Wednesday Streetcar Blogging

Every year, Haydel's Bakery on Jefferson Highway includes a special figurine with their king cakes. This is their rendition of a Perley A. Thomas streetcar, decked out for the ride of the Phunny Phorty Phellows. The original PPP would ride through the streets on Twelfth Night, announcing the start of the Carnival season. The tradition was brought back in the 1980s by a re-formed PPP. Instead of riding on horses, the modern PPP charter a couple of streetcars, ride, and party. NORTA rules don't allow alcohol on party cars anymore, but the PPP riders get their liquid fun in after the ride.

This year's ride of the PPP was the first since the storm, and the route was very unique. Starting at Beauregard Circle in Mid City, the PPP rode the Canal line down N. Carrollton, turned on Canal, going down to St. Charles. They switched to the St. Charles line, riding up to Napoleon, where the streetcars changed direction and returned back to Pierre Gustave Toutant's statue. Odds are, this won't ever happen again. By next Twelfth Night, the Von Dullens should be back in service on Canal and the 900s will return to operating exclusively on St. Charles. When that happens, a huge invisible barrier that is historic preservation will go up at Canal between Carondelet and St. Charles as the 900s return to operating exclusively uptown.

Don't get the impression that the PPP are a bunch of elitists who ride around on streetcars. They're a nice group of folks who take New Orleans seriously. Besides, anybody can charter a party car, for birthdays and other outings.

Of course, Twelfth Night isn't only about streetcars. It's King's Day, the Feast of the Epiphany. That means King Cakes. Every New Orleanian has their own favorite bakery and king cake. Haydel's is one of the biggest names in the ing cake business. The original "baby" in the king cake was porcelain, but the bakeries switched to plastic in the 1960s. About twenty years ago, Haydel's included a porcelain "Baby Charlotte" doll in their cakes, commerating the old way it was done. That doll was so popular that it's blossomed into a whole line of porcelain Mardi Gras characters that have included Rex's float, Pete Fountain, the St. Augustine band, and a carnival-decorated FEMA trailer. This year's figure is a coffee-and-beignets waiter like you'd see at CDM or MC, in white jacket and black bow tie.