Claiborne Avenue: The Boulevard They Buried Under a Highway

Claiborne Avenue: The Boulevard They Buried Under a Highway

Claiborne Avenue is one of the most important and most tragic streets in New Orleans. For generations it was the main commercial corridor of Black New Orleans—a tree-lined boulevard of shops, restaurants, and gathering places that anchored the Tremé and Seventh Ward communities. Then, in the late 1960s, the city and state built an elevated expressway directly on top of it, destroying the oak trees, decimating the businesses, and severing one of the most vibrant neighborhoods in the country. The story of Claiborne Avenue is the story of what urban renewal did to Black America.

History

Named for Louisiana's first American governor, William C.C. Claiborne, the avenue was originally a grand boulevard with a wide neutral ground shaded by massive live oak trees. In the early twentieth century, the stretch of Claiborne through Tremé and the Seventh Ward became the heart of Black commerce in New Orleans. Barbershops, pharmacies, grocery stores, jazz clubs, and restaurants lined both sides. On Mardi Gras day, the neutral ground beneath the oaks was the gathering place for the Mardi Gras Indians, who would meet, chant, and parade in their elaborate suits. It was, by all accounts, one of the most culturally significant public spaces in the American South.

The Interstate

In 1966, construction began on the Claiborne Expressway, a section of Interstate 10 that was routed directly over North Claiborne Avenue through Tremé. The oak trees were cut down. The businesses lost their customers. The noise, shadows, and concrete pillars turned the once-beautiful boulevard into a dystopian underpass. Residents had protested the route—a path through the white neighborhoods of the French Quarter had been considered and rejected—but their voices were ignored. The expressway opened in 1968, and the damage was immediate and permanent.

The Neighborhoods

Claiborne Avenue runs from the lakeside neighborhoods all the way through the city. North Claiborne passes through Tremé, the Seventh Ward, Gentilly, and out to the lakefront. South Claiborne runs through Central City, Broadmoor, and Uptown. The character changes dramatically along its length—from the elevated highway's shadow in Tremé to the commercial stretches of South Claiborne where car dealerships and fast food restaurants now dominate.

What Remains and What Could Be

Despite everything, Claiborne Avenue refuses to die. On Mardi Gras day, the Mardi Gras Indians still gather under the overpass, reclaiming the space their ancestors used beneath the oaks. The neutral ground comes alive with music, food, and community. There has been a growing movement to tear down the Claiborne Expressway and restore the boulevard, following the example of cities like San Francisco, which removed the Embarcadero Freeway after the 1989 earthquake. Whether the overpass comes down or not, Claiborne Avenue remains a powerful symbol of resilience—a community that refused to let concrete and steel erase its soul.