[Charles Martel]

Ever notice the old courthouse that faces the river? When I was a child, we had an oil painting that my grandfather had done from memory of the New Orleans riverfront. Sternwheeler steamboats nosed-in to the near bank, being loaded with goods to go upriver. It looked like a scene from "Showboat". On the far side of the river, granddad had included a building with two squared-off towers.

One day I had occasion to go to that courthouse and walked out on a river-facing upstairs balcony - and realized that I was seeing a reverse image of that old painting. I was standing in that odd, distant building.

IIRC, part of the building used to be a jail, as well. Iron barred windows set high up in the walls of what are now the restrooms.

[miss marmelstein]

It’s been awhile since I’ve been to Algiers so I don’t remember the courthouse. But as a fan of the novel and movie Show Boat, I’ve often daydreamed about that era when visiting NOLA. The tourist-y “steamboat” that plies that water is quite pretty and atmospheric. So sad what’s happened to that wonderful town.