THE NEW BASIN CANAL
Many people who live in Jefferson Parish and areas west of New Orleans must access Downtown (and the Irish Channel) by driving along what is known as the Pontchartrain Expressway. Elders know full well that the expressway from Pontchartrain Blvd all the way to the Union Passenger Terminal at Loyola Avenue is actually the route of what was known as The New Basin Canal. Also known as the New Orleans Canal or the New Canal, The New Basin was a shipping canal that allowed barges access to the center of the city from Lake Pontchartrain.

As part of the internal improvement program that accompanied the “market revolution,“ the United States embarked on a series of building projects that included railroads, road building, and canal infrastructure that laid the groundwork for the industrial boom of the late nineteenth century.

The New Basin Canal was constructed by the New Orleans Canal and Banking Company, incorporated in 1831 with a capital of four million dollars and construction began the following year. The intent was to build a shipping canal from Lake Pontchartrain through the swamp land to the booming Uptown or “American” section of the city, to compete with the existing Carondelet Canal in the Downtown Creole part of the city.

Because of New Orleans’ marshy and miasmic climate, yellow fever held high carnival for all laborers and workers digging the canal through the swamp in back of the town easily fell victim to the “yellow jack.” As a result, the loss of slaves was judged too expensive, so most of the work was done by Irish immigrant laborers. The Irish workers died in great numbers, but the Company had no trouble finding more workers to take their place, as shiploads of poor Irishmen arrived in New Orleans, and many were willing to risk their lives in hazardous backbreaking work for a chance to earn not more than one dollar a day.

By 1838, after an expense of $1million, the 60-foot wide 3 mile long canal was complete enough to be opened to small vessels. Over the next decade the canal was enlarged to 12 feet deep, 100 feet wide, and with shell roads alongside. No official count was kept of the deaths of the immigrant workers; estimates ranging from 4,000 to 30,000 have been published, with most historical best guesses falling in the 8,000 to 20,000 dead range.

The canal was commercially important through the 19th century, and served additional uses as improving drainage in nearby areas and being used to harvest the bald cypress trees in what is now the Lakeview neighborhood, which were brought in to the city near the river via the canal and used to build many Uptown houses.

The importance of the canal declined after World War I, especially with the opening of the Industrial Canal in 1923. In 1936 the Louisiana Legislature passed a state constitutional amendment to close the canal. In 1937-1938, the area back to Claiborne Avenue was filled in, but the rest of the length continued functioning on a more limited scale until after World War II. The rest was filled in by about 1950, except for a half mile long stretch at the lakefront by the lighthouse which was left as a small boat and yachting harbor and continues to exist.

Much of the route became the Pontchartrain Expressway in the 1950s, which was incorporated into I-10 the following decade. The stretch from the Interstate to Robert E Lee became a long narrow park by West End Boulevard. On November 4, 1990 the Irish Cultural Society of New Orleans dedicated a Kilkenny marble Celtic cross in the park to commemorate the Irish workers who constructed the canal.

After the flood following the breach of the levee wall after Hurricane Katrina, the Canal Park became a refuse yard for the flotsam and jetsam left behind by the storm; however, the more than one mile long, two story high pile of debris as cleared away and the park has been restored.

The men of the Irish Channel Club commemorate their ancestors who came to New Orleans and contributed to the growth of the nation through their labor and by giving their lives, and the commemorative medallion honors their sacrifice.

The Irish Channel St. Patrick's Day Club will hold its 65th Annual Mass and Parade celebration on Saturday, March 17th, 2012, 12:00 p.m. at St. Mary's Assumption Church (corner of Constance and Josephine Streets) followed by the parade (corner of Felicity and Magazine) at 1:00 p.m. The Practice March is Friday, March 9, 2012 and the benefit block party will take place on Thursday, March 15, 2012 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., at the Annunciation Square Playground, directly in front of St. Michael's Special School; to whom the proceeds of the block will be donated.

The Irish Channel St. Patrick's Day Club's President, Dick Burke said, "We are looking forward to celebrating another year of New Orleans Irish heritage with the friends and neighbors of the Irish Channel. It is our pleasure to contribute to the selfless mission of St. Michael's led by Ms. Jane Silva."

The Irish Channel St. Patrick's Day Club was organized in the Channel in 1947 and has remained in the area with its annual mass and parade for 60 years. The club's 1,400 members are ethnically diverse, all claiming strong ties to the Irish Channel neighborhood.

In recent years, the organization's activities have expanded to include Special Olympics, the Crohn's Benefit Golf Tournament for Crohn's Research, distribution of Thanksgiving baskets and active support for the Friends of St. Alphonsus Art and Cultural Center.