These mysterious poles along Elysian Fields Avenue mark the floodwater’s height after Katrina

In 2008, you could still see how high the water had risen during the flood that accompanied Hurricane Katrina three years earlier. An ugly gray watermark seemed to wrap everything like a bathtub ring. But those marks had begun to fade or be painted over.

Though most residents were probably happy to see signs of the tragedy disappear, artists Erica Larkin and Mitchell Gaudet felt there should be some record of the scope of the catastrophe. The visual symbol envisioned by the duo, a married couple, was simple.

They designed a series of a dozen stout poles installed at intervals along the Elysian Fields Avenue neutral ground. Each pole would be ornamented with a translucent blue glass ring that marked the height of the floodwater at the various sites, all the way from the Mississippi Rive