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The city of Gretna is the parish seat of Jefferson Parish, in the US state of Louisiana. Gretna is on the west bank of the Mississippi River, just east and across from uptown New Orleans. It is part of the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan area. The population was 17,423 at the 2000 census. The city of Chicago, as seen from the sky A city is an urban area that is differentiated from a town, village, or hamlet by size, population density, importance, or legal status. ...
A parish seat is the administrative center of a parish in the US state of Louisiana. ...
Jefferson Parish is a parish in Louisiana with a population of 455,466 (Census 2000). ...
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 states which have membership of the federation known as the United States of America (USA or U.S.). The separate state governments and the U.S. federal government share sovereignty. ...
This article does not cite its references or sources. ...
The Mississippi River, derived from the old Ojibwe word misi-ziibi meaning great river (gichi-ziibi big river at its headwaters), is the second-longest river in the United States; the longest is the Missouri River, which flows into the Mississippi. ...
Nickname: The Crescent City, The Big Easy, The City That Care Forgot, NOLA (acronym for New Orleans, LA) Location in the State of Louisiana and the United States Coordinates: Country United States State Louisiana Parish Orleans Founded 1718 Mayor Ray Nagin (D) Area - City 350. ...
The New Orleans Metropolitan Area, or Greater New Orleans, is the largest metropolitan area in Louisiana, centered around New Orleans. ...
Metropolitan area in Western Tokyo as seen from Tokyo Tower A metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large city and its adjacent zone of influence, or of several neighboring cities or towns and adjoining areas, with one or more large cities serving as its hub or...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1944x2592, 1787 KB) City Hall, Gretna, Louisiana. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1944x2592, 1787 KB) City Hall, Gretna, Louisiana. ...
History
Gretna was settled in the 19th century, originally as Mechanicsham, growing with a station on the Mississippi River for the Missouri Pacific Railroad, Texas and Pacific Railroad, and Southern Pacific Railroad, with a ferry across the River to New Orleans. Gretna was incorporated in 1913, absorbing the section of McDonogh within the Jefferson Parish boundaries. In the 1940 census, Gretna had a population of 10,879. Missouri Pacific (MoPac; AAR reporting mark MP) was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. ...
The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas and San Diego, California. ...
The Southern Pacific Railroad (AAR reporting mark SP) was an American railroad. ...
The Pride of Rotterdam, One of the P&O Ferriess Flagships operating the Hull-Rotterdam Route A ferry is a boat or a ship carrying passengers, and sometimes their vehicles, on scheduled services. ...
Nickname: The Crescent City, The Big Easy, The City That Care Forgot, NOLA (acronym for New Orleans, LA) Location in the State of Louisiana and the United States Coordinates: Country United States State Louisiana Parish Orleans Founded 1718 Mayor Ray Nagin (D) Area - City 350. ...
Year 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ...
Sign marking old McDonoghville boundary in Gretna McDonogh, is a community of Greater New Orleans, Louisiana. ...
Famous residents Frankie Ford (born date?) is a rock & roll and rhythm & blues singer. ...
Emmett Hardy (June 12, 1903 - June 16, 1925) was an early jazz cornet player and one of the best regarded New Orleans musicians of his generation. ...
Jazz is a musical art form that originated in New Orleans at around the start of the 20th century. ...
Lash La Rue (born June 15, 1917 - died May 21, 1996) Lash La Rue Born Alfred LaRue in Gretna, Louisiana, USA of Cajun ancestry, he was raised in various towns throughout Louisiana but in his teens the family moved to Los Angeles, California where he attended St. ...
Justus D. Barnes, from The Great Train Robbery The Western is one of the classic American literary and film genres. ...
Melvin Thomas (Mel) Ott (March 2, 1909 – November 21, 1958), nicknamed Master Melvin, was a right fielder in Major League Baseball who played his entire career in the National League for the New York Giants (1926-1947). ...
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, located at 62 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, is a semi-official museum operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of baseball-related...
Geography Gretna is located on 29°54′59″N, 90°3′15″W (29.916459, -90.054260)GR1. Image File history File links Adapted from Wikipedias LA county maps by Catbar. ...
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.0 km² (3.9 mi²). 9.1 km² (3.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.9 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (9.33%) is water. The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census as defined in Title ) is a part of the United States Department of Commerce. ...
A square metre (US spelling: square meter) is by definition the area enclosed by a square with sides each 1 metre long. ...
A square mile is an English unit of area equal to that of a square with sides each 1 statute mile (≈1,609 m) in length. ...
Demographics As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 17,423 people, 6,958 households, and 4,286 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,922.0/km² (4,983.9/mi²). There were 7,665 housing units at an average density of 845.6/km² (2,192.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 56.32% White, 35.53% African American, 0.60% Native American, 3.12% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 2.63% from other races, and 1.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.34% of the population.
1870 US Census for New York City A census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population (not necessarily a human population). ...
The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. ...
The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. ...
The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. ...
The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. ...
The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. ...
Race, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget, is a self-identification data item in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify. ...
The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. ...
The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. ...
There were 6,958 households out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.7% were married couples living together, 19.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.4% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.06. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
In the city the population was spread out with 23.8% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,065, and the median income for a family was $31,881. Males had a median income of $28,259 versus $21,019 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,735. About 20.8% of families and 24.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.7% of those under age 18 and 20.2% of those age 65 or over. The per capita income for a group of people may be defined as their total personal income, divided by the total population. ...
Map of countries showing percentage of population who have an income below the national poverty line The poverty line is the level of income below which one cannot afford to purchase all the resources one requires to live. ...
Education Gretna's public schools are operated by the Jefferson Parish Public Schools agency. Schools are in Gretna unless otherwise noted. Jefferson Parish Public Schools is a school district based in Gretna, Louisiana. ...
Elementary schools:
- George Cox Elementary School (Unincorporated Jefferson Parish, Gretna address)
- Frederick Douglass Elementary School
- Gretna Park Elementary School
- William Hart Elementary School
- McDonogh #26 Elementary School
- Middleton Elementary School
- Solis Elementary School
- Terrytown Elementary School
Middle schools: - Gretna Middle School
- Livaudais Middle School (Unincorporated Jefferson Parish, Gretna address)
High schools: - West Jefferson High School
In addition, Jefferson High School [1] is in Gretna.
Hurricane Katrina controversy The City of Gretna received considerable press coverage when, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (late August 2005), displaced and dehydrated survivors who attempted to escape from New Orleans by walking over the Crescent City Connection bridge over the Mississippi River were turned back at gunpoint by City of Gretna Police, along with Crescent City Connection Police and Jefferson Parish Sheriff's deputies, who set up a roadblock on the bridge in the days following the hurricane. According to eyewitnesses, some of these officers threatened to shoot New Orleans residents and tourists as they attempted to cross into Gretna on foot.[2] [3] [4] Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1160x776, 191 KB) Mississippi River levee at Gretna, Louisiana. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1160x776, 191 KB) Mississippi River levee at Gretna, Louisiana. ...
The Mississippi River, derived from the old Ojibwe word misi-ziibi meaning great river (gichi-ziibi big river at its headwaters), is the second-longest river in the United States; the longest is the Missouri River, which flows into the Mississippi. ...
Lowest pressure 902 mbar (hPa; 26. ...
The Crescent City Connection, abbreviated as CCC, (formerly the Greater New Orleans Bridge) refers to twin cantilever bridges, that carry U.S. Route 90 Business over the Mississippi River in New Orleans, Louisiana. ...
A roadblock is a temporary installation set up to control or block traffic along a road. ...
The Crescent City Connection connects to United States Highway 90, which was, at the time, the only passable highway out of New Orleans. Initially, as many as 6,000 evacuees were permitted to cross and were shuttled out of the area on buses; however, that operation was eventually discontinued as available fuel supplies were exhausted. Without transportation or sufficient supplies of food or water, West Bank officials determined that they were unable to further assist the evacuees. It was also believed at that time that federal relief efforts and supplies were soon to be concentrated in the downtown area of New Orleans. The decision to stop further evacuees from crossing the river was then made after the Oakwood Mall in Gretna was looted and burned, allegedly by evacuees from the East Bank of New Orleans. A unified local police decision was made to lock down all areas. Due to the lack of effective communications during the crisis, some New Orleans police officers independently continued to direct evacuees to buses across the bridge that were no longer operational. The inevitable confrontation occurred on the section of the bridge controlled by the Gretna police and warning shots were fired over the heads of desperate evacuees who had been misdirected onto the bridge. Current U.S. Highway shield The United States Highway System is an integrated system of roads in the United States numbered within a nationwide grid. ...
Oakwood Shopping Center is the second largest mall in Greater New Orleans Area. ...
The purpose of the roadblock was to stop evacuees from crossing over into the evacuated communities on the West Bank of the Mississippi River. Gretna Police had charge of West Bank-bound lanes, while Jefferson Parish deputies controlled the East Bank-bound lanes and the bridge police closed the center transit lanes.
Some critics have said that the Gretna Police were out of their jurisdiction when they took up posts on the bridge because the West Bank end of the bridge comes to ground in the New Orleans neighborhood of Algiers. However, the Gretna city limits extend such that a small portion of the bridge enters Gretna before reentering New Orleans a second time. Algiers is a community in Louisiana, part of the city of New Orleans. ...
Reaction The actions of the Gretna Police have been criticized by some. Others have supported the actions, noting that Gretna had also suffered loss of power and drinkable water, and had nowhere to keep another city's evacuees. Some have said that the Gretna Police action were prompted by reports of widespread looting in New Orleans and fears it could spread to Gretna. Some critics have alleged a motivation of racism, as the majority of those attempting to escape the flooding in New Orleans were African American. Looting (which derives via the Hindi lut from Sanskrit lunt, to rob), sacking, or plundering is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe or riot, such as during war [1], natural disaster [2], rioting [3], or terrorist attack...
This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ...
An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ...
Some activists alleged racism, citing longstanding racial tensions between urban and suburban New Orleans that date back to the civil rights era. Officials in Gretna and Jefferson Parish defended the actions of their police officers as necessary and proper during such a crisis. The Gretna City Council subsequently passed a resolution supporting the Chief of Police's decision to block the bridge, which continues to be a topic of controversy in Greater New Orleans. Gretna Mayor Ronnie C. Harris said, "This wasn't just one man's decision. The whole community backs it." This article is becoming very long. ...
Trivia - The famous spice-maker Zatarain's was founded in 1889 in what is now Gretna.
- Portions of the movie "A Love Song For Bobby Long" were filmed in Gretna.
Screen shot of Spice OPUS, a fork of Berkeley SPICE SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuits Emphasis) is a general purpose analog circuit simulator. ...
Started in New Orleans by Emile A. Zatarain, Sr. ...
External links - Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 29.916459° -90.05426°
- City of Gretna Website
- Gretna Directory
- Gretna Police Department
- Gretna Heritage Festival
- The real heroes and sheroes of New Orleans (First report of the bridge incident that was later picked up by major media.)
- "City of Gretna Louisiana: The most evil, racist city in America" (This biased page focuses on prevention of Hurricane Katrina evacuees from crossing the bridge to Gretna from New Orleans by Gretna police in 2005.)
- March to Gretna
- "The Bridge to Gretna" story from CBS News 60 Minutes program, December 18, 2005
Image File history File links Commons-logo. ...
Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ...
Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...
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