Kenner, Louisiana
Encyclopedia
Kenner is a city in Jefferson Parish
, Louisiana
, United States
, and a suburb of New Orleans
. The population was 66,702 at the 2010 census.
Kenner is represented in the Louisiana House of Representatives
by the Republican
attorney Tom Willmott
. The state senator
is Republican Danny Martiny
, a former state House member. Martiny's predecessor in the House is Kernan "Skip" Hand
, a retired district court judge from Kenner. Martiny's predecessor in the state Senate, Metairie
attorney Art Lentini
, also resides in Kenner.
landed here in 1682. In 1855, Kenner was founded by Minor Kenner on land that consisted of three plantation properties that had been purchased by the Kenner family. At the time, all land north of what is now Airline Hwy was swampland.
During 1915-1931 a New Orleans streetcar
line operated between New Orleans and Kenner. The line ran between the intersection of Rampart
and Canal
in New Orleans and the intersection of Williams Blvd and Jefferson Hwy in Kenner.
In 1960, Kenner had a population of 17,037.
Kenner's growth began in the late 1950s when developers began subdividing, draining and filling the swampland in the northern half of the city. During the 1960s, the construction of Interstate 10
and improvements to Veterans Memorial Highway aided the rapid development of Kenner as a suburb of New Orleans.
By 1979, Kenner's population was 60,524 making it the 6th largest city in state.
In 1982, Pan Am flight 759 crashed
in a residential area of Kenner. A total of 154 people were killed (all 146 on board and 8 on the ground). Six houses were completely destroyed; five houses were substantially damaged.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 15.2 square miles (39.4 km²), of which, 15.1 square miles (39.1 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (00.7%) is water.
Kenner is located on the west side of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area
, in Jefferson Parish. Its boundaries are Lake Pontchartrain
to the north; the Mississippi River
to the south; the unincorporated areas of Metairie
and River Ridge
to the east; and St. Charles Parish to the west.
of 2000, there were 70,517 people, 25,652 households, and 18,469 families residing in the city. The population density
was 4,659.0 people per square mile (1,798.3/km²). There were 27,378 housing units at an average density of 1,808.8 per square mile (698.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 68.12% White, 22.55% African American, 0.40% Native American, 2.84% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 3.80% from other races, and 2.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.62% of the population.
There were 25,652 households out of which 36.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% were married couples
living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were non-families. 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.23.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.3% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,946, and the median income for a family was $45,866. Males had a median income of $34,964 versus $24,051 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $19,615. About 11.0% of families and 13.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.7% of those under the age of 18 and 12.0% of those 65 and older.
According to Census 2000, Kenner had 32 houses valued at $1,000,000 or more.
The toy train museum closed in 2009.
operates two post offices. They are the Kenner Post Office and the North Kenner Post Office.
The only high school in Kenner is Alfred Bonnabel High School
, which is located on the border between Metairie and Kenner.
Middle Schools in Kenner include:
Elementary Schools include:
Catholic, Private, and Preparatory Schools Include:
operates the North Kenner Library.
Kenner also has the Louis J. Roussel, Jr., Laser Planetarium
, named for the New Orleans businessman and political kingmaker Louis J. Roussel, Jr.
.
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
Jefferson Parish is a parish in Louisiana, United States that includes most of the suburbs of New Orleans. The seat of parish government is Gretna....
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and a suburb of New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
. The population was 66,702 at the 2010 census.
Kenner is represented in the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
by the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
attorney Tom Willmott
Tom Willmott
Thomas P. Willmott, known as Tom Willmott , is an attorney and registered nurse from Metairie and Kenner, Louisiana, who is a first-term Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 92 in Jefferson Parish in the New Orleans suburbs.Willmott's place of birth, most family...
. The state senator
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
is Republican Danny Martiny
Danny Martiny
Daniel R. "Danny" Martiny is a politician and attorney from Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. His clients include the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs office against his constituents...
, a former state House member. Martiny's predecessor in the House is Kernan "Skip" Hand
Kernan "Skip" Hand
Kernan August Hand, Sr., known as Kernan "Skip" Hand , is a retired state court judge of the 24th Judicial District from Kenner in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. A Republican, Hand served in the "Division H" judgeship from the spring of 1994 until his retirement on December 31, 2008...
, a retired district court judge from Kenner. Martiny's predecessor in the state Senate, Metairie
Metairie, Louisiana
Metairie is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States and is a major part of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area. Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish. It is an unincorporated area that would be larger than most of the state's cities if it were...
attorney Art Lentini
Art Lentini
Arthur J. "Art" Lentini, , is an attorney in Metairie, Louisiana, United States, who served from 1996 to 2008 as a Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate from District 10 in Jefferson Parish in the New Orleans suburbs. For eight years he was the Senate parliamentarian...
, also resides in Kenner.
History
Originally, inhabited by the Chapitoulas Indians, the area along the Mississippi River was the first land in the New Orleans Metropolitan Area on which Europeans set foot. René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La SalleRené-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, or Robert de LaSalle was a French explorer. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, the Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico...
landed here in 1682. In 1855, Kenner was founded by Minor Kenner on land that consisted of three plantation properties that had been purchased by the Kenner family. At the time, all land north of what is now Airline Hwy was swampland.
During 1915-1931 a New Orleans streetcar
Streetcars in New Orleans
Streetcars in New Orleans have been an integral part of the city's public transportation network since the first half of the 19th century. The longest of New Orleans' streetcar lines, the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar, is the oldest continuously operating street railway system in the world,...
line operated between New Orleans and Kenner. The line ran between the intersection of Rampart
Rampart Street
Rampart Street is a historic avenue located in New Orleans, Louisiana.The upper end of the street is in the New Orleans Central Business District...
and Canal
Canal Street, New Orleans
Canal Street is a major thoroughfare in the city of New Orleans. Forming the upriver boundary of the city's oldest neighborhood, the French Quarter , it acted as the dividing line between the older French/Spanish Colonial-era city and the newer American Sector, today's Central Business District.The...
in New Orleans and the intersection of Williams Blvd and Jefferson Hwy in Kenner.
In 1960, Kenner had a population of 17,037.
Kenner's growth began in the late 1950s when developers began subdividing, draining and filling the swampland in the northern half of the city. During the 1960s, the construction of Interstate 10
Interstate 10
Interstate 10 is the fourth-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90, I-80, and I-40. It is the southernmost east–west, coast-to-coast Interstate Highway, although I-4 and I-8 are further south. It stretches from the Pacific Ocean at State Route 1 in Santa Monica,...
and improvements to Veterans Memorial Highway aided the rapid development of Kenner as a suburb of New Orleans.
By 1979, Kenner's population was 60,524 making it the 6th largest city in state.
In 1982, Pan Am flight 759 crashed
Pan Am Flight 759
Pan Am Flight 759, operated by a Boeing 727-235, N4737 Clipper Defiance, was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Miami to Las Vegas, with an en route stop at New Orleans...
in a residential area of Kenner. A total of 154 people were killed (all 146 on board and 8 on the ground). Six houses were completely destroyed; five houses were substantially damaged.
Geography
Kenner's coordinates are 30°0′35"N 90°15′2"W (30.009610, -90.250585) and has an elevation of 0 ft (0 m).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 15.2 square miles (39.4 km²), of which, 15.1 square miles (39.1 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (00.7%) is water.
Kenner is located on the west side of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area
New Orleans metropolitan area
New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner, or the Greater New Orleans Region is a metropolitan area designated by the United States Census encompassing seven parishes in the state of Louisiana, centering on the city of New Orleans...
, in Jefferson Parish. Its boundaries are Lake Pontchartrain
Lake Pontchartrain
Lake Pontchartrain is a brackish estuary located in southeastern Louisiana. It is the second-largest inland saltwater body of water in the United States, after the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and the largest lake in Louisiana. As an estuary, Pontchartrain is not a true lake.It covers an area of with...
to the north; the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
to the south; the unincorporated areas of Metairie
Metairie, Louisiana
Metairie is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States and is a major part of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area. Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish. It is an unincorporated area that would be larger than most of the state's cities if it were...
and River Ridge
River Ridge, Louisiana
River Ridge is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, and a suburb of New Orleans. The population was 14,588 at the 2000 census.- History :...
to the east; and St. Charles Parish to the west.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 70,517 people, 25,652 households, and 18,469 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 4,659.0 people per square mile (1,798.3/km²). There were 27,378 housing units at an average density of 1,808.8 per square mile (698.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 68.12% White, 22.55% African American, 0.40% Native American, 2.84% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 3.80% from other races, and 2.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.62% of the population.
There were 25,652 households out of which 36.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were non-families. 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.23.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.3% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,946, and the median income for a family was $45,866. Males had a median income of $34,964 versus $24,051 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $19,615. About 11.0% of families and 13.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.7% of those under the age of 18 and 12.0% of those 65 and older.
According to Census 2000, Kenner had 32 houses valued at $1,000,000 or more.
Places of interest
Kenner is home to the following:- Louis Armstrong International Airport -- New Orleans' international airport.
- Pontchartrain CenterPontchartrain CenterThe Pontchartrain Center is a 4,600-seat multi-purpose arena in Kenner, Louisiana, USA. The facility opened in 1991. It hosts concerts and local sporting events.It is also used for conventions and trade shows, with of exhibit space and of meeting rooms....
-- Opened in 1991, it is the second-largest convention center in the New Orleans metro area. - Ochsner Medical Center - KennerOchsner Medical Center - KennerOchsner Medical Center - Kenner is a hospital in Kenner, Louisiana.The 170-bed hospital opened in 1985 as St. Jude Hospital and then later renamed Kenner Regional Medical Center, and was run by Tenet Healthcare. Following Ochsner Health System's acquisition in 2006, the hospital changed to its...
-- one of the major hospitals in the New Orleans metro area. - The Esplanade MallThe Esplanade (Kenner, Louisiana)The Esplanade, also known as the Esplanade Mall, is a shopping mall in Kenner, Louisiana, United States. It is anchored by Dillard's, Dillard's Men's Store , and Macy's...
-- Opened in 1985, it is one of the two larges malls located in East Jefferson (the East Bank of Jefferson ParishJefferson Parish, LouisianaJefferson Parish is a parish in Louisiana, United States that includes most of the suburbs of New Orleans. The seat of parish government is Gretna....
). - Chateau Golf and Country Club—one of only three golf courses located in East Jefferson (the East Bank of Jefferson ParishJefferson Parish, LouisianaJefferson Parish is a parish in Louisiana, United States that includes most of the suburbs of New Orleans. The seat of parish government is Gretna....
). - Treasure Chest Casino -- Docked where Williams Boulevard hits Lake Pontchartrain, it is the only casino located in East Jefferson (the East Bank of Jefferson ParishJefferson Parish, LouisianaJefferson Parish is a parish in Louisiana, United States that includes most of the suburbs of New Orleans. The seat of parish government is Gretna....
). - Rivertown -- The historic district located along the original main street of Old Kenner—where Williams Boulevard hits the Mississippi River. Rivertown features numerous museums, shops, and cultural resources. Highlights include the Rivertown Repertory Theatre, Kenner's Heritage Park, Kenner's planetarium & science museum (sponsored by Freeport McMoran), two fine dining establishments, and a cafe.
- Laketown -- A park built where Williams Boulevard hits Lake Pontchartrain. It features a boat launch, two piers, pavilions, a jogging/biking path, and a concession stand and bait house.
The toy train museum closed in 2009.
Government and infrastructure
The United States Postal ServiceUnited States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
operates two post offices. They are the Kenner Post Office and the North Kenner Post Office.
Primary and secondary schools
Kenner is served by the Jefferson Parish Public School System.The only high school in Kenner is Alfred Bonnabel High School
Alfred Bonnabel High School
Alfred Bonnabel High School is a public school in Kenner, Louisiana, and is part of Jefferson Parish Public Schools, the largest public school system in Louisiana...
, which is located on the border between Metairie and Kenner.
Middle Schools in Kenner include:
- Theodore Roosevelt Middle School http://roosevelt.jppss.k12.la.us/
Elementary Schools include:
- A.C. Alexander Elementary School
- John James Audubon Elementary School
- Chateau Estates Elementary School
- John Clancy Elementary School
- Greenlawn Terrace Elementary School
- Walter Schneckenberger Elementary School
- Washington Elementary School
- Granville T. Woods Elementary
Catholic, Private, and Preparatory Schools Include:
- First Baptist Christian School
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help School
- St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School
Library and planetarium
Jefferson Parish LibraryJefferson Parish Library
Jefferson Parish Library is the library system of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. It has its headquarters in the East Bank Regional Library in Metairie, an unincorporated area in the parish.-Branches:East Bank:...
operates the North Kenner Library.
Kenner also has the Louis J. Roussel, Jr., Laser Planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
, named for the New Orleans businessman and political kingmaker Louis J. Roussel, Jr.
Louis J. Roussel, Jr.
Louis J. Roussel, Jr. , was a powerful businessman and political kingmaker from New Orleans, Louisiana....
.