A Walk Around the Neighborhood after Hurricane Isaac

Clio overlooking Esplanade Avenue this morning

It was a quiet week on the 2200 block of Esplanade Avenue.  As you may have heard, Hurricane Isaac blew into town last Tuesday and stayed the day.  High winds and 20 inches of rain.  No damage sustained to La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast save a large branch off the pecan tree in back.  Everything was tidied up by the neighbors the following day.  There is pride in place hereabouts.

Until a few minutes ago, however, there hasn't been any power on the 2200 block of Esplanade Avenue.  Now, everything is truly back to normal.

With nothing to do, after noodling around the grounds, sweeping, raking, and generally making everything shipshape, I walked around our block and took pictures of the properties adjoining La Belle Esplanade on this most picturesque part of one of the most beautiful streets in New Orleans.  

The 2200 block starts, naturally enough, at 2200 Esplanade Avenue, which is located on the corner of North Miro Street:

The sky was really this blue this morning

I decided to start at the beginning and move lakeside toward North Tonti Street.  2200 Esplanade is a tidy elevated house painted lavender.  There isn't much in the way of landscaping.  The building prefers to speak for itself, and it does so with a song.

Moving on, there is 2206 Esplanade Avenue:

A rose by any other name smells just as sweet

This property takes landscaping in another direction.  It is a family homestead that has been in the family for generations.  It is lovingly cared for, a delightful accumulation of details.  Pink and yellow, they work magic together.

If the wind was blowing, you would see that the flag is Hamburg, Germany's

Following 2206, is the majestic 2212 Esplanade Avenue.  This is the house that people used to stop to take pictures of before La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast got its fresh coat of paint.  2212, 2216, and 2222 Esplanade Avenue were all built at the same time by the same man in the 1890s.

Moving on, a property we should all be familiar with by now...

A New Orleans Bed & Breakfast

Has a more stunning color scheme ever been assembled?  La Belle Esplanade, you never fail to bring a smile to a pedestrian's face.  You can see the inside here.  2216 Esplanade Avenue anchors the block with its beautiful facade.

That is a limp Connecticut flag haning by the door

Julius Weiss, the cotton broker who built 2212, 2216, and 2222 Esplanade Avenue, wasn't a man who invested in half measures.  For 2222, he decided to go all out Italianate, even though he was a German by birth.  While there is no accounting for bad taste, credit should be given when good taste is exercised, as it certainly is here.

Next to 2222 Esplanade is another manor that has just received a fresh coat of paint at 2232.  

Carnation pink

Note that the ceilings of the front porch are painted cerulean blue, the same as La Belle Esplanade.  Great minds think alike.  Let's take a closer look from the front at street level:

Understated and stately

So there are La Belle Esplanade's immediate neighbors.  The property keeps elegant company.  All photos were taken this morning.  As you can see, Hurricane Isaac had little effect on the joie de vivre of this tiny part of New Orleans.