History Of The Gentilly Neighborhood

1048 Words3 Pages

Lexi S. Nelson
Miss Zilich
English lll- Rough Draft
10 April 2014

“The Gentilly Neighborhood”

While there are many neighborhoods in New Orleans, Gentilly is a large historical community. It is home to three universities. Dillard University, Southern University at New Orleans, and the University of New Orleans are located throughout the area (The Gentilly Neighborhood 1). Gentilly is a peaceful community which includes parks, historical neighborhoods, and golf courses (The Gentilly Neighborhood 1).
The Gentilly neighborhood began in the 1900s (Gentilly 1). The developers of the neighborhood were Michael Baccich, Edward E. Lafaye, and R.E. Edgar deMontluzin. They started planning out the neighborhood in 1909. Building drainage pumps was their first step of creating a neighborhood. Most of the homes are made up of craftsman bungalows, tudor cottages, and Mediterranean style homes (The Gentilly Neighborhood 1). Gentilly was built by piling up earth in shallow sections (Gentilly 1). The neighborhood itself sits on some of the highest land feet above sea level.
The name of the neighborhood “Gentilly” comes from a town in France named Chantilly. It means “in a gentle or noble manner” (Nugesser 1). Throughout the community you’ll see universities, parks, and food restaurants. Two historic neighborhoods are Holy Cross and Gentilly Terrace (The Gentilly Neighborhood 1). Dillard University came from the merge of New Orleans University and Straight College which occurred in 1935. Dillard University is named after James Hardy Dillard; he was appreciated for his work of educating African Americans (A Brief History of Dillard 1). Southern University at New Orleans opened its doors on September 21, 1959 ( The Beginning 1). University of N...

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...h as men and boys used to hang out around the store and crime was nonstop. It wasn’t safe for kids to play at the playground due to the crime (Dall 1). There was a lot of littering, loitering, and heavy alcohol drinking going on around the store (Dall 1). After the store was torn down neighbors were happy because there was less problems. (Dall1).They no longer had to worry about the litter, crime, and guys hanging around. The children could play at the playground again. Everyone thought that development was a success.
Every neighborhood has both positive and negative situations. It is whom every choice to decide on where to live. Gentilly is a family neighborhood. Memories have been built here for centuries. It is one of the most historical places. It wouldn’t get any better than to live in a neighborhood that has great food, universities, and has tons of history.

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