Plaza

Sitting atop a superfund landfill is a neighborhood, the Agriculture Street Landfill, to be precise. Houses were built here in the 1970’s, advertised to low income, and especially black families, as a way to be able to purchase their own home. Residents were not made aware of the toxic landfill beneath them, as it was closed two decades before families moved in, also because no one wants to live on a landfill. A few years after the neighborhood opened, residents noticed signs of lead poisoning in their children who attended Moton Elementary, as well as cancer, respiratory disease, and the deaths of some residents. The Federal State found over 140 known toxins, many of which were carcinogens, in the soil and water surrounding residents. Moton Elementary was closed, and the landfill was deemed a Superfund site by the EPA in 1994. They began remediation in 1997. The most they ever did was cover the soil with geotextile barriers and a few feet of sand and dirt. Only 10 percent of the area was ever remediated, excluding many homes. Hurricane Katrina also uplifted many of the protections put in place, and carried many of the toxins in the floodwaters. 

This would all lead up to what has now been a three decade long lawsuit against the city, formed by the Concerned Citizens of Agriculture Street Landfill. Millions of dollars have been awarded, but very little of that has been given to residents, who are fighting for the total relocation of Gordon Plaza residents. This movement has been led by Black Women, who have shown incredible resilience, and continue to fight for relocation today. 

Gordon Plaza 

Petition to relocate Gordon Plaza