Tag Archives: Dumaine Street

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This Property is Condemned

Great movie made in 1966 starring Robert Redford and Natalie Wood. The scenes in New Orleans are nice, including Jackson Square, City Park, St. Louis #1 and the apartment on Dumaine (817?). Later on, Tennessee himself also lived on Dumaine…
Tennessee Williams wrote the original one-act play (which took place entirely on railroad tracks with younger sister Willie telling the story of her sister) but, as usual, did not participate or like the movie adaptation of his play.
The scenes in the little apartment are good, as are the characters one sees on the streets. Amazing to see Clover Grill and The Washing Well 40 plus years ago…

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Excerpt from “A Friend in New Orleans” 1992

A great memory from an unusual travel book:

“Kaldi’s Coffee House and Coffee Museum

941 Decatur Street     568-8989

Open Sunday-Thursday 7 am to midnight

Friday-Saturday 7 am to 2:30 am

One of New Orleans most aromatic experiences is the stimulating fragrance of roasting coffee beans. Read the paper and rest your feet in this slightly counter-culture haven, while sampling an inspiring array of pungent brews. Their museum of coffee memorabilia is worth a look.”

I miss it still, but am glad for offspring Fair Grinds in MidCity!

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Tennessee Williams was here

We’re just finishing up the latest festival for our most famous writer.  Not cheap to attend, but probably worth it, if you are a writer or a reader on New Orleans or the South. Nice website: it’s in my links on the right.

What I know about him-off the top of my head:

Came here from St. Louis to get a job on the WPA Writer’s Project: was not hired by Lyle Saxon. Came back and lived on Toulouse, then on Orleans then on Dumaine.

Lived in Key West later in life.

Poker Night was the original name for the play Streetcar Named Desire. The Desire streetcar started running in 1920, and traveled down Decatur, through the French Market, over to Royal, then right on Canal and right again on Bourbon to head to Desire. Streetcar was shut down the year or year after the play opened on Broadway.

Had a party where the landlady poured hot water through the floorboards to quiet everyone down.

He said:

“There are only 3 cities in the United States-New York, San Francisco and New Orleans. The rest is just Cleveland.”