"I love it, so I'll rebuild it." The city that dares to dream, 10 years after Katrina

• Published in: The Observer (London) p. 22
• Main Author: Dart, Tom
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 23.08.2015
• ISSN: 0029-7712

Ronald Lewis runs the House of Dance and Feathers, a miniature museum of New Orleans community culture dedicated to the marching groups that form parades for occasions such as Mardi Gras. A retired streetcar worker, he started his collection a couple of years before Katrina, and started again when the flood ruined it. The 63-year-old was determined to return home, motivated by local loyalty and a desire to preserve traditions. For Lewis, the House is a way of joining people to their past, understanding how identity is a blend of culture, geography and genealogy. His approach also fits as a summary of how the city's districts rebounded from the hurricane. To speak of the recovery as if it were a single, generalised phenomenon is to overlook the nuances, for post-Katrina progress varies radically from one dot on the map to another, sometimes even from block to block.