How Marrero grew from the land of truck farms to become a suburb of New Orleans

In the historical geography of our metropolis, various spatial patterns have shaped urban expansion.

Some neighborhoods grew outwardly from an initial nucleus. Others expanded linearly along an axis or artery. Still others urbanized laterally, weaving together adjacent communities like fabric. Many exhibited all three processes in sequence.

Places like French Quarter, Gretna, and Kenner all developed from a nucleus. In the case of the French Quarter, the nucleus was the Jackson Square area, starting in 1718; in the case of Gretna, it was a ferry landing, where service began in 1836; and in the case of Kenner, it was a railroad station, opened in 1855.

Places like Metairie and Gentilly began along linear arteries, namely a ridgetop pathway that became today’s Metairie Road and Gentilly B