Loyola University - Wolf Yearbook (New Orleans, LA)

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150, And Still Rolling Advertising it as the longest block party in the world and a day for parties, parades and fabulous events, New Orleans celebrated the 150th birthday of its streetcar September 28, giving people an opportunity for freaky holiday fun which included free streetcar rides, music at different venues near the St. Charles Ave- nue line and an unprecedented streetcar parade. In 1834, when the St. Charles line was started with horse-drawn double-deck cars, cities like San Francisco were still backwoods trading posts. By late September of 1835, steam cars were already being ad- ded to the line, which ran from the corner of Canal St. and St. Charles Ave. to Jackson Ave., with a fare of 25 cents per person charged to riders. From 1840 to 1893, steam power alternated with horse and mule muscle as the source of locomo- tion for the city ' s streetcars. The number of lines steadily increased as service became more and more comprehensive. A Canal St. line was added in 1863 to serve the downtown workers. In fact, by 1873, the number of annual riders had burgeoned to 23 million, al- lowing a decrease in the fare to five cents per rider. In 1884, the first electric cars were brought to New Orleans as exhibitions in the Cotton Centen- nial Exposition held in what is now Audubon Park. However, it was not until February 1, 1893, that the first permanent line was installed along the same St. Charles route we ride today. After 1893, lines all over the city were successively electrified; by 1900, four companies operated 28 lines along 173 miles of track. The cars used at this time were made by the St. Louis Car Com- pany and cost $2,949.20 each. In 1922, people rode the same streetcars we ride today, the Per- ley Thomas 900 series streetcars. Introduced between 1922 and 1924, the Perley Thomas cars are renowned throughout the world. Car No. 953, which still dutiful- ly runs today, is portrayed on the U.S. Post Office ' s 1983 commemo- rative block of stamps, an honor that four American streetcars share. And of course, it is the Per- ley Thomas streetcar which Ten- nessee Williams refers to in his dramatic milestone, A Streetcar Named Desire. On May 30, 1964, all streetcars except those on the St. Charles line, ceased operation, superseded by buses. There are still streets around the city which have paral- lel rails imbedded in their tar, re- minders of what had once been. -Marc Guidry S. Calami

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Lady Liberty ' s 100th Birthday LEFT: The sunlight streams down over New York Harbor. BOTTOM LEFT: Lady Liberty reigns supreme over the harbor. Murray The Statue of Liberty towers 305 feet above New York Harbor. No small feat for the grand old lady of America, particularly after 99 years and 364 days. But one day later she had a birthday and a facelift. One hundred years old and still around to have her chin tucked in, not to mention about every other part of her weather-beaten anatomy. And her family didn ' t let her down. They were there to help with the $230 million worth of ex- penses, to let her know that they still remembered what she meant to all of them, those 100 million who could trace their roots to an- cestors whose first glimpse of America was its first lady. The old lady is looking pretty good these days. MPC Enterprises Co. Inc.

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OPPOSITE PAGE - TOP: Next stop, Loy- ola University. BOTTOM: Car No. 934 decked out in its birthday finery. THIS PAGE - LEET: Beth Greene, Heather Murray, Debbie Wald, Nick Vasil and Bri- an Harvey anxiously await the arrival of a streetcar. BELOW: All aboard! Take a ride into history. M. Shea ■ ,