Calliope Projects
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| B.W. Cooper Apartments | |
| New Orleans Neighborhood | |
 B.W. Cooper Projects as seen from the corner of Earhart and Galvez
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Louisiana |
| City | New Orleans |
| Planning District | District 4, Mid-City District |
| Elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Coordinates | 29°57′02″N 90°05′32″W / 29.95056°N 90.09222°W |
| Area | 0.30 sq mi (0.8 km2) |
| - land | 0.30 sq mi (1 km2) |
| - water | 0.00 sq mi (0 km2), 0% |
| Population | 4,339 (2000) |
| Density | 14,463 /sq mi (5,584 /km2) |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Area code | 504 |
B.W. Cooper Apartments is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans and one of the housing projects of New Orleans, more commonly known as the Calliope Projects. A subdistrict of the Mid-City District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: the Pontchartrain Expressway to the north, South Claiborne Avenue to the east, MLK Boulevard to the south and South Broad Street to the west. This area of New Orleans gained nationwide fame/infamy for its extremely high violent crime rate, one which rivals even that of the also-famous Magnolia Projects and infamous Melpomene Projects. It is now in the process of being demolished, to be replaced with newer, mixed-income apartment buildings.
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[edit] Geography
B.W. Cooper is located at 29°57′02″N 90°05′32″W / 29.95056°N 90.09222°W [1] and has an elevation of 0 feet (0.0 m)[2]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the district has a total area of 0.30 square miles (0.8 km2). 0.30 square miles (0.8 km2) of which is land and 0.00 square miles (0.0 km2) (0.0%) of which is water.
[edit] Adjacent Neighborhoods
- Tulane/Gravier (north)
- Central City (south)
- Gert Town (west)
[edit] Boundaries
The City Planning Commission defines the boundaries of B.W. Cooper as these streets: Pontchartrain Expressway, South Claiborne Avenue, MLK Boulevard and South Broad Street.[3]
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 4,339 people, 1,421 households, and 1,139 families residing in the neighborhood. The population density was 14,463 /mi² (5,424 /km²).
[edit] History
Officially called the B.W. Cooper apartments, the Calliope Projects (pronounced KAL-ee-ohp) is one of the Housing Projects of New Orleans located in Central City New Orleans. There are 1,546 units on 56 acres (230,000 m2) of land (or 24 city blocks.)
The project was built between 1939 and 1941. The original boundaries were South Dorgenois, Erato, Calliope (now Earhart Boulevard) and South Prieur Streets. In 1941, rents ran from $8.25 a month for a one bedroom apartment to $22.00 a month for a three bedroom.
There are 690 apartments in the original development. In 1949, a gymnasium was added at Broad and Calliope Streets.
In 1954, a twelve block expansion added 860 new units. The expansion pushed the western boundary of the Calliope back two blocks from Erato Street to Melpomene Avenue (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard).
In May 1981, the Calliope was renamed the B. W. Cooper Apartments. Mr. Cooper worked for the Housing Authority of New Orleans for 33 years and served on several civic and social organizations until his death in 1974.
The Calliope Projects (or simply Calio to the locals) are among the most notorious in Uptown New Orleans and the United States along with the Magnolia Projects and Melpomene Projects. The drug trade and subsequent violence from it were two of the primary reasons New Orleans was nicknamed the "Murder Capital of the U.S."
The projects are in the 2nd Ward (map).
To locals, however, the B. W. Cooper is thought to be located in the 3rd Ward, hence nicknames like CP3 (Calliope Project 3rd ward).[citation needed]
Most of Calliope is closed due to damage from Hurricane Katrina. As of January 2007, a small section of Calliope has been reopened to residents.
[edit] Notable residents
- C-Murder, rapper
- Lil Chuckee, Young Money Entertainment artist
- Lil Romeo, rapper
- Master P, rapper
- Neville Brothers
- Silkk The Shocker
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: B.W. Cooper Projects |
[edit] References
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ Greater New Orleans Community Data Center. "B.W. Cooper Apartments Neighborhood". http://gnocdc.org/orleans/4/60/index.html. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
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