Explore the real-world places that appear in Nine Lives by Dan Baum. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Lower Ninth Ward, Industrial Canal Levee Breach Site, Mardi Gras Indian Gathering Spots (Claiborne Avenue), New Orleans City Hall, Orleans Parish Prison and 7 more.
Along the Industrial Canal — Hurricane Betsy and Katrina flooding
The Lower Ninth Ward anchors the book's storm bookends. During Hurricane Betsy in 1965, floodwaters devastated the neighborhood, and Baum's characters, including Mr. Calvin Whitfield's contemporaries, lived through rumors that the levees had been dynamited to spare wealthier areas. In Katrina, the Industrial Canal floodwalls failed again and the neighborhood was engulfed.
The Lower Ninth Ward was developed in the early 20th century on drained swamp land and became a largely Black, working-class community, many of whose residents owned their homes. Betsy flooded it in 1965, and Katrina's breach of the Industrial Canal floodwalls in 2005 destroyed much of it.
The neighborhood has partially rebuilt, with new homes, community gardens, and memorials to Katrina. Some areas remain vacant lots, and the Lower Ninth Ward is a focus of recovery and remembrance.
Visit: Make It Right / Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood and Katrina memorials (landmark)
Claiborne Avenue Bridge area — Floodwall failure
The floodwalls along the Industrial Canal breached during Katrina, sending a surge of water into the Lower Ninth Ward and St. Bernard Parish. The book's storm chapters converge on this flooding as characters flee, are trapped on rooftops, or are rescued by boat.
The Industrial Canal was completed in 1923 to connect the Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain. Investigations after Katrina found that engineering flaws in the Army Corps of Engineers' floodwalls caused the failures.
The rebuilt floodwalls are taller and stronger, and the nearby Katrina memorial and the Lower Ninth Ward Living Museum remember the disaster. The site is a quiet industrial and residential edge of the neighborhood.
Visit: Lower Ninth Ward Living Museum (museum)
Under the I-10 Overpass — Black Mardi Gras tradition
Baum follows Mardi Gras Indian culture through Chief Tootie Montana's life, the legendary Chief of the Yellow Pocahontas tribe, whose elaborate suits and street confrontations with police embodied Black New Orleans pride. Tootie's fight against police harassment of Indian gatherings culminated in his famous speech at a 2005 City Council meeting.
Claiborne Avenue was once a thriving Black commercial street lined with oak trees, until the 1960s construction of the I-10 overpass destroyed the oaks and much of the business district. The space beneath the overpass became a gathering place for Mardi Gras Indians and Super Sunday celebrations.
The Claiborne Corridor continues to host Super Sunday parades each March. The Claiborne Avenue Cultural corridor is being reimagined with murals and community projects.
Visit: Claiborne Avenue Cultural Corridor (landmark)
1300 Perdido Street — Politics and the council chambers
City Hall is where Tootie Montana delivered his final public address to the City Council in June 2005, protesting police harassment of Mardi Gras Indians, and then collapsed and died. The scene is among the book's most poignant, and it ties together themes of Black culture and police power.
The Modernist-style City Hall was completed in 1957 as part of the Civic Center complex on Loyola Avenue. It houses the mayor's offices and the city council.
City Hall remains the seat of New Orleans city government. Council meetings are open to the public.
2800 Perdido Street — Katrina's inmate evacuation
During Katrina, the Orleans Parish Prison held thousands of inmates who were stranded by floodwaters for days. The book's storm sections reflect the chaos and abandonment that enveloped the city's institutions, including the jail.
The Orleans Parish Prison complex was one of the largest jails in the country by population per capita. After Katrina, the facility was reconstructed and a new jail was opened in 2015.
The newer Orleans Justice Center operates in the area, as does the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office complex. It is not a tourist destination.
1500 Sugar Bowl Drive — Katrina's shelter of last resort
The Superdome served as the city's shelter of last resort during Katrina, where thousands endured heat, darkness, and fear. The characters' paths cross in the aftermath as the city struggles with failed government response and misinformation.
The Louisiana Superdome opened in 1975 and is one of the largest domed stadiums in the world. After Katrina, it was extensively renovated and reopened in 2006.
Now the Caesars Superdome, it hosts the New Orleans Saints, concerts, and Super Bowls. Stadium tours and events are available.
Visit: Caesars Superdome (landmark)
501 Napoleon Avenue — Uptown music institution
Tipitina's represents the music culture that defines New Orleans life in the book's wider portrait of the city. It stands as a symbol of the vibrant creative community that Baum argues keeps residents bound to the city despite its flaws.
Tipitina's opened in 1977, named after a Professor Longhair song, and became a legendary venue for local music. It was founded by a group of fans to give Professor Longhair a place to play.
The club still hosts live music, and the Tipitina's Foundation supports local musicians. It is a popular stop for visitors seeking authentic New Orleans music.
Visit: Tipitina's (theater)
French Quarter — Bars, nightlife, and Ms. Pimpernel's world
The French Quarter's bar scene provides the backdrop for the book's story of Pippa Gaudet-like barkeep life, as Baum portrays a transgender bar owner navigating decades of changing New Orleans nightlife. The Quarter's tolerance and eccentricity illustrate why people stay devoted to the city.
The French Quarter, laid out in 1721, is the oldest neighborhood in New Orleans. Bourbon Street became the heart of the city's nightlife in the 20th century.
Bourbon Street remains a world-famous destination of bars, music, and tourism. Visitors can explore historic buildings and venues along the street.
Visit: Bourbon Street (landmark)
Uptown — Krewes, Kings, and carnival traditions
The St. Charles parade route is where the city's white-line krewes and Mardi Gras royalty roll, offering a counterpoint to the Black Indian traditions in the book. Baum's Mardi Gras King character experiences the carnival world and its social hierarchies along this route.
The St. Charles streetcar line, founded in 1835, is among the oldest continuously operating streetcar lines in the world. Parades have rolled on St. Charles Avenue since the 19th century.
The avenue is lined with mansions and live oaks, and the St. Charles Streetcar still runs its length. Mardi Gras parades roll every Carnival season.
Visit: St. Charles Streetcar Line (landmark)
Lakeshore Drive — Levees and storm surge
The lakefront and the London Avenue and 17th Street canals are tied to the levee failures that flooded much of the city. In the book, the storm surge and the failure of the drainage canal walls create the catastrophe that scatters the characters.
Lake Pontchartrain's shoreline was extensively engineered, with the lakefront seawall and levees built in the 20th century. The 17th Street Canal breach during Katrina flooded much of Lakeview and central New Orleans.
Lakeshore Drive is a popular park-like promenade for walking, running, and cycling. Upgraded levees and floodgates now protect the area.
Visit: Lakeshore Drive and Lakefront Park (park)
1532 Tulane Avenue — Medicine and Katrina
Charity Hospital stands as a symbol of the city's public health system, including the jazz-playing coroner's world of medicine, death, and the city's wounds. The hospital's flooding and evacuation during Katrina become part of the book's storm narrative.
The Art Deco Charity Hospital opened in 1939 and served New Orleans' poor for decades. After Katrina it was closed and never reopened as a hospital.
The building stands vacant but has been redeveloped for state offices and residential use. It is not open as a public attraction.
Mid-City — Working-class neighborhoods flooded in Katrina
Mid-City and the surrounding neighborhoods are home to ordinary residents whose lives are upended by the flood. Baum's characters from varied backgrounds return to find homes destroyed and communities scattered.
Mid-City developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a streetcar suburb. Katrina flooded it with several feet of water, and recovery has been gradual.
Mid-City has rebounded with restaurants, bars, and the Bayou St. John and City Park attractions. Parts of the area still show signs of the storm's impact.
Visit: City Park (park)
More by Dan Baum: Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans locations map · All Dan Baum books
More novels set in New Orleans: Browse all New Orleans books on Map A Story
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