![](https://www.davelandweb.com/neworleans/images/40s/KTKT_5_49.jpg)
My first visit to New Orleans was as cool as I thought it would be. At night, Bourbon Street was alive, crowded with revelers and looky-loos, as an "anything goes" atmosphere pervaded.
The next morning, Bourbon Street was a ghost town. Being an early bird, I was up at the crack of dawn, surveying the damage...and the smells. A huge water truck lumbered down Bourbon, hosing the waste into the drains from the previous night's damage. When I saw this vintage May 1949 image, I had to have it, as it was the perfect image (albeit on a smaller scale) to corroborate my memory.
From "Garden & Gun" magazine in an article by John T. Edge:
"New Orleans smells of funk and fecundity. Of French Quarter Dumpster juice and Garden District bougainvillea. Of bruised magnolia blossoms and spent Sazeracs. In Jitterbug Perfume, my second-favorite book inspired by the city, Tom Robbins wrote that Louisiana, right around this time of year, is 'like an obscene phone call from nature.'"
![](https://www.davelandweb.com/neworleans/images/40s/KTKT_5_49_d1.jpg)
That pretty much sums it up. If you ever get to visit New Orleans, I suggest you sleep in and miss the early morning cleanup!
See more vintage and current New Orleans photos on my New Orleans photo web pages.