New Orleans Then and Now [Hardcover]

Richard Campanella (Author), Marina Campanella (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 31, 1999

Nearly 400 side-by-side photographs (many never before published) dating from 1847 to the present compare views as captured from the street, roof, and air in this visual exploration of the Crescent City.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

New Orleans is an increasingly popular travel destination: since 1998, ten new travel guides to the city have been published (e.g., Randolph Delehanty's Ultimate Guide to New Orleans, Chronicle, LJ 3/15/98). These two titles provide two unusual perspectives on this city and a wealth of information not normally found in travel guides. New Orleans Then and Now tells the history of New Orleans through 175 photographs, taken between 1847 and 1998 and arranged as sets of comparative "then" and "now" displays. Like these photographs, which are of excellent quality, the narrative accompanying them supplies careful detail, important for understanding the changes that have taken place over time. An excellent, clever featureAa small map in the lower right-hand side of odd-numbered pagesAindicates where each site is located in the city. Although not for the first-time tourist, this title will be handy for those interested in urban geography, development, history, architecture, and New Orleans. The Booklover's Guide to New Orleans is a literary guide containing a history, an annotated list of "Literary New Orleanians," a reading list, a literary calendar, a list of local bookstores and resources, and excerpts of writings about the city by various authors. Larson, the book editor of the New Orleans Times-Picayune since 1988, has compiled an exhaustive literary guide. Her love for both books and for New Orleans comes through in her writing. Recommended for large public and academic libraries.AJohn J. McCormick, New Hampshire State Lib., Concord
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap

Aerial photographs, maps, and satellite images present a larger context in which to place the photographs of the individual buildings. Arranged by neighborhood, the spectacular photographs of New Orleans Then and Now offer unparalleled proof of how much--and how little--the city has changed throughout the last century and a half. Authors Richard and Marina Campanella, husband and wife, began collecting old street scenes of New Orleans and rephotographing the sites as a hobby, one that quickly grew into the research for this, their first book. Mr. Campanella, a member of the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans, is currently assistant director of environmental analysis at the Center for Bioenvironmental Research at Tulane and Xavier Universities. He is also the author of Time and Place in New Orleans: Past Geographies in the Present Day, winner of the 2002 Joseph A. Arrigo Local Book of the Year, presented by the New Orleans Gulf-South Booksellers Association.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Pelican Publishing (July 31, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565543475
• ISBN-13: 978-1565543478
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 9.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #882,194 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For the those who love the Big Easy, this one is a must., August 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: New Orleans Then and Now (Hardcover)

The Campanella's did an incredible job of tracing the past of some of New Orlean's most well known, and sometimes notorious, landmarks. The way in which they try to exactly match the perspective of the new photography with that of the historic photo allows the reader to better visualize the changes. In some scenes, so much has changed it is like a game of Where's Waldo just find something that is recognizable from one era to the next. Great book!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific combination of visual history and nostalgia, July 22, 2002

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: New Orleans Then and Now (Hardcover)

It's always a bit startling to revisit someplace you haven't seen in a few decades, especially if it was a neighborhood you remember from your childhood. Nothing stands still, but some alterations can be especially dramatic. Many parts of downtown New Orleans in the 1920s and '30s hadn?t changed significantly in several generations, except for the addition of overhead wires. This lavish volume will bring you up to date, displaying before-and-after shots of many fondly remembered locations -- such as the intersection of Madison Street and Decatur in what used to be "Little Italy." A 1906 photo shows a decaying Creole townhouse which then housed a clothing store, and Madame Begue's famous restaurant across the narrow street. On the facing page, the 1996 view from exactly the same perspective shows the townhouse changed almost beyond recognition, but the 1830 building across the street, now the home of Tujague's Restaurant, which has been cleaned up and renovated (and is one of my favorites!), retains nearly all of its original design features. Other sites remind us of the days of parking your car on Canal Street's neutral ground, of the 1840s Greek Revival hidden behind the Sanlin Building's aluminum facade, of the gradual but continual decay of the De La Ronde plantation house in Chalmette. Other structures have disappeared entirely: The Poydras Market, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, and the entire 300 block of South Rampart Street, among many others, most of them replaced by freeways and modern motels. This would be a terrific book to send to that New Orleans-born relative who moved to California years ago.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars don't trust the stars, April 4, 2004

By 

thomas g linsley - See all my reviews

This review is from: New Orleans Then and Now (Hardcover)

this is a tremendous book, far better than the other by the same name. However,the seven previous reviews were all highly positive but when they were added no stars were indicated for five of the reviews. The result:two five star ratings and five no star ratings. Oviously a glitch. Read the other reviews. If you like New Orleans buy this book