The beautiful Historic Plaque is now in place ready to be unveiled.
The traditional Louisiana state plaque, complete with an emblazoned and beloved brown pelican, briefly describes the events surrounding the catastrophic breach of the 17th Street Canal during Katrina.
The plaque was recently approved by the Architectural Historian with the Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation, and will be placed on the New Orleans city right-of-way on Bellaire Drive in the Lakeview neighborhood.
Levees.org sees this as the first of many historic plaques to be installed in New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish. The group envisions plaques at the London Avenue Canal, the Industrial Canal and the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet to name just a few.
What: Dedication Ceremony of Historic Plaque
When: Monday, August 23 at 10:30a
Where: 6932 Bellaire Drive New Orleans (T-intersection of Bellaire and Stafford)
New Orleans Councilwoman Susan Guidry, Council President Arnie Fielkow and Harry Shearer (director of The Big Uneasy to be released August 30) have confirmed they will attend.
UPDATE: A spokesperson for Mayor Mitch Landrieu will speak at the Ceremony.
could you please get these original lyrics to Sandy Rosenthal:
I would love for her to hear the tune, I just do not know how to contact her:
Road Back Home
Left soaking wet, now dry as a bone
On the road back home.
All shut in with the next of my kin
On the road back home
Aint no telling what we gonna find
Whats left of whats left behind
On the road back home to Louisiana
Back down to New Orleans
Lost my way with the LRA
To the back of the line
“All clear” say the corp of engineers
Better get it right this time
Gotta get back, and I cant wait
for the very next thing the mayor may or not say
On the road back home to Louisiana
Back down to New Orleans
(chorus)
Dragging up , dragging up
Where in the world did you drag up
When they siphoned the city
Where did you hang to dry
Dragging up,dragging up
You got that long lost look in your eye
When they siphoned the city
Where did you hang to dry
Wrapped this state in a roll of red tape
Can’t take much more
Allstate man aint got no hands
Its written all over the wall and the door
So you can stop the presses and cut the crap
Hell or high water, we coming back
Down the road to Louisiana
Back down to new Orleans
(chorus)
Andy Cale
504-909-3684
Oh, I’m sooo glad for the plaque.
Its significance is important to me: memoralizing the event, for those lost, things lost, grieving, and for the rebuilding of community, lives, and discovery of self.
Thank YOU so much, Ms. Rosenthal, for all the incredible work that you do!
Margaret “Linda” Le Bon
125 Stafford Place NOLA 70124
Dear Ms. LeBon,
We sponsored the plaque for you, your family, your neighbors, your fellow Americans, and for humanity.
We are very glad you like it. But this is the first. We plan to sponsor more such plaques. And we hope other neighborhoods may be moved to initiate sponsoring such a plaque.
Sandy
Does anyone know what the inscription on the plaque says?
Thanks.
Susan B.
Dear Susan,
Here is the inscription of the Plaque.
17th STREET CANAL FLOODWALL
On August 29, 2005, a federal floodwall
atop a levee on the 17th Street Canal, the
largest and most important drainage
Canal for the city, gave way here Causing
flooding that killed hundreds. This breach
was one of 50 ruptures in the Federal Flood
Protection System that occurred that day.
In 2008, the US District Court Eastern
District of Louisiana placed responsibility
for this floodwall’s collapse squarely on
the US Army Corps of Engineers; however,
the agency is protected from financial
liability in the Flood Control Act of 1928.