This WYES documentary tells the story of a six-mile waterway linking Uptown New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain that was built by Irish canal diggers beginning in December 1831 and is considered the greatest public works project of 19th century New Orleans. The Irish immigrants - among the thousands who help form the city's backbone - toiled from 12 to 15 hours a day using axes and shovels to clear 75 acres of timber and excavate 557,401 yards of muck a wheelbarrow load at a time up wooden planks out of the seven-foot deep ditch. From the time it opened to ship traffic in 1838, the New Basin Canal contributed to the growth and commercial vitality of the city. For almost 100 years, schooners and barges brought building materials, seafood and produce into New Orleans via the canal. For many years the arrival of the Zulu king by boat on the New Basin Canal was a Mardi Gras tradition - including Louis Armstrong who reigned as King Zulu 1949. Among those interviewed are: Tulane University professors Richard Campanella, Terrence Fitzmorris and Laura Kelley; Carnival historian Arthur Hardy and former Orleans Parish District Attorney Harry Connick, Sr. Produced by Emmy Award-winner Terri Landry.
Broadcast In: English Duration: 0:56:46