It seems obvious that Lee Circle should get a new name–and Lee’s statue removed, maybe buried Cadillac Ranch-style out in City Park. I’m not about to propose any alternatives, but Can’t we all agree it’s time to turn the page on Lee? Almost anything would be better.
Then, how about we actually make ________ Circle a nice space? Right now it’s just sort of depressing.
But here’s what really drives home how lame Lee Circle is. In each direction–North, South, East, West–a street spokes away. On the sidewalk in each direction is a big compass rock–I’m tempted to call them boulders–and a metal capital letter has been bolted to each one indicating the direction–N, S, E, W. Each rock sits on a wooden pallet.
The best view is to the East where the museums have clustered:
My favorite, though, is the view to the West–because the W has been stolen:
Update: A comment from rcs points me to the former name of Lee Circle. Via Kendall’s History of New Orleans:
Lee Circle was formerly Tivoli Circle, from the tivoli, or “flying horses,” which, to the great delight of the children of the neighborhood, once operated there.
Flying horses! Much, much better!
Let’s see…they’d also have to take down the Jeff Davis statue and rename the parkway, they’d have to take down the Beauregard statue in front of the NOMA, and they’d also have to either take down the Liberty Place marker, no matter how “tucked away” it currently is, and/or put something in its place that marks what really happened.
So damn much has to change. And putting compass rocks around it won’t do it.
Maybe if they took the rocks off the stupid pallets…naaaah.
It used to be Tivoli Circle. Agreed it’s in sad shape these days. Here’s an image of it from more prosperous times:
Oops, here’s the link to the photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcschafer/3622400826/
Hey, Liprap! I think Lee Circle is such a great place to start though. Given all the relative goodness of the nearby museum district, and the streetcar line, and the tens of thousands of tourists who roam thereabouts during Carnival, it’s prime for change.
I want my flying horses.
How ’bout Lee on a horse? Monument Avenue, Richmond, VA.
http://www.monumenthouse.com/richmond/monument/3062
Yeah, maybe we could have a carousel with a Confederate figure on each flying horse … or that might be better left to Richmond, VA. How are all those new Obama-voting Northern VA residents taking to the Confederates?
You mean up there in the communist suburbs of Northern VA?
They seem to be handling things well, especially since most of “Real Virginia” is not too close.
I believe that “Lee Circle” is a mistake. It’s still on the books as “Tivoli Circle” or “Place du Tivoli.” Tivoli doesn’t mean flying horses. It’s a place in Italy, I think it’s ancient Tiber. The city records I believe state that the area within the circle should be known as Lee Place, and that is within Tivoli Circle. I too want flying horses. Maybe we could name the port a potties used during Mardi Gras after Confederate army officers. The biggest and best one could be the Robert E. Lee portable toilet.