History
As in most of New Orleans, the area along natural high ground of the riverfront was developed for urban use first. This is now part of Faubourg Marigny. Other than the narrow high ground of Gentilly Ridge, the majority of the area between Claiborne Avenue and the Lake was little developed until improved drainage was initiated at the start of the 20th century (see: Drainage in New Orleans).
In the 19th century, in the area from Gentilly Ridge to the lake, the People's Avenue Canal formerly stretched along the ward's back boundary, with the Lower Line Protection Levee in back of it, marking the city limit of New Orleans. This section of the canal has been filled in, but a raised railroad line built atop the old levee still gives a distinct dividing line from the neighborhoods of the 9th Ward on the other side.
On the upper edge of the Ward, the commercially important Pontchartrain Railroad ran for about 100 years, connecting the Riverfront with Milneburg on the Lakefront.
Neighborhoods in the 8th Ward include the Marigny Rectangle, St. Roch, Gentilly Terrace, Milneburg, Seabrook and Lake Oaks.
Read more about this topic: 8th Ward Of New Orleans
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—Jonathan Raban (b. 1942)