Monday at Morning Call

Need that jolt of joe to get your morning going? If you were in New Orleans circa July 1960 (that’s almost 63 years ago for those of you who don't have a calculator), you would probably be at Morning Call, which was New Orleans’ Most Famous Coffee Drinking Place. Or so says the slogan. Forget the coffee, I’m more interested in the vintage T-Bird!



Just as an FYI, Morning Call is not the same as Café du Monde, which is in the same area but about a block away. If you look on the left of this shot, you can see Morning Call in the background.



And it looks like both places are still in biz. I’m not a huge coffee guy, so I typically go to du Monde for the beignets.



See more New Orleans photos at my main website.

At Home with the Presidents

In honor of Presidents’ Day, my Monday post will show the trio of homes that I have visited. I have yet to scan the 1971 negatives from my childhood trip to Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, so this vintage shot will have to do. Located in Alexandra, Virginia, the Palladian style home began construction in 1734 and went through a number of expansions and remodels over the next 45 years, yielding the present structure that guests can tour today.  

The closest you can get to seeing Washington himself is in Orlando, where his animatronic performs daily in the Hall of Presidents at Walt Disney World:



I’ve been to Monicello twice; once in 1971 and then returned again (with my own camera!) in 2017.



Thomas Jefferson, the third U.S. President, began work on his neoclassic home in 1768, with a number of expansions and revisions that continued on until his death in 1826. 



He is also represented in the Hall of Presidents:



Want to see a panorama of the Hall of Presidents? Here you go:



I’ve never been to the home of our sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln, but I have visited him at Disneyland’s Opera House:



…and seen his inferior counterpart in Orlando:



I also happened to catch him at the now defunct Tresor Gallery on Royal Street in New Orleans in 2015:



Jumping forward to our thirty-seventh president, Richard Nixon, I visited his birthplace in 2005.



Located on the grounds of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, it is a very modest dwelling, built in 1912 from a mail order construction kit by his father, Frank Nixon.



What better place for the then vice president to celebrate the christening of the Disneyland Monorail in 1959 than at the Carnation Ice Cream Parlour? He is surrounded by his wife Pat, Louise the waitress, and daughter Tricia Nixon. General Manager Mr. Knowles seem to be giving an unspecified direction to the photographer from the background.



Now I’m craving an ice cream sundae.

See more Daveland photos at my main website.

The Mystery of the Old Absinthe House Bar

Does the shakey first photo here mean you are still drunk from the weekend? No...you are just experiencing a genuine FauxD© 1950s shot of the Old Absinthe House Bar on Bourbon and Conti. Below is a previously posted shot of the same location:

How the same building looked in 2002, when it was the home of Mango Mango Daiquiris. I’m guessing they didn’t pack as much punch as Absinthe. Today, it appears it is known as SLUSH Frozen Cocktails; 4 stars, nine reviews. Maybe I should put it on my to-do list for the next trip to Nawlins. Or maybe not.

In looking up Old Absinthe House Bar online, all I can find is information about this completely different building on Bienville and Bourbon, which is Jean Lafitte’s Old Absinthe House.

Until somebody steps forward, I can’t tell you which one is older or what the difference was between them. Did the French Quarter really need two Absinthe Bars?

See more Bourbon Street photos at my main website.

Pete on Bourbon

Sorry - not sorry - but we are back in New Orleans! Today‘s vintage image is from June 1965 and shows a dashing gent posing in front of Pete’s Place at the corner of Bourbon and St. Ann Streets in the French Quarter. The club opened in November 1960; previously it was La Lune.

From the website nola.com: Jazz clarinetist Pete Fountain, who was known to music fans around the world, often joked that he attended the “Conservatory of Bourbon Street,” eschewing his studies at Warren Easton High School in favor of the musical education he received as a teenager playing in French Quarter clubs. “We tried to call it the French Quarter Inn [note the sign in the photo above], but everyone ended up just calling it Pete’s Place,” Fountain told The Times-Picayune in 1987. “I think my name is still out on the sidewalk.” Fountain recorded two live albums in the club, “Pete Fountain: French Quarter Inn” and “Pete Fountain on Tour.” In 1968, Fountain relocated to a larger space at 231 Bourbon St. He continued performing there until 1977, when he moved to a club in the newly opened New Orleans Hilton Hotel, now the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. Although Fountain died in 2016, he remains an icon on Bourbon Street. His life-sized statue is one of nine included in New Orleans Musical Legends Park at 311 Bourbon Street.

The photo on the side of the club was from the cover of his 1963 album “Plenty of Pete,” which included such classics as “Stardust” and “Just One of Those Things.”

Today, this location is known as Oz, a gay nightclub:

See more Bourbon Street photos at my main website.

New Orleans vs. New Orleans Square, Pt. 4

What to do in New Orleans, Louisiana? So many choices, but how about something sedate like City Park? Hop on a Streetcar named Desire, oops, I mean St. Charles, and venture out to the Museum of Art:




Or perhaps you’d prefer something a little more kitschy like Storyland:



The New Orleans version of the Three Little Pigs:



For those that enjoy cemeteries (yes, there are a few of us), Saint Louis Cemetery is one of the most famous:



The future eternal home of Nicolas Cage is located here:



Back in the Garden District you can find the less famous Lafayette Cemetery:



If you love Mardi Gras, you’ll want to see where most of the parade floats are created and stored:



To get yourself prepared for that annual celebration, how about a beverage at the famous rotating Carousel Bar inside the Hotel Monteleone? HIGHLY recommended (but get there early!).



With all the rich food and booziness of New Orleans, seeking out the Athletic Club might be a nice change of pace. For me, it’s probably the best/coolest gym I've ever gone to.



Got a thing for Vampires? Visit Oak Alley, used for the exteriors of “Interview with the Vampire”:



For a home tour closer to the French Quarter, the 1850 house is located on Jackson Square:



Need to pray away those French Quarter sins? Also on Jackson Square is St. Louis Cathedral:



This is not the piano that killed the Wicked Witch (or was that a house?), but rather the grand piano of Fats Domino on display at the Presbytere Museum (also on Jackson Square). This is what Hurricane Katrina did to it:



Well readers, now you have four posts worth of information on both New Orleans in Louisiana and New Orleans Square at Disneyland. Which one would you rather visit?

See more New Orleans, Louisiana photos at my main website.

New Orleans vs. New Orleans Square, Pt. 2

I had to cover food; anyone that knows me is aware that the restaurants have a heavy bearing on whether or not I like a city. Antoine’s in New Orleans was one of my favorites, but I had noticed the quality had definitely deteriorated on my last visit. The front of the restaurant could have been part of the inspiration for Disneyland’s Blue Bayou. Below is a shot of a delicious steak I enjoyed at Galatoire’s; probably one of the best I have ever eaten.

And dessert...the cheesecake was incredible. When I travel and dine, I do not count calories. That's what the daily routine is for.

New Orleans is known for its beignets and coffee that you would get at the world famous Café du Monde:

At Disneyland’s New Orleans Square, I once enjoyed these Mickey Mouse shaped beignets at the Café Orleans. Good...but not quite as good as their New Orleans cousin.

The exterior of the Blue Bayou Restaurant at Disneyland, one of my favorite places to dine at Disneyland. While the food may not necessarily be out of this world, the experience and atmosphere help make up for that.

Their Monte Cristo sandwich was a staple for me until they changed the recipe and made it a bit more healthy. The fried cheesecake was also a casualty of that trend.

The nearby Mint Julep “bar” offers a refreshing non-alcoholic version of the southern beverage.

When Walt wanted a VIP supper club at Disneyland, it’s not surprising that he picked New Orleans Square as the location. While the city of New Orleans may be known for its decadence and partying, many of the restaurants have a very strict dress code not found out here in Southern California.

A lamb chop from my dinner at Club 33.

Speaking of partying, here is one of the most famous tourist traps in New Orleans, Pat O”Brien’s. It is known for its radioactive red Hurricane drink.

Club 33 added a jazz lounge/bar of its own back in 2014. Very few watering holes in New Orleans are this refined and sedate.

Still, it’s a fun place to sip and savor a beverage while at Disneyland.

Overall review of the food comparison is very similar to that of the architecture and atmosphere; if you want the deliciously decadent artery clogging experience, go to Louisiana. If you prefer your food sanitized and a little less greasy with drinks that are less potent, go to Disneyland.

Will there be a third post in this series? Of course!

See more New Orleans photos at my main website.