Spawning City Park – 5 City Park Facts

Peristyle in New Orleans City Park

City Park sits at an impressive 1,300 acres and is America’s 20th most visited park. For an urban park, it rivals the best and most famous in the world’s well-traveled cities. So strap on your learning boots, because we’re about to hammer out some quick City Park facts.

City Park Used to Be Swamp

The first of your City Park facts is that this beautiful park was once almost entirely swamp land. City Park historically straddled two separate waterways. On the southern side is Bayou St. John, formerly known as Bayou Metairie. On the northern border was Lake Pontchartrain. In between the two bodies of water used to be a mix of swamp and marsh. 

The higher ground would have been closer to the southern side along Bayou St John, and the elevation became lower towards Lake Pontchartrain. Swamp would have been the stagnant freshwater areas with dense tree cover and vegetation. Marsh would have been the tidal grassy plains near the lake with mostly brackish lake water. 

The Allard Family Drained the Swamp then Failed

At some point in the early New Orleans European settlement, the land that is now City Park was cleared and put into agricultural production. The most prominent family to own the land was the Allard family. They styled it as a plantation and used it for a combination of sugarcane production, with some cattle grazing and indigo production as well.

Louis Allard was his family’s last owner of the property. However, he had a notorious lack of interest and business acumen. So eventually his business failures caused Louis Allard to sell the land to the famous and wealthy businessman John McDonogh. 

Louis Allard Was Once Buried under the Dueling Oaks

Louis Allard, during his life, was known to sit under a large oak tree on his property and spend his time reading and writing. That same oak tree over time became known as one of the “Dueling Oaks.” Fiery young gentlemen would challenge each other and defend their honor by meeting up at the Dueling Oaks. They would then choose whether to fight by swords or pistols, and the battle would ensue.

The tomb was located along Dreyfous Drive near what is now the Sculpture Garden and New Orleans Museum of Art. In the 1900s the park realized that the tomb was empty, the contents presumably having been stolen, and removed the tomb.

John McDonogh Turned it Into A Park

Upon McDonogh’s death in 1950, his will stated that the land must be donated to New Orleans City Government and turned into a park. The remaining sections of swamp were cleared out, and the entirety of the property was turned into a park.

Isaac Delgado Was a Massive Benefactor

Isaac Delgado provided the funding to create the Isaac Delgado Museum of art. The museum was later renamed as the New Orleans Museum of Art. He also founded the Delgado Community Collegeat City Park’s southwestern edge. At this time, other funding poured into the park, creating the Peristyle, Casino building, and Pop Bandstand.

To experience City Park, make sure you book a City Driving Tour so we can see the highlights!