The Fly (New Orleans, Louisiana)

USA / Louisiana / Westwego / New Orleans, Louisiana
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Years ago there was a concrete structure at this approximate location that was in the shape of a butterfly that extended over the river. This structure which also included a concrete deck had a classic 50's style and housed a concession stand and a restroom. Its location was approximately near the current Audubon Zoo paddle boat landing. Sometime in the late 80's a runaway barge ran into it and collapsed and destroyed the building but the name remains.
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Coordinates:   29°55'11"N   90°7'57"W

Comments

  • How and when did "The Audubon Park Levee" get this "The Fly" name?
  • I agree with MDH.
  • Years ago there was a concrete structure there that was in the shape of a butterfly that extended over the river. This structure which also included a concrete deck had a classic 50's style and housed a concession stand and I think a restroom. Its location was approximately near the current Audubon Zoo paddle boat landing. Sometime in the late 80's or early 90's a runaway barge ran into it and collapsed and destroyed the building but the name remains.
  • We used to go mud riding out there after school. I had an old beat up Mercedes Benz that I would tear through the muddy field with...good times.
  • In the 1970s, the Audubon Zoo was badly out-dated and very nearly shut-down, but with public & private efforts, the Zoo and the adjacent area between the levee and river - historically a landfill - were renovated. At the heart of this new Riverview Park was the "butterfly" concessions structure, a Seventies Modern building with a sloping concrete roof which actually looked more like a stingray, with upturned pointed wingtips. The "Butterfly" nickname became vernacular for the entire park and was later shortened to simply "The Fly". In addition to concessions & restrooms, the building originally housed a roller skate rental business which lasted only a year or two. The concession business eventually faded and the building fell into disrepair. I seem to recall that it was fenced-off to discourage kids from climbing on it's sloped roof. I don't remember a catastrophic runaway barge incident, but the building was eventually demolished in a subsequent renovation of the park, which included the current avant-garde bandstand, playground and shelters along the water's edge.
This article was last modified 13 years ago