wrote:
Bob Noel wrote:

In article .com,
"cjcampbell" wrote:


Speaking of which, Seattle once was below sea level like New Orleans.
Instead of levees to keep water out, though, early Seattlites just used
boats to navigate streets when the tide was in. After the great Seattle
Fire, though, the rubble and material from some neighboring hills was
used to raise the level of the whole city. I wonder how much of the
rubble from Katrina could be used for that in New Orleans, assuming it
is not all too contaminated to be useful?

How far down would you have to go to get to solid rock/ground suitable
for a foundation in New Orleans vs Seattle? For some reports I've seen
the land around New Orleans has been sinking for years and it would be
difficult to raise up the level of the land.


It would be no further than they have to go now. Seattle did not raise
its level of bedrock. In fact, they did not even raise the whole level
of the ground. They just raised the streets above sea level until the
whole area looked like a giant waffle. Then they built the buildings at
the original ground level. Over time the sidewalks at the old ground
level fell into disuse. They were covered over with street level
sidewalks (complete with glass insets to let light into the lower
levels) and eventually all the buildings built new entrances at street
level. Gradually the lower level was completely abandoned and forgotten
until Bill Speidel popularized the "Seattle Underground." His book,
"Sons of the Profits," details the whole thing and is fascinating
reading.

This could be a great new tourist attraction for New Orleans (as if it
needed another one). I can envision a whole "New Orleans Underground"
filled with coffee shops and jazz venues, interesting churches and
maybe even a cemetary or two. It could be more popular than the
catacombs of Rome or the sewers of Paris. The more I think about it,
the more I think I could be onto something.


Not a bad idea. I took a tour of the Seattle "underground" when I
vacationed there back in the late 80s and it was very cool.

Matt