TIL: Today I Learned... (9 Viewers)

[Mr. Blue Sky]

Wasn’t trying to place it in FC just amused by the ‘all the rage’ phrase
Like if he had said ‘Chalmette is the crown jewel of St Bernard’… it requires a certain generosity of language

Everyone knows that the crown jewel of St Bernard Parish is Violet, La…. And it’s denizens, the “Violations.”

 

[Grumpy Old Manatee]

Sadly, I think that Kenny’s Key West was the cornerstone of Fat City. That is, before Senor Frogs and Sharky’s Reef moved in

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

Sharky’s Reef

Again, too young to experience the nightlife there- but my grandmother did take me for lunch a couple times circa mid-1980s to see the giant aquarium wall .

 

[Bill]

Was Crash Landing considered to be located in Fat City?

Always felt that Fat City was bounded by Severn, Edenborn(or Division), West Esplanade and Vets Blvd.

From what I remember the Crash Landing wasn't actually in Fat City. It was off the Interstate 10 behind the Clearview Mall.
Fat City was next to the Lakeside Mall off of Causeway Blvd. The east/west boundaries were Severn St. & Division Ave. The north/south boundaries were West Esplanade Ave. & Veterans Blvd. The Crash Landing was built from an old 4-engine Lockheed Constellation passenger plane and it was set up a couple of miles west of Fat City at the Clearview exit off I-10.

 

[faceman]

I don’t understand why they couldn’t get a couple tugs off the beach, hook up to its tail, and drag it off into the water?

I imagine the water wasn't deep enough that close to shore. Have you ever seen a tug boat prop? Those
things are massive.

 

[Sailorsaint]

I imagine the water wasn't deep enough that close to shore. Have you ever seen a tug boat prop? Those
things are massive.

Surely they could find some mooring line long enough? I mean, almost anything would have been better than “let’s explode it!” lol

 

[zatsnzapps]

From what I remember the Crash Landing wasn't actually in Fat City. It was off the Interstate 10 behind the Clearview Mall.
Fat City was next to the Lakeside Mall off of Causeway Blvd. The east/west boundaries were Severn St. & Division Ave. The north/south boundaries were West Esplanade Ave. & Veterans Blvd. The Crash Landing was built from an old 4-engine Lockheed Constellation passenger plane and it was set up a couple of miles west of Fat City at the Clearview exit off I-10.

Nah, the grumpy one is correct (in a later post). It was off the Causeway exit on the service road.

If you were headed west from the city towards MSY, it was off to the right as you exited I-10 and could see it from the exit. I think there was an S turn on the service road, and it was right in the middle of that, IIRC.

 

[zatsnzapps]

Also FC adjacent is usually where we’d go to catch Vets parades

I think you're exactly a couple years older than me, so depending on which years you were there, we may have crossed paths.

We used to live a block off Vets near FC so you were probably close to where we were.

 

[Bill]

Nah, the grumpy one is correct (in a later post). It was off the Causeway exit on the service road.

If you were headed west from the city towards MSY, it was off to the right as you exited I-10 and could see it from the exit.

Yep. That's where I remember it too.
It was next to the service road behind the Clearview Mall. I remember seeing it every time we rode east on the I-10.
It was a cool landmark for a while.

 

[zatsnzapps]

Yep. That's where I remember it too.
It was next to the service road behind the Clearview Mall. I remember seeing it every time we rode east on the I-10.
It was a cool landmark for a while.

Clearview is the next exit up from Causeway, so it wasn't behind the mall. It was definitely off the Causeway exit.

The Crash Landing night club was located at 2645 N. Causeway Blvd., in Metairie. The site became a suburban landmark for many years from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. A 1950s Constellation model 1049 aircraft was mounted on the roof of the building. It could seen from Interstate 10 and attracted a great deal of attention.

Artist Bill Crowell paints 'unique' scene of the old Crash Landing bar

Metairie acrylic artist Bill Crowell has built his career around painting indigenous New Orleans scenes and people which reflect the spirit, culture and sui generis of the Crescent City. Mardi

www.nola.com

 

[faceman]

Surely they could find some mooring line long enough? I mean, almost anything would have been better than “let’s explode it!” lol

I do agree there. Whale blubber has oil that is very flammable. Eskimos have used it for ages in their
lanterns. I'd burn it personally. The smell would probably be bad for awhile,but it would go away. It
may not be the best solution,but it's better than dynamiting it lol

 

[LonghornSaint]

And it was still there!

One of my all time favorite youtube videos!!

"Indeed, the seagulls are standing by"
2 minutes later
"The seagulls, which were supposed to clean up the remaining mess, were nowhere to be found, either scared away by the blast, or kept away by the smell"

 

[Bill]

Clearview is the next exit up from Causeway, so it wasn't behind the mall. It was definitely off the Causeway exit.

Artist Bill Crowell paints 'unique' scene of the old Crash Landing bar

Metairie acrylic artist Bill Crowell has built his career around painting indigenous New Orleans scenes and people which reflect the spirit, culture and sui generis of the Crescent City. Mardi

www.nola.com

I think what threw me on the correct intersection is that now Causeway has an elevated roadway that goes over Veterans Hwy. As a kid I remember that there was no obstruction blocking the view of the airplane from the interstate. But I definitely remembered that it was on the northeast quadrant of the cloverleaf right next to the service road. Thanks for the article to help get my bearings straight.

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

I think what threw me on the correct intersection is that now Causeway has an elevated roadway that goes over Veterans Hwy. As a kid I remember that there was no obstruction blocking the view of the airplane from the interstate. But I definitely remembered that it was on the northeast quadrant of the cloverleaf right next to the service road. Thanks for the article to help get my bearings straight.

Yes i was having trouble remembering whether it was Causeway or Clearview myself.. which is wild since i remember passing that plane sticking out of the building no less than 150,000 times while riding in my dad’s El Camino as a kid…. But it’s been over 40 yrs so i guess even my steel trap memory isnt always 100% reliable .