The following guide has been copied from the Amtrak route guide available online.The entries have been reversed to represent the direction of travel.
Welcome aboard the Sunset Limited. From the pulsing rhythm of New Orleans jazz to the flash of Hollywood, discover the spectacular scenery, geology, history and thriving cities that are uniquely American. On board the Sunset Limited, you will experience the comfort and relaxation of train travel while viewing spectacular scenery. We are happy to have you aboard today and want to ensure your trip is everything you want it to be. If there is anything that can be done to make your trip more enjoyable, please do not hesitate to call upon any Amtrak employee.
HOST RAILROADS are the freight and commuter railroads that Amtrak contracts with to operate Amtrak passenger trains. The Sunset Limited travels between New Orleans and Lake Charles over the BNSF Railway Company; and between Lake Charles and Los Angeles over the Union Pacific Railway.
LOS ANGELES - El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora de la Reina de Los Angeles (The Town of Our Lady of the Queen of Angels), now known simply as Los Angeles, was founded in 1781. Note the Los Angeles County Hospital on the right as we travel along Interstate 10, the San Bernardino Freeway. Crossing the concrete-lined Los Angeles River, you’ll be reminded of numerous television and movie chase scenes. The station is a fitting blend of Spanish and Art Deco styles, reflecting both the city’s early heritage and its great film tradition. Opened in 1939, it was the last of the great “union stations” serving multiple railroads. Across from the station is Olvera Street, a colorful historic district that marks the site of the original village. The city leads the world in producing popular entertainment, which forms the base of its international fame and global status as “Tinseltown.” It is also home to people from more than 140 countries speaking over 200 different languages. Visible from the front of the station is Los Angeles City Hall, made famous as The Daily Planet in Superman and as itself in Dragnet, both popular television shows from the 1950s and 1960s. At Los Angeles, passengers may transfer to Pacific Surfliner® trains to San Diego and Santa Barbara, Metrolink commuter trains to other Southern California communities or the MTA Red subway or Gold light rail lines to still more parts of the city. If you are detraining here, we hope you enjoyed your trip. If you are just beginning your journey, welcome aboard!
California State University at Los Angeles visible on the left as we travel up the center median of Interstate 10, or the San Bernardino Freeway, serves 21,000 students and boasts one of the best nursing schools in the state. Its Television, Film and Media Studies program coordinates with the neighboring Hollywood film industry. Notable alumni include tennis great Billie Jean King.
El Monte has as its slogan “the end of the Santa Fe Trail.” Settlement began here in 1849. The city became an important site for the New Deal’s Subsistence Homestead project during the Great Depression that helped supply single-family ranch homes to qualifying applicants. Longo Toyota here bills itself as the world’s largest Toyota dealer for over 40 years. Cheech Marin of Cheech and Chong fame is a one-time resident of El Monte. We cross the San Gabriel River just east of the city.
POMONA is home to California State Polytechnic University, known for its nationally-ranked engineering and architectural programs and visible on the right. It is also the site of the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds. The city is known as well for hosting the National Hot Rod Association’s Winternationals drag racing event. Pomona is named for the ancient Roman goddess of fruit. The city gained prominence in 1964 when it received mention in Ronny and the Daytona’s hit song G.T.O. Numerous movies and scenes from movie and television shows have been filmed here. Notable residents include “Sugar” Shane Mosley, winner of world boxing titles in three weight divisions.
ONTARIO forms part of Southern California’s Inland Empire region, that name having been derived from its location some 37 miles inland of the Pacific Ocean and east of downtown Los Angeles. Its Ontario Mills shopping mall is the largest one-level mall in Western North America – so large that automatic doors play audio reminders of which entrance one has used. The city has a manufacturing industry that includes the Maglite Corporation, makers of flashlights. The Graber Olive House, which produces olives, is a city historical landmark and one of the oldest institutions in the city.
PALM SPRINGS is best known for its golfing tournaments and “Walk of Stars” honoring those who have contributed to the city’s prominence and name recognition. A desert city, it offers, in addition to golf, tennis, horseback riding and hiking as major forms of recreation. Its Palm Springs Arial Tramway ascends two and one-half miles to reveal views of the entire Coachella Valley. Numerous five-star hotels, restaurants and attractions cater to tourists. Many celebrities have established residences in the area. The Palm Springs International Film Festival presents star-filled, red-carpet events, and the area is host to a number of sporting events including tennis and golfing tournaments and major boxing matches. Note the giant windmills visible from both sides of the train. Nearly continuous strong winds coming off Mount San Jacinto and San Gorgonio Mountain (the highest peak in Southern California) power these huge structures to generate eco-friendly electricity. The city garnered notoriety when former entertainer-turned-politician Sonny Bono served as mayor between 1988 and 1992.
Arizona/California State Line
A time change occurs here during winter. Eastbound passengers should set their watches back one hour; westbound one hour ahead. Note the Eucalyptus trees near the tracks, a species native to Australia that is used as an effect windbreak, and properties of which are medicinal.
YUMA is located in the Sonoran Desert and the eastern bank of the Colorado River separating Arizona and California. Take note of the most photographed sand dunes in the world as we pass through town and continue heading west. The city’s sunny and warm climate makes it a popular tourist haven and site for winter destination for snowbirds and water enthusiasts. The Yuma Territorial Prison State Historical Park offers tours through the Arizona Territory’s first prison, now a museum. The Marine Corps Air Station and Yuma Proving Ground share responsibility for population growth. Former CNN anchor man Lou Dobbs began his broadcasting career here as a police and fire reporter for KBLU-AM.
MARICOPA is home to the Koli Equestrian Center, offering horseback riding trails on the Gila River Indian Reservation. The station here features a former converted California Zephyr dome observation lounge car. The town itself has had three incarnations: one as a stagecoach relay and trading center, one as a railroad junction and a third as a fast-growing business location.
TUCSON was first inhabited 12,000 years ago by Paleo-Indians. Established as a Spanish fort in 1775, it was originally part of Mexico after it gained independence from Spain in 1821. In 1853, it became part of the U.S. after the Gadsden Purchase. Surrounded by five major mountain ranges, it is the southernmost ski destination in the country. The Tucson desert is home to the Saguaro National Park, known for its unique giant cacti that can reach a height of 50 feet. The Old Tucson Movie Studio was a backdrop for some 300 of Hollywood’s greatest western movies. Much of the city’s economic development has been centered on the University of Arizona, its second largest employer. High-tech industries also employ some 50,000 people. The Tucson Gem & Mineral Show each February is one of the largest of its kind in the world, drawing more than 50,000 attendees from 20 countries. Vocalist and entertainer Linda Ronstadt hails from Tucson.
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Watch for a vast aircraft “bone yard”on the right where the dry desert climate preserves hundreds of stored airplanes. Nearby is the Pima Air & Space Museum, which displays historic aircraft. The base is an air combat command installation, the primary mission of which is to train pilots to provide close air support and forward air control to ground forces worldwide.
BENSON, situated on the San Pedro River, grew up in the early 1900s as the demand for copper and silver increased, shipped in as they were for smelting and distribution via the adjacent Southern (now Union) Pacific Railroad main line. In the modern era, its moderate climate and location as a gateway to Kartchner Caverns State Park have resulted in its growing popularity as a retirement community and tourist destination offering train trips and stagecoach rides. Its culture is ingrained in the Old West and traditional railroad heritage. The Benson Visitor Center – Train Depot is in the heart of the historic district.
The Dragoon Mountains in Arizona, soon visible on the right, provided the cover for Geronimo’s former base of operations. The historic town of Tombstone, the legendary location of “Boot Hill” Cemetery and “Shootout at O.K. Corral” referenced in so many TV “westerns,” is located at the southwestern portion of this range, 24 miles from Benson. It receives some 450,000 tourists annually.
New Mexico/Arizona State Line
A time change occurs here between April and October. When traveling westbound, set your watch back one hour; if eastbound, one hour forward. The Pelloncillo Mountains we now pass through, straddling each state, were the final homelands of the Chirichua Apaches. Chief Geronimo’s surrender to the U.S. Calvary at the Skeleton Canyon here in 1886 forever ended the Indian Wars in the U.S. The Lieutenant who negotiated the meeting was neither recognized nor promoted and died in obscurity. The region is today important for mining copper, silver and gold.
LORDSBURG was founded in 1880 as a Southern Pacific Railroad town. In 1938, the first airport in New Mexico began operations here. During World War II, some 1,500 Japanese-Americans were held locally at a U.S. Army internment camp. In 1927, the town was one of the stops on Charles Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St. Louis” air tour. Shakespeare, a ghost town 2 miles south, was a stop on the famous Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach route between 1857 and 1861, an early operation of Wells Fargo and American Express. Employing over 800, it used 250 Concord stagecoaches and 1,800 head of stock at its peak. Today, Lordsburg a popular rest stop for travelers on Interstate 10, with more than 300 guest rooms available.
Continental Divide Halfway to Deming, we cross the Divide at an elevation of 4,587 ft., the point at which waters east of it flow into the Atlantic and to the west of it into the Pacific.
DEMING was founded in 1881, named after Mary Ann Deming Crocker, wife of Charles Crocker – one of the so-called “Big Four” of the railroad industry in that era. Here the Silver Spike was driven to commemorate the meeting of the Southern Pacific and the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe railroads, the second transcontinental railroad to be completed in the U.S. Of the numerous prehistoric Native American sites in the area, the Mimbres and Casas Grandes cultures left pottery of remarkable quality. The Lunas Mimbres Museum displays these artifacts, dating from between 950 A.D. and 1250 A.D. Among its other exhibits are a cowboy chuck wagon, a ”Harvey House” traditional railroad restaurant and social center, and an antique auto collection that houses an extremely rare 1907 REO. Those initials stood for Ransom E. Olds, who pioneered both the REO and a more familiar brand, Oldsmobile. Watch for jack rabbits, cottontails, kangaroo rats, hawks, buzzards, coyotes, porcupines, skunks, songbirds, crows and roadrunners – among others.
Florida Mountains soon loom close to the tracks, along with the Three Sisters. Look out for “Window Peak,” a hole through a ridge in the Floridas at the 7,300 ft.-elevation mark. A flat-top mountain near the tracks is an extinct volcano; watch for rattlesnakes thriving on the warmth of its lava beds extending nearly to trackside. Into these barren lands between El Paso and the mountains rode the famous Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa in 1916. And here, in 1881, came the end for Billy the Kid at the hands of Pat Garrett, the culmination of the famous Lincoln County Wars. To the southeast of Deming lies nearby Rockhound State Park, established in 1966 as the first park in the U.S. to allow collection of rocks and minerals for personal use.
Texas/New Mexico State Line
Rio Grande River serves as a natural boundary; watch for the crucifixion-topped peak of Sierra de Christo Rey to mark this meeting of the Lone Star State, Texas, with Mexico and New Mexico – the Land of Enchantment. The 33-ft. statue stands atop a nine-ft. base on the 4,500-ft. mountain. Spanish for “Big River,” the Rio Grande is 1,885 miles long, fourth longest river system in the U.S.
EL PASO is situated along the Rio Grande River across the border from Ciudad Juárez in Mexico. Fort Bliss, a major U.S. Army installation and local employer, lies to the east and northeast; the Franklin Mountains extend into the city from the north and nearly divides it nto two sections. The area was not considered a part of Texas until 1848 when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo made settlements on the north bank of the Rio Grande River American; the present Texas- New Mexico boundary was drawn in the Compromise of 1850. The population exploded with the arrival of the Southern Pacific, Texas and Pacific and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroads in 1881. Becoming a boomtown, it hired Marshal Dallas Stoudenmire to clean up and tame the cowboys and saloons. By 1930, Conrad Hilton opened his first high-rise hotel here; in 1934, Varney Speed Lines began operations out of El Paso Municipal Airport but was soon taken over and renamed Continental Airlines. The popular drink “Margarita” was first mixed at Tommy’s Place Bar in 1945 in El Paso. The 24,000-acre Franklin Mountains State Park is the argest urban park in the U.S. and resides entirely within the city. Here is the headquarters of Helen of Troy Limited, manufacturer of health products such as Dr. Scholls, Vidal Sassoon and Sunbeam, among others. The offices of Fortune 500 companies such as Hoover, Eureka, Boeing and Delphi are also resident. Local attractions include Big Bend and Carlsbad Caverns national parks. Numerous films have been shot on location in El Paso, including No Country for Old Men starring Tommy Lee Jones. A long list of notables from El Paso includes Gene Roddenberry, television writer and creator of the popular TV series Star Trek. Note the handsomely restored train station here, designed by the same Chicago firm hat built Washington Union Station in Washington, D.C.
Ysleta was settled in 1680 by Spanish conquistadors, Franciscan clerics and Tigua Indians fleeing the Pueblo Revolt in Mexico. In 1955, the City of El Paso annexed Ysleta against the wishes of residents. In 1967, the Tiguas were recognized formerly as the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo. A successful casino was closed after a lobbying effort by Jack Abramoff, who later gained fame in a high-profile Washington political scandal and was convicted of defrauding American Indian tribes and corrupting public officials.
Sierra Blanca takes its name from a mountain just northwest of town. The town came into existence when competing railroads for a second transcontinental line came within ten miles of one another in 1881. Famous railroad magnate Jay Gould is said to have driven a silver spike to commemorate the event, and the town sprang up around the spot. Recent years have seen the rise of controversy over a nearby sewage sludge dump composed of waste products from New York City. Its population was 533 at the latest census.
Time Zone Change Set your watch ahead one hour of westbound; one hour back if eastbound.
Marfa is a tourist destination located between the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park. The name is derived from a character in a Jules Verne novel. The Chinati Foundation holds an annual open house for artists, collectors and art enthusiasts from around the world in its more than ten buildings of permanent exhibits. The famous 1956 film Giant staring Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean was filmed here and depicts the west Texas oil and ranching cultures. The city is one of the prime soaring sites in the U.S., an aviation sport dedicated to gliding on air currents. The town may be best known for the phenomenon known as the “Marfa Lights,” unexplained sightings in the nocturnal sky that have been reported since at least 1883. Witnesses describe glowing basketball size spheres floating above the ground.
ALPINE is the gateway to Big Bend State Ranch Park, Fort Davis National Historical Site and home to Sul Ross State University. It celebrates the Working Ranch Rodeo and Chuckwagon Cookoff each August and the Big Bend Balloon Bash every September. Alpine came into existence in 1882 due to the arrival of the railroad and its abundant supply of high quality water essential to the operation of steam locomotives. In these parts, ranches often exceed 200,000 acres in size. Prior to the admission of Alaska to the Union in 1959, Alpine was the largest city in the largest county in the largest state in the United States.
SANDERSON is the cactus capital of Texas, the eastern gateway to the Big Bend Wilderness Area and site of the “last” train robbery in 1912 at nearby Baxter’s Curve. The outlaws, thinking of everything, shod their horses with their shoes on backwards to make it appear that their escape was in the opposite direction! Foiled by a quick-thinking express messenger, the perpetrators’ novel plan failed spectacularly. Today, the would-be robbers’ graves are a tourist attraction in town at the Santa Rita Cemetery.
Langtry is most notable as home to the famous and eccentric “Judge” Roy Bean, who called himself the “Law West of the Pecos” and held court in his own saloon named the Jersey Lillie. A common and oftrepeated myth holds that the town was named for the famous actress of the period, Lillie Langtry; it was instead named for George Langtry, an engineer and foreman who had supervised the work crew that built the railroad. After a checkered career, Bean spent most of his profits to help the poor and died in bed after a bout of heavy drinking.A fictionalized 1956 TV series depicted his life and times and starred Edgar Buchanan in the title role. Today, the Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center continues to keep the town alive.
DEL RIO is a border city with Mexico and home to Laughlin Air Force Base, the busiest pilot training base in the U.S.A.F. and the largest employer in the area. In 1962, it was Laughlin-based U-2 photographic evidence of a land-based nuclear missile installation in Cuba that touched off the infamous Cuban Missile Crisis of that year. Three Border Patrol Stations are also large employers. Actress Jessica Alba was a resident when her father was stationed here in the Air Force. The town has served as a backdrop for numerous movies and music videos. The Val Verde Winery in Del Rio, founded in 1883, is the oldest in Texas’ booming wine industry. The wine business constitutes a “rising star” in the Lone Star State, now the fifth largest producer of grapes and wines in the U.S. Some 120 wineries produce in excess of $120 billion in revenue annually. Spanish missionaries began cultivating grapes near present-day El Paso in the 1600s.
SAN ANTONIO is a cultural and geographic gateway to the Southwest. It is best known for its River Walk lined with restaurants, bars and shops, the Alamo, the Tejano culture and its Sea World and Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme parks. It is also home to one of the most successful professional basketball franchises in the NBA, the Spurs. The Battle of the Alamo in 1836 pitted 189 defenders against the 4,000- man army of Mexican General Santa Anna for 13 days; their deaths led to the battle cry “Remember the Alamo” as a rallying point of the Texas Revolution. The building is a former Catholic mission maintained as a shrine in the heart of the historic downtown district. The seventh most populous city in the U.S., its diversified economy is focused on financial services, health care, defense and tourism. Twenty million tourists annually contribute substantially to the city’s economy as well. The Fairmont Hotel, built in 1906, is in Guiness World Records as one of the heaviest buildings ever to be moved intact. Visitors can also see the 40-foot tall cowboy boots at North Star Mall to experience the cowboy culture year round. Notable natives and residents include entertainer Carol Burnett and actors Joan Crawford, Olivia de Havilland and Tommy Lee Jones.
HOUSTON is the fourth largest city in the U.S. and the largest in Texas. Its skyline, now visible, is the third tallest in the U.S. Founded in 1836, it was named after General Sam Houston, then-president of the Republic of Texas, who commanded at the Battle of San Jacinto to win independence from Mexico. Only New York City has more Fortune 500 headquarters. Houston’s broad economic base includes energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, transportation and health care. Its port ranks first in international waterborne tonnage. By 1950, the development of air conditioning prompted many companies to relocate, creating an economic boom. The establishment of NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center in 1961 and its opening in 1963 created the city’s aerospace industry; renamed in 1967 the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, it gave the city its nickname “Space City.” A boom and bust cycle in the petroleum industry in the 1970s and 1980s brought about efforts to diversify the economy. Today, it is home to the nation’s third largest concentration of consular offices representing 86 countries. Its visual and performing arts scene is the second largest concentration of theater seats in a downtown area. Its many tourism attractions include the Space Center, Bayou Place, the Galleria Mall, Old Market Square,Downtown Aquarium and San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site. Its Reliant Astrodome was the first such stadium in the world. Entertainment notables from Houston include the late actor Patrick Swayze, pop singer Hilary Duff and southern rock band ZZ Top.
BEAUMONT, along with Port Arthur and Orange, forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the Texas Gulf Coast. Home of the South Texas State Fair since 1907, Beaumont was a cattle-raising, farming, rice-milling and lumber center during the 19th century. Oil was discovered at nearby Spindletop in 1901, the first major oil field and one of the largest in U.S. history. It not only neatly divided both the state’s and the city’s history but also brought profound change to the entire world. Beaumont’s Jefferson County courts became the first in the nation to implement electronic filing and service of court documents in 1996. Among its many cultural attractions is the Fire Museum of Texas featuring antique fire trucks, equipment and one of the world’s largest hydrants. Its port consistently ranks among the top five in the U.S. for tonnage. Gulf Oil (now Chevron), Humble Oil and Magnolia Petroleum (now ExxonMobil) were founded in Beaumont. Country singers Mark Chesnutt and Tracy Byrd are Beaumonites.
Orange is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the Louisiana border, and is a deep-water port to the Gulf of Mexico. The chemical industry paces area revenue. The Stark Museum of Art houses a valuable and extensive collection of 19th and 20th century American Western art and artifacts; the W.H. Stark House is the careful restoration of an 1894 Victorian home typical of a wealthy family of the period. The First Presbyterian Church, completed in 1912, was the first building to be air conditioned west of the Mississippi River, and has the only opalescent glass dome in the U.S. Exit 880 on Interstate highway 10 here is the highest numbered exit mile marker on any freeway or Interstate in the North America.
Louisiana/Texas State Line
LAKE CHARLES is a major petrochemical refining and recreational gaming center. With more than 75 festivals held annually, it is referred to as the Festival Capital of Louisiana. Just east of downtown, its Charpentier District – French for carpenter – features numerous large 1890s Victorian houses utilizing pine from the city’s mills. Trunkline LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) is one of the few such terminals in the U.S. Dr. Michael DeBakey, the first heart surgeon to implant an artificial heart successfully in 1963, was born in Lake Charles, as was singersongwriter Lucinda Williams. Cages submerged in the rice paddies provide evidence of the 125,000 acres devoted to crawfish farming inLouisiana – the most in the nation.
LAFAYETTE is situated at the center of Louisiana’s “Acadiana” region consisting of low, gentle hills in the northern section, marshes and bayous in the south, stretching from just west of New Orleans to the Texas border and to about 100 miles inland. It is primarily populated by “francophones” – in this case, descendents of French Cajuns exiled from Canada’s Maritime Provinces, particularly Nova Scotia. This is a land filled with fields of rice and sugarcane. The Festivals Acadiens et Créoles keeps the Cajun culture alive with bayou food, music and culture. The city takes its name from General Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, a French military officer who served in the Continental Army under George Washington. Due to the Cajun culture’s affinity for good food, it has one of the highest numbers of restaurants per capita of any U.S. city.
NEW IBERIA exudes Native American, Spanish and French influences under its moss-laden, majestic oaks in the downtown Historic District. Legend has it that legendary pirate Jean Lafitte buried treasure beneath the oaks lining the bayou. Nearby Avery Island houses world-famous Tabasco Sauce manufacturer McIlhenny Company as well as one of the world’s largest salt mines; Jungle Gardens and its Bird City rookery hosts visitors from around the world. The Sugarcane Festival occurs in September and the Gumbo Cook-Off happens in October. Former Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, a fixture on television in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, hails from New Iberia.
SCHREIVER is situated in Terrebonne Parish near offshore oil rigs that produce 79 percent of the oil and 72 percent of the natural gas that comes from U.S. coastlines, a source of debate between industry and environmentalists who point to the threat to pristine watersheds and increased exposure to damage from hurricanes. Nearby, Munson’s World Famous Swamp Tours takes visitors gliding through the blackwaters of primitive bayous – slow-moving bodies of water that are home to alligators and tall cypress trees dripping with Spanish moss. The St. George Observatory offers visits by appointment and education in astrophotography, photometry, spectroscopy and telescope use among many other programs.
Huey P. Long Bridge connects Elmwood on the East Bank with Bridge City on the West Bank of the Mississippi River. A favorite “rail fan” location, it is, at 4.4 miles, the longest railroad bridge in the U.S., named for the popular and notorious former governor Huey P. Long. It opened in 1935 and is owned by the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad, a non-profit terminal switching company
NEW ORLEANS is also known as the Big Easy, the City that Care Forgot and the Crescent City. It has existed under four different flags since its founding in 1723: French, Spanish, Confederate States, and U.S. One of the nation’s greatest ports, the city preserves the flavor of the Old South with a distinctly French accent. It is famed for its filigree wrought iron balconied Vieux Carre (French Quarter) and festive Mardi Gras celebrations that herald the beginning of Lent. Considered the birthplace of jazz, it is also home to some of the best restaurants in the world. With so much to offer, it’s easy to see why it is also known as America’s Most Interesting City – a city that never sleeps. At the beautiful River Walk, you can see the lights of the Greater New Orleans Bridge cross the Mississippi into Algiers on the West Bank. The street car line dates to 1835, with cars built in the 1920s. Jackson Square stands at the heart of the Quarter, where the gray spires of the St. Louis Cathedral tower high in the air; at nearby French Market, coffee and chicory with “beignets” (French donuts) are world famous.
Canal Street, America’s widest thoroughfare, divides the “Quarter” from downtown’s central business district, running northward from the river. The world’s first movie theater was established on Canal Street in 1896. The street’s northern “head” terminates at the Cemeteries, some of the city’s oldest and most historic graveyards; at the south end, or “foot,” are the World Trade Center and the Canal Street (Algiers) Ferry. But the French Quarter is the oldest and most famous section, looking much as it did in the 1700s and 1800s, with buildings crowding the edge of narrow sidewalks. Here is the infamous Bourbon Street, where the music never stops; one block over, the unique shops of Royal Street beckon. The residential Garden District is filled with flowers, trees and some of New Orleans’ grandest homes. Part of “uptown” New Orleans north of Canal Street, it is a pleasant, residential area centering on Audubon Park and the campuses of Tulane and Loyola universities. Truly, this is the crown jewel of the South!
LOS ANGELES - El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora de la Reina de Los Angeles (The Town of Our Lady of the Queen of Angels), now known simply as Los Angeles, was founded in 1781. Note the Los Angeles County Hospital on the right as we travel along Interstate 10, the San Bernardino Freeway. Crossing the concrete-lined Los Angeles River, you’ll be reminded of numerous television and movie chase scenes. The station is a fitting blend of Spanish and Art Deco styles, reflecting both the city’s early heritage and its great film tradition. Opened in 1939, it was the last of the great “union stations” serving multiple railroads. Across from the station is Olvera Street, a colorful historic district that marks the site of the original village. The city leads the world in producing popular entertainment, which forms the base of its international fame and global status as “Tinseltown.” It is also home to people from more than 140 countries speaking over 200 different languages. Visible from the front of the station is Los Angeles City Hall, made famous as The Daily Planet in Superman and as itself in Dragnet, both popular television shows from the 1950s and 1960s. At Los Angeles, passengers may transfer to Pacific Surfliner® trains to San Diego and Santa Barbara, Metrolink commuter trains to other Southern California communities or the MTA Red subway or Gold light rail lines to still more parts of the city. If you are detraining here, we hope you enjoyed your trip. If you are just beginning your journey, welcome aboard!California State University at Los Angeles visible on the left as we travel up the center median of Interstate 10, or the San Bernardino Freeway, serves 21,000 students and boasts one of the best nursing schools in the state. Its Television, Film and Media Studies program coordinates with the neighboring Hollywood film industry. Notable alumni include tennis great Billie Jean King.El Monte has as its slogan “the end of the Santa Fe Trail.” Settlement began here in 1849. The city became an important site for the New Deal’s Subsistence Homestead project during the Great Depression that helped supply single-family ranch homes to qualifying applicants. Longo Toyota here bills itself as the world’s largest Toyota dealer for over 40 years. Cheech Marin of Cheech and Chong fame is a one-time resident of El Monte. We cross the San Gabriel River just east of the city.POMONA is home to California State Polytechnic University, known for its nationally-ranked engineering and architectural programs and visible on the right. It is also the site of the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds. The city is known as well for hosting the National Hot Rod Association’s Winternationals drag racing event. Pomona is named for the ancient Roman goddess of fruit. The city gained prominence in 1964 when it received mention in Ronny and the Daytona’s hit song G.T.O. Numerous movies and scenes from movie and television shows have been filmed here. Notable residents include “Sugar” Shane Mosley, winner of world boxing titles in three weight divisions.ONTARIO forms part of Southern California’s Inland Empire region, that name having been derived from its location some 37 miles inland of the Pacific Ocean and east of downtown Los Angeles. Its Ontario Mills shopping mall is the largest one-level mall in Western North America – so large that automatic doors play audio reminders of which entrance one has used. The city has a manufacturing industry that includes the Maglite Corporation, makers of flashlights. The Graber Olive House, which produces olives, is a city historical landmark and one of the oldest institutions in the city.PALM SPRINGS is best known for its golfing tournaments and “Walk of Stars” honoring those who have contributed to the city’s prominence and name recognition. A desert city, it offers, in addition to golf, tennis, horseback riding and hiking as major forms of recreation. Its Palm Springs Arial Tramway ascends two and one-half miles to reveal views of the entire Coachella Valley. Numerous five-star hotels, restaurants and attractions cater to tourists. Many celebrities have established residences in the area. The Palm Springs International Film Festival presents star-filled, red-carpet events, and the area is host to a number of sporting events including tennis and golfing tournaments and major boxing matches. Note the giant windmills visible from both sides of the train. Nearly continuous strong winds coming off Mount San Jacinto and San Gorgonio Mountain (the highest peak in Southern California) power these huge structures to generate eco-friendly electricity. The city garnered notoriety when former entertainer-turned-politician Sonny Bono served as mayor between 1988 and 1992.Arizona/California State Line
A time change occurs here during winter. Eastbound passengers should set their watches back one hour; westbound one hour ahead. Note the Eucalyptus trees near the tracks, a species native to Australia that is used as an effect windbreak, and properties of which are medicinal.
YUMA is located in the Sonoran Desert and the eastern bank of the Colorado River separating Arizona and California. Take note of the most photographed sand dunes in the world as we pass through town and continue heading west. The city’s sunny and warm climate makes it a popular tourist haven and site for winter destination for snowbirds and water enthusiasts. The Yuma Territorial Prison State Historical Park offers tours through the Arizona Territory’s first prison, now a museum. The Marine Corps Air Station and Yuma Proving Ground share responsibility for population growth. Former CNN anchor man Lou Dobbs began his broadcasting career here as a police and fire reporter for KBLU-AM.MARICOPA is home to the Koli Equestrian Center, offering horseback riding trails on the Gila River Indian Reservation. The station here features a former converted California Zephyr dome observation lounge car. The town itself has had three incarnations: one as a stagecoach relay and trading center, one as a railroad junction and a third as a fast-growing business location.
TUCSON was first inhabited 12,000 years ago by Paleo-Indians. Established as a Spanish fort in 1775, it was originally part of Mexico after it gained independence from Spain in 1821. In 1853, it became part of the U.S. after the Gadsden Purchase. Surrounded by five major mountain ranges, it is the southernmost ski destination in the country. The Tucson desert is home to the Saguaro National Park, known for its unique giant cacti that can reach a height of 50 feet. The Old Tucson Movie Studio was a backdrop for some 300 of Hollywood’s greatest western movies. Much of the city’s economic development has been centered on the University of Arizona, its second largest employer. High-tech industries also employ some 50,000 people. The Tucson Gem & Mineral Show each February is one of the largest of its kind in the world, drawing more than 50,000 attendees from 20 countries. Vocalist and entertainer Linda Ronstadt hails from Tucson.
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Watch for a vast aircraft “bone yard”on the right where the dry desert climate preserves hundreds of stored airplanes. Nearby is the Pima Air & Space Museum, which displays historic aircraft. The base is an air combat command installation, the primary mission of which is to train pilots to provide close air support and forward air control to ground forces worldwide.BENSON, situated on the San Pedro River, grew up in the early 1900s as the demand for copper and silver increased, shipped in as they were for smelting and distribution via the adjacent Southern (now Union) Pacific Railroad main line. In the modern era, its moderate climate and location as a gateway to Kartchner Caverns State Park have resulted in its growing popularity as a retirement community and tourist destination offering train trips and stagecoach rides. Its culture is ingrained in the Old West and traditional railroad heritage. The Benson Visitor Center – Train Depot is in the heart of the historic district.The Dragoon Mountains in Arizona, soon visible on the right, provided the cover for Geronimo’s former base of operations. The historic town of Tombstone, the legendary location of “Boot Hill” Cemetery and “Shootout at O.K. Corral” referenced in so many TV “westerns,” is located at the southwestern portion of this range, 24 miles from Benson. It receives some 450,000 tourists annually. New Mexico/Arizona State Line
A time change occurs here between April and October. When traveling westbound, set your watch back one hour; if eastbound, one hour forward. The Pelloncillo Mountains we now pass through, straddling each state, were the final homelands of the Chirichua Apaches. Chief Geronimo’s surrender to the U.S. Calvary at the Skeleton Canyon here in 1886 forever ended the Indian Wars in the U.S. The Lieutenant who negotiated the meeting was neither recognized nor promoted and died in obscurity. The region is today important for mining copper, silver and gold.
LORDSBURG was founded in 1880 as a Southern Pacific Railroad town. In 1938, the first airport in New Mexico began operations here. During World War II, some 1,500 Japanese-Americans were held locally at a U.S. Army internment camp. In 1927, the town was one of the stops on Charles Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St. Louis” air tour. Shakespeare, a ghost town 2 miles south, was a stop on the famous Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach route between 1857 and 1861, an early operation of Wells Fargo and American Express. Employing over 800, it used 250 Concord stagecoaches and 1,800 head of stock at its peak. Today, Lordsburg a popular rest stop for travelers on Interstate 10, with more than 300 guest rooms available.
Continental Divide Halfway to Deming, we cross the Divide at an elevation of 4,587 ft., the point at which waters east of it flow into the Atlantic and to the west of it into the Pacific.
DEMING was founded in 1881, named after Mary Ann Deming Crocker, wife of Charles Crocker – one of the so-called “Big Four” of the railroad industry in that era. Here the Silver Spike was driven to commemorate the meeting of the Southern Pacific and the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe railroads, the second transcontinental railroad to be completed in the U.S. Of the numerous prehistoric Native American sites in the area, the Mimbres and Casas Grandes cultures left pottery of remarkable quality. The Lunas Mimbres Museum displays these artifacts, dating from between 950 A.D. and 1250 A.D. Among its other exhibits are a cowboy chuck wagon, a ”Harvey House” traditional railroad restaurant and social center, and an antique auto collection that houses an extremely rare 1907 REO. Those initials stood for Ransom E. Olds, who pioneered both the REO and a more familiar brand, Oldsmobile. Watch for jack rabbits, cottontails, kangaroo rats, hawks, buzzards, coyotes, porcupines, skunks, songbirds, crows and roadrunners – among others. Florida Mountains soon loom close to the tracks, along with the Three Sisters. Look out for “Window Peak,” a hole through a ridge in the Floridas at the 7,300 ft.-elevation mark. A flat-top mountain near the tracks is an extinct volcano; watch for rattlesnakes thriving on the warmth of its lava beds extending nearly to trackside. Into these barren lands between El Paso and the mountains rode the famous Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa in 1916. And here, in 1881, came the end for Billy the Kid at the hands of Pat Garrett, the culmination of the famous Lincoln County Wars. To the southeast of Deming lies nearby Rockhound State Park, established in 1966 as the first park in the U.S. to allow collection of rocks and minerals for personal use. Texas/New Mexico State Line
Rio Grande River serves as a natural boundary; watch for the crucifixion-topped peak of Sierra de Christo Rey to mark this meeting of the Lone Star State, Texas, with Mexico and New Mexico – the Land of Enchantment. The 33-ft. statue stands atop a nine-ft. base on the 4,500-ft. mountain. Spanish for “Big River,” the Rio Grande is 1,885 miles long, fourth longest river system in the U.S.
EL PASO is situated along the Rio Grande River across the border from Ciudad Juárez in Mexico. Fort Bliss, a major U.S. Army installation and local employer, lies to the east and northeast; the Franklin Mountains extend into the city from the north and nearly divides it nto two sections. The area was not considered a part of Texas until 1848 when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo made settlements on the north bank of the Rio Grande River American; the present Texas- New Mexico boundary was drawn in the Compromise of 1850. The population exploded with the arrival of the Southern Pacific, Texas and Pacific and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroads in 1881. Becoming a boomtown, it hired Marshal Dallas Stoudenmire to clean up and tame the cowboys and saloons. By 1930, Conrad Hilton opened his first high-rise hotel here; in 1934, Varney Speed Lines began operations out of El Paso Municipal Airport but was soon taken over and renamed Continental Airlines. The popular drink “Margarita” was first mixed at Tommy’s Place Bar in 1945 in El Paso. The 24,000-acre Franklin Mountains State Park is the argest urban park in the U.S. and resides entirely within the city. Here is the headquarters of Helen of Troy Limited, manufacturer of health products such as Dr. Scholls, Vidal Sassoon and Sunbeam, among others. The offices of Fortune 500 companies such as Hoover, Eureka, Boeing and Delphi are also resident. Local attractions include Big Bend and Carlsbad Caverns national parks. Numerous films have been shot on location in El Paso, including No Country for Old Men starring Tommy Lee Jones. A long list of notables from El Paso includes Gene Roddenberry, television writer and creator of the popular TV series Star Trek. Note the handsomely restored train station here, designed by the same Chicago firm hat built Washington Union Station in Washington, D.C.
Ysleta was settled in 1680 by Spanish conquistadors, Franciscan clerics and Tigua Indians fleeing the Pueblo Revolt in Mexico. In 1955, the City of El Paso annexed Ysleta against the wishes of residents. In 1967, the Tiguas were recognized formerly as the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo. A successful casino was closed after a lobbying effort by Jack Abramoff, who later gained fame in a high-profile Washington political scandal and was convicted of defrauding American Indian tribes and corrupting public officials.
Sierra Blanca takes its name from a mountain just northwest of town. The town came into existence when competing railroads for a second transcontinental line came within ten miles of one another in 1881. Famous railroad magnate Jay Gould is said to have driven a silver spike to commemorate the event, and the town sprang up around the spot. Recent years have seen the rise of controversy over a nearby sewage sludge dump composed of waste products from New York City. Its population was 533 at the latest census. Time Zone Change Set your watch ahead one hour of westbound; one hour back if eastbound.
Marfa is a tourist destination located between the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park. The name is derived from a character in a Jules Verne novel. The Chinati Foundation holds an annual open house for artists, collectors and art enthusiasts from around the world in its more than ten buildings of permanent exhibits. The famous 1956 film Giant staring Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean was filmed here and depicts the west Texas oil and ranching cultures. The city is one of the prime soaring sites in the U.S., an aviation sport dedicated to gliding on air currents. The town may be best known for the phenomenon known as the “Marfa Lights,” unexplained sightings in the nocturnal sky that have been reported since at least 1883. Witnesses describe glowing basketball size spheres floating above the ground.
ALPINE is the gateway to Big Bend State Ranch Park, Fort Davis National Historical Site and home to Sul Ross State University. It celebrates the Working Ranch Rodeo and Chuckwagon Cookoff each August and the Big Bend Balloon Bash every September. Alpine came into existence in 1882 due to the arrival of the railroad and its abundant supply of high quality water essential to the operation of steam locomotives. In these parts, ranches often exceed 200,000 acres in size. Prior to the admission of Alaska to the Union in 1959, Alpine was the largest city in the largest county in the largest state in the United States.
SANDERSON is the cactus capital of Texas, the eastern gateway to the Big Bend Wilderness Area and site of the “last” train robbery in 1912 at nearby Baxter’s Curve. The outlaws, thinking of everything, shod their horses with their shoes on backwards to make it appear that their escape was in the opposite direction! Foiled by a quick-thinking express messenger, the perpetrators’ novel plan failed spectacularly. Today, the would-be robbers’ graves are a tourist attraction in town at the Santa Rita Cemetery. Langtry is most notable as home to the famous and eccentric “Judge” Roy Bean, who called himself the “Law West of the Pecos” and held court in his own saloon named the Jersey Lillie. A common and oftrepeated myth holds that the town was named for the famous actress of the period, Lillie Langtry; it was instead named for George Langtry, an engineer and foreman who had supervised the work crew that built the railroad. After a checkered career, Bean spent most of his profits to help the poor and died in bed after a bout of heavy drinking.A fictionalized 1956 TV series depicted his life and times and starred Edgar Buchanan in the title role. Today, the Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center continues to keep the town alive.DEL RIO is a border city with Mexico and home to Laughlin Air Force Base, the busiest pilot training base in the U.S.A.F. and the largest employer in the area. In 1962, it was Laughlin-based U-2 photographic evidence of a land-based nuclear missile installation in Cuba that touched off the infamous Cuban Missile Crisis of that year. Three Border Patrol Stations are also large employers. Actress Jessica Alba was a resident when her father was stationed here in the Air Force. The town has served as a backdrop for numerous movies and music videos. The Val Verde Winery in Del Rio, founded in 1883, is the oldest in Texas’ booming wine industry. The wine business constitutes a “rising star” in the Lone Star State, now the fifth largest producer of grapes and wines in the U.S. Some 120 wineries produce in excess of $120 billion in revenue annually. Spanish missionaries began cultivating grapes near present-day El Paso in the 1600s.SAN ANTONIO is a cultural and geographic gateway to the Southwest. It is best known for its River Walk lined with restaurants, bars and shops, the Alamo, the Tejano culture and its Sea World and Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme parks. It is also home to one of the most successful professional basketball franchises in the NBA, the Spurs. The Battle of the Alamo in 1836 pitted 189 defenders against the 4,000- man army of Mexican General Santa Anna for 13 days; their deaths led to the battle cry “Remember the Alamo” as a rallying point of the Texas Revolution. The building is a former Catholic mission maintained as a shrine in the heart of the historic downtown district. The seventh most populous city in the U.S., its diversified economy is focused on financial services, health care, defense and tourism. Twenty million tourists annually contribute substantially to the city’s economy as well. The Fairmont Hotel, built in 1906, is in Guiness World Records as one of the heaviest buildings ever to be moved intact. Visitors can also see the 40-foot tall cowboy boots at North Star Mall to experience the cowboy culture year round. Notable natives and residents include entertainer Carol Burnett and actors Joan Crawford, Olivia de Havilland and Tommy Lee Jones.HOUSTON is the fourth largest city in the U.S. and the largest in Texas. Its skyline, now visible, is the third tallest in the U.S. Founded in 1836, it was named after General Sam Houston, then-president of the Republic of Texas, who commanded at the Battle of San Jacinto to win independence from Mexico. Only New York City has more Fortune 500 headquarters. Houston’s broad economic base includes energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, transportation and health care. Its port ranks first in international waterborne tonnage. By 1950, the development of air conditioning prompted many companies to relocate, creating an economic boom. The establishment of NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center in 1961 and its opening in 1963 created the city’s aerospace industry; renamed in 1967 the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, it gave the city its nickname “Space City.” A boom and bust cycle in the petroleum industry in the 1970s and 1980s brought about efforts to diversify the economy. Today, it is home to the nation’s third largest concentration of consular offices representing 86 countries. Its visual and performing arts scene is the second largest concentration of theater seats in a downtown area. Its many tourism attractions include the Space Center, Bayou Place, the Galleria Mall, Old Market Square,Downtown Aquarium and San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site. Its Reliant Astrodome was the first such stadium in the world. Entertainment notables from Houston include the late actor Patrick Swayze, pop singer Hilary Duff and southern rock band ZZ Top.
BEAUMONT, along with Port Arthur and Orange, forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the Texas Gulf Coast. Home of the South Texas State Fair since 1907, Beaumont was a cattle-raising, farming, rice-milling and lumber center during the 19th century. Oil was discovered at nearby Spindletop in 1901, the first major oil field and one of the largest in U.S. history. It not only neatly divided both the state’s and the city’s history but also brought profound change to the entire world. Beaumont’s Jefferson County courts became the first in the nation to implement electronic filing and service of court documents in 1996. Among its many cultural attractions is the Fire Museum of Texas featuring antique fire trucks, equipment and one of the world’s largest hydrants. Its port consistently ranks among the top five in the U.S. for tonnage. Gulf Oil (now Chevron), Humble Oil and Magnolia Petroleum (now ExxonMobil) were founded in Beaumont. Country singers Mark Chesnutt and Tracy Byrd are Beaumonites.
Orange is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the Louisiana border, and is a deep-water port to the Gulf of Mexico. The chemical industry paces area revenue. The Stark Museum of Art houses a valuable and extensive collection of 19th and 20th century American Western art and artifacts; the W.H. Stark House is the careful restoration of an 1894 Victorian home typical of a wealthy family of the period. The First Presbyterian Church, completed in 1912, was the first building to be air conditioned west of the Mississippi River, and has the only opalescent glass dome in the U.S. Exit 880 on Interstate highway 10 here is the highest numbered exit mile marker on any freeway or Interstate in the North America.Louisiana/Texas State Line
LAKE CHARLES is a major petrochemical refining and recreational gaming center. With more than 75 festivals held annually, it is referred to as the Festival Capital of Louisiana. Just east of downtown, its Charpentier District – French for carpenter – features numerous large 1890s Victorian houses utilizing pine from the city’s mills. Trunkline LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) is one of the few such terminals in the U.S. Dr. Michael DeBakey, the first heart surgeon to implant an artificial heart successfully in 1963, was born in Lake Charles, as was singersongwriter Lucinda Williams. Cages submerged in the rice paddies provide evidence of the 125,000 acres devoted to crawfish farming inLouisiana – the most in the nation.LAFAYETTE is situated at the center of Louisiana’s “Acadiana” region consisting of low, gentle hills in the northern section, marshes and bayous in the south, stretching from just west of New Orleans to the Texas border and to about 100 miles inland. It is primarily populated by “francophones” – in this case, descendents of French Cajuns exiled from Canada’s Maritime Provinces, particularly Nova Scotia. This is a land filled with fields of rice and sugarcane. The Festivals Acadiens et Créoles keeps the Cajun culture alive with bayou food, music and culture. The city takes its name from General Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, a French military officer who served in the Continental Army under George Washington. Due to the Cajun culture’s affinity for good food, it has one of the highest numbers of restaurants per capita of any U.S. city.
NEW IBERIA exudes Native American, Spanish and French influences under its moss-laden, majestic oaks in the downtown Historic District. Legend has it that legendary pirate Jean Lafitte buried treasure beneath the oaks lining the bayou. Nearby Avery Island houses world-famous Tabasco Sauce manufacturer McIlhenny Company as well as one of the world’s largest salt mines; Jungle Gardens and its Bird City rookery hosts visitors from around the world. The Sugarcane Festival occurs in September and the Gumbo Cook-Off happens in October. Former Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, a fixture on television in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, hails from New Iberia.
SCHREIVER is situated in Terrebonne Parish near offshore oil rigs that produce 79 percent of the oil and 72 percent of the natural gas that comes from U.S. coastlines, a source of debate between industry and environmentalists who point to the threat to pristine watersheds and increased exposure to damage from hurricanes. Nearby, Munson’s World Famous Swamp Tours takes visitors gliding through the blackwaters of primitive bayous – slow-moving bodies of water that are home to alligators and tall cypress trees dripping with Spanish moss. The St. George Observatory offers visits by appointment and education in astrophotography, photometry, spectroscopy and telescope use among many other programs. Huey P. Long Bridge connects Elmwood on the East Bank with Bridge City on the West Bank of the Mississippi River. A favorite “rail fan” location, it is, at 4.4 miles, the longest railroad bridge in the U.S., named for the popular and notorious former governor Huey P. Long. It opened in 1935 and is owned by the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad, a non-profit terminal switching company
NEW ORLEANS is also known as the Big Easy, the City that Care Forgot and the Crescent City. It has existed under four different flags since its founding in 1723: French, Spanish, Confederate States, and U.S. One of the nation’s greatest ports, the city preserves the flavor of the Old South with a distinctly French accent. It is famed for its filigree wrought iron balconied Vieux Carre (French Quarter) and festive Mardi Gras celebrations that herald the beginning of Lent. Considered the birthplace of jazz, it is also home to some of the best restaurants in the world. With so much to offer, it’s easy to see why it is also known as America’s Most Interesting City – a city that never sleeps. At the beautiful River Walk, you can see the lights of the Greater New Orleans Bridge cross the Mississippi into Algiers on the West Bank. The street car line dates to 1835, with cars built in the 1920s. Jackson Square stands at the heart of the Quarter, where the gray spires of the St. Louis Cathedral tower high in the air; at nearby French Market, coffee and chicory with “beignets” (French donuts) are world famous.
Canal Street, America’s widest thoroughfare, divides the “Quarter” from downtown’s central business district, running northward from the river. The world’s first movie theater was established on Canal Street in 1896. The street’s northern “head” terminates at the Cemeteries, some of the city’s oldest and most historic graveyards; at the south end, or “foot,” are the World Trade Center and the Canal Street (Algiers) Ferry. But the French Quarter is the oldest and most famous section, looking much as it did in the 1700s and 1800s, with buildings crowding the edge of narrow sidewalks. Here is the infamous Bourbon Street, where the music never stops; one block over, the unique shops of Royal Street beckon. The residential Garden District is filled with flowers, trees and some of New Orleans’ grandest homes. Part of “uptown” New Orleans north of Canal Street, it is a pleasant, residential area centering on Audubon Park and the campuses of Tulane and Loyola universities. Truly, this is the crown jewel of the South!
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