Virtually New Orleans - Feature Photo of the Week, June 16, 1997

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The Feature Photo is sponsored this week by NOLA Market.

Da Beach. If you grew up in New Orleans prior to the '80s, you should remember Da Beach. Located at the end of Elysian Fields, Pontchartrain Beach was a haven for family entertainment. There were essentially three sections to the amusement park. There was the beach area itself, where you could go lay out in the sand and swim in the lake. This attraction became less and less used as the lake became more and more polluted. The second section was the public swimming pool. It was a big pool, and extensively used until 1964, when integration forced white folks to swim with black folks, which they declined to do. Then there was the midway, with its various shows, rides, carnival-style game booths, food, etc. Everyone had their favorite ride: the Bug, the Wild Maus, the Ragin' Cajun, and of course, the Zephyr, that wonderful art-deco wood roller coaster which was the featured ride at the Beach.

Amidst all of this activity was a real restaurant, the Bali Hai. It was located right in the front of the amusement park, with an entrance that allowed you to go there without having to pay to go into the Beach itself. It was a Polynesian-style, luau-type place with so-so food, but it still was a fun place to eat. You could sit inside, more-or-less away from the sounds of the midway, or outside on the patio and take it all in. The Bali Hai was a good place to take a date when you were in high school--you could act like a grown-up in the restaurant, then immediately regress and become a couple of fifth-graders on the rides after dinner.

Sadly, both Da Beach and the Bali Hai are gone now. Da Beach became a victim of larger amusement parks in other cities such as AstroWorld, Six Flags Over Georgia, etc. White flight from the city also hastened its demise--Metairie people just didn't want to come out to Gentilly any more. (Hell, they still don't, which was proven totally by the attendance marks being scored by the Zephyrs baseball team now that they've moved from Gentilly out to Metairie.) The land previously occupied by Da Beach has been vacant years now, but UNO has extensive plans to develop the area as part of the Lakefront campus. When Da Beach was closed, then-mayor of Kenner Aaron Broussard approached the Batt family (the owners of Pontchartrain Beach) and got some of the structures from the park. Broussard moved these structures to a small park he was building next to Kenner's City Hall building on Williams Blvd. One of those structures was this, the main entrance to the Bali Hai. This is the entrance you went into when you were coming out just for the restaurant. If you wanted to actually go into the Beach, you had to go out and around to the Beach entrance.

Sure, it's not much, when you think about Da Beach, but it should be enough to trigger fond memories for many. If you were a fan of Da Beach, the park next to Kenner City Hall (1800 Williams Blvd., Kenner) is worth the trip. In addition to the Bali Hai entrance, Broussard also managed to salvage the top of the Zephyr roller coaster. (What's left of the Zephyr was the subject of our feature photo on 5/27/96, so you can check it out as well here.) Enjoy!

This photo was shot by me, Ed Branley, with my trusty Nikon FA.

If you have any comments on the feature photos, please feel free to drop me a line and tell 'em to me!

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