“Hey you kids! Get
out of there!” We have all heard that
before in our youth. We've all
wandered into a place we weren’t supposed to be and a mean old man yelled at
us. You know the guy, he is the required
resident of just about any street anywhere and he always came out of nowhere to
scream at us to get lost. Somehow that
old timer is responsible for every property in town and he assumes some
unofficial role of constable. It was
just curiosity we thought, the local police called it trespassing.
Today, while some police may still use the term
“trespassing” some folks have decided that a new term exists to better explain
the investigation of places that are off limits: “urban exploration.” Some places aren’t exactly fun for urban
exploration—sewers, storm drains, asbestos factories, infectious disease
hospitals, oxygen depleted coal mines, the list goes on. The cool thing about urban exploration is
that it can be done—legally—on a bicycle.
We say legally because if you don’t dismount to climb over a fence or
through a barrier and just ride by then who is to say you are trespassing? Some places are available to check out
free of prosecution like the abandoned Old Griffith Park Zoo in Los
Angeles.
Urban exploration has a unofficial capital in America:
New Orleans. The Big Easy nearly
vanished due to Hurricane Katrina and much of what was lost to the water and
waves of the storm surge has been abandoned since 2005. Many businesses, homes, churches and cemeteries
are all derelict and vacant. The
cemeteries are especially spooky. The
low water table of New Orleans required above ground resting places. Today, due to neglect and desertion they are
silent and chilling cities of the dead.
A bike ride out of Bourbon Street should begin of course
with a beignet but once digested head out for a ride down to New Orleans City
Park. Built in 1853 it is one of the
oldest city parks in the U.S. and at 1,300 acres it is the sixth largest. Be sure to check out the live oaks, many are
approaching 600 years of age and most survived Katrina. The park was once home to three golf
courses. All were damaged by Katrina,
one has been restored while the two others lay fallow but the cart paths remain and
have become de facto bike paths. Pedal through
the park down to Lake Shore Drive.
Follow Lake Shore east along Lake Pontchartrain to Hayne Boulevard (or
along the path just off Hayne), this will take you to a place that has been
very popular with urban explorers for a few years now: Six Flags New Orleans,
formerly known as Jazz Land. The
amusement park was first opened in 2000 and sold to Six Flags in 2003. The last day was August 21, 2005 when it
closed for the season as the kids headed back to school. Katrina struck a few days later.
Katrina flooded the park and the years of disrepair have
only made the place more forbidding.
Divided into seven sections from Looney Toons Adventure to Cajun Country,
the rides, amusements and buildings are all still in place, even the roller
coaster “Batman” still stands like a paralyze structural serpent. The fun house which was creepy enough in its
day is now more so due to nearly a decade of neglect. The ride from Rue Bourbon to Six Flags is
about 15 miles one way. Over 80% of all
structures at Six Flags New Orleans were deep under damaging salt water. The entire park was under seven feet of
water for over a month. Today the park
is the property of the City of New Orleans.
There are no plans to reopen.
We have a video of NOLA City Park at our website www.stickybottleteam.net.
No comments:
Post a Comment