Métairie (French:[metɛʁi]) is the French term for a small tenant farm which paid the landlord with a share of the produce, a practice also known as sharecropping (in French, métayage). In the 1760s many of the original French farmers were tenants; after the Civil War, the majority of the community's inhabitants were sharecroppers until urbanization started in the 1910s.
History
In the 1720s French settlers became the first Europeans to settle Metairie in the area known then as Tchoupitoulas and now as Metairie Ridge, a natural levee formed by an ancient branch of the Mississippi River, Bayou Metairie, which flowed through modern-day River Ridge, Metairie, Gentilly, and New Orleans East. It emptied into Mississippi Sound. The Acolapissa Native Americans used this ridge as a road; it is the oldest road in the New Orleans area. Paved in the 1920s, it is called Metairie Road.[citation needed] An electric streetcar was installed running along Metairie Road in the late 1910s, opening the area to greater development.[6][7] Upscale housing tracts were constructed off the road in the 1920s; this area is now known as "Old Metairie".[8] The areas to the north and northwest of Metairie Road were not developed until after World War II.[citation needed] The land between Metairie Ridge and Lake Pontchartrain, which was cypress swamps and marshlands, was drained with the Wood Pump. With development of this new land for residences, Metairie's population grew in the 1940s as a result of cheaper land, lower taxes, and larger lots as compared to Orleans Parish.[citation needed]
The 1947 Fort Lauderdale hurricane, with winds of 125 mph (201 km/h), directly hit Metairie. Much of the community was under 6 feet (1.8 m) of water.[9]
Hurricane Betsy, a Category Three storm, hit the area in 1965, causing extensive wind damage and moderate flooding.[10] In 1995 the May 8th 1995 Louisiana flood, which dumped upwards of 20 inches (510 mm) of rain into Metairie in a twelve-hour period, also flooded some parts of the region, especially areas south and west of Metairie, including Kenner, Harahan, and River Ridge.[11]
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused a new migration from Orleans Parish, because housing was needed to replace what had been destroyed in the flooding of the city.[citation needed] It has been a racially neutral migration, with equal numbers of black and white residents moving to Jefferson Parish.[citation needed] The 2010 census showed that Metairie has increasingly become more diverse.[citation needed]
Veterans Boulevard was laid out alongside a drainage canal, and became a commercial center of the region. The central business district of Metairie is located on Causeway Boulevard near Lake Pontchartrain. Metairie also has one of the handful of major malls located in the New Orleans metro area. Lakeside Shopping Center is the highest-grossing mall in the New Orleans metropolitan area.[citation needed] In the 1970s and early 1980s, an area of bars and nightclubs opened in a section of Metairie known as "Fat City", which is now the most racially diverse area in the New Orleans metropolitan area and is home to a vibrant restaurant scene.[citation needed] Several New Orleans radio and television stations have transmitter facilities in Metairie and Jefferson Parish; two of them, WGNO-TV and WNOL, now have studios and main offices in Metairie.[citation needed] Metairie has a large Mardi Gras season that touts itself as more family-friendly than the New Orleans Mardi Gras.[citation needed]
The climate of Metairie has been classified as humid subtropical. Like the city of New Orleans, it has short, generally mild winters and hot, humid summers. The average precipitation is 62.5 in (1,590 mm) annually; the summer months are the wettest, while October is the driest month.[14] Precipitation in winter usually accompanies the passing of a cold front. On average, there are 77 days of 90 °F (32 °C) or greater highs, 8.1 days per winter where the high does not exceed 50 °F (10 °C), and 8.0 nights with freezing lows annually. It is rare for the temperature to reach 20 or 100 °F (−6.7 or 37.8 °C), with the last occurrence of each being February 5, 1996, and June 26, 2016, respectively.[14]
Metairie CDP, Louisiana – Racial and Ethnic Composition (NH = Non-Hispanic) Note: the U.S. Census Bureau treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
According to the 2019 American Community Survey, there were 130,427 people living in the census-designated place.[32] At the 2010 United States census,[33] there were 138,481 people living in Metairie.[3] The 2020 census reported 143,507 people living in the CDP. As of 2019, population density was 5,607.7 people per square mile, with a median age of 40.6.
At the 2019 American Community Survey, the racial and ethnic makeup was 69% non-Hispanic white, 10% Black and African American, 4% Asian, 1% multiracial, and 16% Hispanic and Latino American. According to 2017 census estimates, the racial makeup of Metairie was 67.5% White, 16.2% Hispanic or Latino American of any race, 9.9% Black and African American, 3.9% Asian, 0.7% from other races, 0.9% from two or more races, and 0.1% Native American.[34] By the time of the 2020 census, its racial and ethnic makeup was 62.89% non-Hispanic white, 10.98% Black or African American, 0.49% Native American, 3.73% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 18.20% two or more races, and 18.42% Hispanic or Latino American of any race.[35]
Among the population of Metairie, 52% were female in 2019. There were 56,421 households with an average of 2.63 persons per household. An estimated 52% of households were married couples living together, 23% non-family, 18% female householder with no male present, and 7% male householder with no female present. Approximately 61,354 housing units were in the community, and 92% were occupied; 59% of housing units were owner-occupied, and 64% of housing units were single unit structures. The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $246,600, and the median household income was $60,404. Residents had a per capita income of $35,007 at the 2019 American Community Survey.[32]
Metarie has the headquarters of Rawbar Inc., which operates Acme Oyster House, a restaurant chain.[38]
Arts and culture
Public libraries
East Bank Regional LibraryOld Metairie Library
Jefferson Parish Library operates public libraries.[39] The East Bank Regional Library, which houses the library system's headquarters, is in Metairie.[40] Other public libraries in Metairie include the Lakeshore Library,[41] the Old Metairie Library,[42] and the Wagner Library.[43]
Jefferson Parish has created many parks in Metairie. Many of these playgrounds have organized sports leagues such as football, baseball, and basketball. Some of them also have other programs, such as low-cost piano lessons. The parks in Metairie are:
Two of the major roads in Metairie, Causeway Boulevard and West Esplanade Avenue, where they intersect in the CBD
The most common method of transportation within Metairie is the automobile. Mass transit is provided by "JeT" (Jefferson Transit), but it does not run on Sundays, holidays, or late at night, unlike many lines of New Orleans' RTA. JeT's coverage is also very limited in terms of usability.
Major east–west roads (starting from north to south) include West Esplanade Avenue, Veterans Memorial Boulevard, West Napoleon Avenue, West Metairie Avenue, Metairie Road, Airline Drive (which is part of U.S. Route 61) and Jefferson Highway (which is part of U.S. Route 90). The Earhart Expressway, running east–west immediately south of Airline Drive, is the only other freeway entering New Orleans from the west, but it ends as an expressway soon after crossing into Orleans Parish and well before the New Orleans CBD (in Central City.)
The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway where it hits the South Shore in Metairie
For many of the major east–west roadways, the eastbound and westbound lanes are separated by large, open-topped drainage canals. These canals are one of the most distinct characteristics of the Metairie landscape. Similar canals once bisected many streets in neighboring New Orleans, but most were covered over in the mid-20th century.
Multi-line, continuous north–south roads (starting from west to east) include Power Boulevard/David Drive/Hickory Avenue, Transcontinental Drive, Clearview Parkway, Causeway Boulevard, and Bonnabel Boulevard.
United States
Louisiana
