Metairie, Louisiana

== 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, Louisiana|River Ridge]], Metairie, [[Gentilly, New Orleans|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|date=November 2021}} An electric [[streetcar]] was installed running along Metairie Road in the late 1910s, opening the area to greater development.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nola.com/gambit/news/blake_pontchartrain/blake-pontchartrain-the-royal-blue-line-streetcar-in-old-metairie-was-an-extension-of-the/article_d6396a50-6e08-11ea-aa3b-e7996c4c9f27.html | title=Blake Pontchartrain: The Royal Blue Line streetcar in Old Metairie was an extension of the Napoleon Avenue line }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://websitesneworleans.com/metairie/id11.html | title=The Blue Line Streetcar - 1916 }}</ref> Upscale housing tracts were constructed off the road in the 1920s; this area is now known as "Old Metairie".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Andrews |first=Victor |date=2010-03-22 |title=Old Metairie: A suburb of the city celebrates the feel of a small town |language=en |work=The Times-Picayune |location=New Orleans, Louisiana |url=https://www.nola.com/realestate/article_e35697aa-2e36-56f5-b24c-0827ba346079.html |access-date=2022-04-02}}</ref> The areas to the north and northwest of Metairie Road were not developed until after [[World War II]].{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} The land between Metairie Ridge and [[Lake Pontchartrain]], which was [[Bald cypress|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|date=November 2021}}

The [[1947 Fort Lauderdale hurricane]], with winds of {{convert|125|mph|abbr=on}}, directly hit Metairie. Much of the community was under {{convert|6|ft}} of water.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Norwood |first=Nicondra |date=2016-09-19 |title=Remembering one of the worst hurricanes to hit the Gulf Coast |language=en |work=WVUE-TV |url=https://www.fox8live.com/story/33132208/remembering-one-of-the-worst-hurricanes-to-hit-the-gulf-coast |access-date=2022-05-14}}</ref>

[[Hurricane Betsy]], a Category Three storm, hit the area in 1965, causing extensive wind damage and moderate flooding.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Remnick |first=David |date=2005-09-26 |title=High Water |language=en-US |magazine=The New Yorker |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/10/03/high-water |access-date=2022-05-14}}</ref> In 1995 the [[May 8th 1995 Louisiana flood]], which dumped upwards of {{convert|20|in}} 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, Louisiana|Harahan]], and River Ridge.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Broach |first=Drew |date=2015-05-08 |title='A rain of biblical proportions': The May 8-10, 1995, flood |language=en |work=The Times–Picayune |url=https://www.nola.com/news/weather/article_0d884cdf-0710-5417-a31e-99d3700a68dd.html |access-date=2022-05-14}}</ref>

In 1989, a Metairie district elected [[white supremacist]] [[David Duke]] to the Louisiana state legislature for a single term.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Maraniss |first=David |date=February 19, 1989 |title=Ex-klansman Wins Election in Louisiana |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/02/19/ex-klansman-wins-election-in-louisiana/490b69ae-9042-40ca-990a-14c20c403f82/|access-date=October 23, 2022 |newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref>

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|date=November 2021}} It has been a racially neutral migration, with equal numbers of black and white residents moving to Jefferson Parish.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} The 2010 census showed that Metairie has increasingly become more diverse.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

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|date=November 2021}} In the 1970s and early 1980s, an area of [[Bar (establishment)|bar]]s and [[nightclub]]s 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|date=November 2021}} 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|date=November 2021}} Metairie has a large [[Mardi Gras]] season that touts itself as more family-friendly than the [[New Orleans Mardi Gras]].{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}