Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far, away, Carnival Parades in New Orleans were held in a number of different neighborhoods. Uptown, Mid City, Algiers, New Orleans East, and like the Krewe of Pandora, in Gentilly. This shot, from February of 1978, is of the Budweiser Clydesdales coming down Elysian Fields Ave. in Gentilly.
I found this photo in a box of stuff from when I was attending the University of New Orleans. The location is in front of what was then the Lambda Chi Alpha house, my fraternity. The chapter sold the house in the 1990s and bought another one down on Gentilly Blvd. The Elysian Fields house got over 10' of water in the storm, but the current owners repaired the place and it looks great.
Pandora was one of two krewes that paraded through Gentilly in the 60s through the 80s. The other was the Krewe of Hercules. Hercules was actually older, being the all-male krewe. Like many neighborhoods, the wives and girlfriends didn't want to be left out of the fun, so they would form their own krewes and parade. Hercules paraded on the Monday before Lundi Gras (8 days before Mardi Gras), and Pandora on the Saturday before that. Neither were big parades, 12-15 floats apiece. There used to be a lot of NOPD and Levee Board cops in Hercules, because it was neighborhood to many of them, and because 8 days before Mardi Gras was a good night for a cop to get off. The closer you get to Mardi Gras, the more people out at parades, the more cops you need.
Carnival krewes in the 60s and 70s were not just about the parade, but rather were year-round social organizations. With strong ties to a particular neighborhood, a krewe would meet monthly in a neighborhood meeting place, like a school cafeteria, VFW hall, etc., to plan and socialize. In the early spring, that meant having a crawfish boil; in the summer, a picnic. The whole family got involved, and life-long friendships were forged. Even the "super krewe" of Endymion had such humble beginnings, starting out as a Gentilly parade (the original route was in the neighborhood near Da Track).
Hercules eventually folded as a krewe, as the city put pressure on them to move the route away from Gentilly. Many of the krewe were lured away by the growth of Endymion, as their "super krewe" status solidified over time. The women kept Pandora going, because there were so few krewes where women could ride. Pandora eventually became a female/male parade, before they disbanded as well.
The photo shows the Clydesdales leading the parade, followed by shriners and police on motorcycles. The Queen's float followed, then school bands, marching units, and more floats with lots of beads and doubloons!
Tomorrow, there won't be a Pandora, but we'll go out to the Metairie parade, the Krewe of Caesar, to see my son march with the Brother Martin High School Band. For a Gentilly school, marching in a Metairie parade is a bit like slumming, but the school's administration asked them for a favor, because they recruit heavily from the 'burbs. They may be snobs, but they'll have fun once they get moving. Hey, it's a parade!