Metairie, Louisiana

History

Métairie () 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.

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. An electric streetcar was installed running along the road in the late 1910s, opening the area to greater development. Upscale housing tracts were constructed off the road in the 1920s; this area is now known as "Old Metairie".

The 1947 Fort Lauderdale hurricane, with winds of 125 mph, directly hit Metairie. Much of the community was under 6 ft of water.

Hurricane Betsy, a Category 3 storm, hit the area in 1965, causing extensive wind damage and moderate flooding. Thirty years later, the May 8, 1995 Louisiana flood, which dumped upwards of 20 in of rain on 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.

In 1989, a Metairie district elected white supremacist David Duke to the Louisiana state legislature for a single term.

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.

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. In the 1970s and early 1980s, an area of bars and nightclubs opened in a section of Metairie known as "Fat City". Several New Orleans radio and television stations have also established transmitter facilities in Metairie and Jefferson Parish; two of them, WGNO-TV and WNOL, now have studios and main offices in Metairie.

Geography

Metairie is located in eastern Jefferson Parish and is bordered by New Orleans to the east, Kenner to the west, Lake Pontchartrain to the north, and the Illinois Central Railroad tracks to the south. South of the railroad are River Ridge, Harahan, Elmwood, and Jefferson. The 17th Street Canal forms the border between Metairie and New Orleans to the east. It is a principal community in Greater New Orleans. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Metairie CDP has a total area of 60.2 sqkm, of which 60.1 sqkm is land and 0.1 sqkm, or 0.18%, is water.

Climate

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 annually; the summer months are the wettest, while October is the driest month. Precipitation in winter usually accompanies the passing of a cold front. On average, there are 77 days of 90 °F or greater highs, 8.1 days per winter where the high does not exceed 50 °F, and 8.0 nights with freezing lows annually. It is rare for the temperature to reach 20 or, with the last occurrence of each being February 5, 1996, and June 26, 2016, respectively. |Jan record high F = 82 |Feb record high F = 85 |Mar record high F = 88 |Apr record high F = 93 |May record high F = 96 |Jun record high F = 99 |Jul record high F = 101 |Aug record high F = 103 |Sep record high F = 101 |Oct record high F = 97 |Nov record high F = 87 |Dec record high F = 84 |Jan record low F = 16 |Feb record low F = 20 |Mar record low F = 28 |Apr record low F = 37 |May record low F = 51 |Jun record low F = 54 |Jul record low F = 64 |Aug record low F = 64

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

Matairie first appeared as an unincorporated community in the 1970 U.S. census; and as a census designated place in the 1980 United States census.

According to the 2019 American Community Survey, there were 130,427 people living in the census-designated place. At the 2010 United States census, there were 138,481 people living in Metairie. 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. 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.

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.

Religion

In Metairie, an estimated 54.1% of adult residents identified with some religion as of 2019. Due to Spanish and French colonial influence, Metairie and the surrounding area have an overwhelmingly Catholic populace. Approximately 34.6% identified with the Catholic Church, served by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans; 5.9% were Baptist, 3.1% Pentecostal, 1.4% Methodist, 0.6% Lutheran, 0.6% Latter-Day Saints, 0.5% Anglican, and 0.5% from another Christian group including the Metropolitan Community Church among others.

At this survey, approximately 0.7% were Muslims and 0.4% identified with an Eastern religion such as Hinduism, Buddhism, or Sikhism; 0.6% of the community claimed affiliation with Judaism. Metairie is home to Congregation Gates of Prayer, a Reform synagogue, and beside it is Congregation Beth Israel, the oldest Orthodox congregation in the New Orleans metro area. Beth Israel constructed its new building in Metairie in 2012, several years after its building in Lakeview, New Orleans was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

Economy

Metarie has the headquarters of Rawbar Inc., which operates Acme Oyster House, a restaurant chain.

Arts and culture

Public libraries

Jefferson Parish Library operates public libraries. The East Bank Regional Library, which houses the library system's headquarters, is in Metairie. Other public libraries in Metairie include the Lakeshore Library, the Old Metairie Library, and the Wagner Library.

Tallest buildings

Three Lakeway Center is 403 ft, and is the tallest building in Louisiana outside of New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The Galleria is 269 ft.

Sports

Metairie was home to the New Orleans Baby Cakes Triple-A Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League from 1993 to 2019. The minor league club played its home games at Privateer Park, home to the University of New Orleans's NCAA baseball team, from 1992 through 1996, and at Shrine on Airline from 1997 to 2019.

The training facilities of NFL franchise New Orleans Saints and the NBA franchise New Orleans Pelicans are located in Metairie. As such, many players reside in the area.

Boxing cards have been held in the Copeland Tower Suites (formerly Landmark Hotel).

Beginning in 2020, the New Orleans Gold of Major League Rugby play their homes games in Metairie at the Gold Mine on Airline.

Parks and recreation

Notable parks include Lafreniere Park and Pontiff Playground.

Education

Metairie's public schools are operated by the Jefferson Parish Public School System.

There is one zoned public high school in Metairie: East Jefferson High School. Additionally, many residents are zoned to Alfred Bonnabel High School in Kenner and Riverdale High School in Jefferson.

Previously, some residents were zoned to Grace King High School in Metairie. Grace King High School closed in 2023.

Magnet public schools

• Haynes Academy for Advanced Studies

Private schools

• Archbishop Chapelle High School
• Archbishop Rummel High School
• Crescent City Christian School
• Metairie Park Country Day School
• Ridgewood Preparatory School-closed 2023
• St. Martin's Episcopal School

Infrastructure

Transportation

Mass transit is provided by Jefferson Transit.

Major roads include Interstate 10, Veterans Memorial Boulevard and Earhart Expressway. The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway's southern terminus lies in Metairie.

References

References

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