<GNOCDC> Behrman Neighborhood Snapshot

Home Pre Katrina Home Orleans Parish Algiers District Behrman Snapshot

This information is pre-Katrina.
Although the information on this page is out-of-date, we are continuing to make it available, as it provides insight about this neighborhood pre-Katrina.

Post-Katrina, we will not be making any changes or updates to this page. As a result, you may find outdated information and broken links.

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Behrman Neighborhood Snapshot

Census 2000 Data Tables: People & Household Characteristics, Housing & Housing Costs, Income & Poverty, Transportation, Employment, Educational Attainment, Immigration & Language, Disabilities, Neighborhood Characteristics

This inland West bank neighborhood named after a popular New Orleans mayor is nestled south of the US Naval Support neighborhood and north of Tall Timbers/Brechtel, flanked on the west by Fischer Housing Development and Whitney, and on the east by Old Aurora.

The neighborhood is predominately African American, with 77.4% of residents identifying as such in the 2000 Census. However, Behrman also has the second largest Hispanic population (6.6%) of Orleans Parish neighborhoods (Census 2000).

	Image courtesy New Orleans Public Library (nutrias.org). Permission for reuse required.
	A reproduction of the flyer advertising the Behrman come-back rally, headed by his campaign slogan, "Pappa's Coming Home." [Louisiana Division Vertical File]

Named after a popular mayor

The Behrman neighborhood was named after the longest serving mayor of New Orleans, elected for five straight terms, from 1902-1920. Before his death in 1925, one year into his fifth term, Behrman made "considerable improvements in city services and facilities, including sewer and water systems, drainage, streets, the port, and public schools and public health facilities. It was during Behrman's tenure that the Public Belt Railroad was developed, the 1912 City Charter changed the city council to the commission form, and Storyville closed. "

Martin Behrman's parents brought him to New Orleans when he was an infant. He lived most of his life in Algiers. He first entered politics as a ward worker for the Regular Democratic Organization in the 1888 Francis T. Nichols campaign for governor. He held a number of minor elective and appointive offices before becoming a political leader of the 15th ward, Algiers and finally mayor of the city of New Orleans.

Read about Mayor Behrman's "brag books"
nutrias.org/~nopl/monthly/mar2002/mar2002.htm

Mayor Martin Behrman: Historical Note
nutrias.org/~nopl/inv/behrman.htm

Some services and major facilities

Delgado Community College West Bank Campus opened its 13.7-acre site in 1967 through acquisition of surplus Navy property. The Archdiocese of New Orleans, LSU Medical School, the Orleans Parish School Board and Touro Hospital were involved in this cooperative effort. Delgado West Bank is the only public institution of higher learning on this side of the river in New Orleans.

The New Orleans Public School's administration moved their offices from the East bank to a large facility in the Behrman neighborhood on General DeGaulle Drive. The Orleans Parish School Board meetings are held in this facility.

Christopher Homes is a Section 8 housing complex under HANO (Housing Authority of New Orleans) and is part of the Home Ownership Program. In this program, a percentage of the tenant's monthly rent is placed in an escrow account to be used as down payment in purchasing the home.

Touro-Shakespeare Nursing Home

	© GNO Community Data Center.
	Touro-Shakespeare Nursing Home

Touro-Shakespeare Nursing Home, on General Meyer Avenue, is owned by the city of New Orleans, managed by a team of health care professionals and licensed by Louisiana's State Department of Hospitals. The Gothic-styled building, built in 1932, features a nondenominational chapel with a 20 foot domed ceiling and stained glass windows, an enclosed courtyard and shaded lawns.

The concept of a facility to care for the "indigent homeless" came from a bequest by Judah Touro. A three-story building was erected on Louisa Street to honor his bequest in 1862. The facility cared for approximately 300 indigent persons.

Due to time and circumstances, the city of New Orleans accepted the financial responsibility of the home. Based on the philosophy of social welfare of the times and the needs of the community, the facility evolved into a home for the elderly and then an institution for the general nursing care of women and men.

Today, the City Welfare department serves as administrators of the home that cares for convalescent and chronically ill adults.

	© GNO Community Data Center
	Entrance to Behrman Park

Greenspace in Behrman

Behrman Memorial Park, one of the many large parks in the lower West bank area, includes a pool, gymnasium/recreation center, tennis courts, a football and track stadium, multipurpose fields, playground equipment, and the Skelly Baseball Stadium. On this 60-acre common area are natural woods that make up 30 percent of the park.

For more information:

Algiers: The Right Bank Part 1
nutrias.org/exhibits/algiers/algiers1.htm

Delgado Community College West Bank Campus
www.dcc.edu/campus/westbank/wb.htm

Scattered Sites Housing Program
http://www.hano.org/developments.htm

City Wide Plan Chapter Two
www.new-orleans.la.us/cnoweb/cpc/parksrecreationplan/park2.htm

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Last modified: October 8, 2002