Slidell: Explore the Northshore With Historic Neighborhoods and Innovative RestaurantsSlidell: Explore the Northshore With Historic Neighborhoods and Innovative Restaurants
Slidell offers fun attractions, innovative restaurants and the pristine Honey Island Swamp. Explore the Northshore by taking a tour of historic neighborhoods or biking the Tammany Trace trail.
The four new members of the City Council are bringing a team approach to their roles. District D’s Nick DiSanti runs his own consulting business and previously was president of two homeowner associations.
The Camellia Culture
The city of Slidell has an active cultural arts program and offers several venues for performing, visual and historical exhibits. It also has a variety of public and private schools. The community’s schools have high academic standards, and local restaurants serve delicious food.
The Camellia Festival draws visitors to the city each year. The festival showcases the history of the plant and promotes the area’s local culture. The festival has a parade, competitions and activities for all ages. It is held in February at Heritage Park and Bayou Bonfouca Marina.
The Slidell Museum, located in an old jail, firehouse and mayor’s office, is a museum of artifacts and relics from the past. Its collection includes period costumes, an early phonograph that plays wax spheres instead of records and antique photographs. The Slidell Artists and Craftsmen Guild has quilters, handmade furniture makers and pine needle basket weavers among its members. The St. Tammany Porcelain Art Club offers workshops and field trips for its members to learn porcelain art techniques.
Olde Towne Slidell
As the name implies, Olde Towne Slidell is a treasure trove of history that spans the town’s early development. The district, which stretches from Fremaux Avenue to Front and Robert Streets, played an important role during the railroad era and left behind a wonderful tapestry of architectural styles that are well preserved today.
It all started with construction of the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad at a place called Robert’s Landing where engineers, foremen, and work crews made their home for the next three years. These workers needed food, clothing, and large quantities of whiskey so local businesses quickly developed around the camp.
In typical frontier fashion, thirteen saloons opened on Front Street and other stores provided general merchandise, furniture, tools, hardware, medicines, and services. The area also featured a bakery, a blacksmith shop, and a tin plate factory. Today, the old downtown district is full of antique shops, clothing and home decor stores, restaurants, and gift and novelty shops that feature Saints- and LSU-licensed merchandise.
Abita Springs
This scenic small town is a charming main street community that connects to the Tammany Trace bike trail. Abita Springs is best known for its bubbling artesian waters and the nearby Abita Brewery that offers tours and tastings. It’s also famous for its down-home cuisine and hearty Southern food such as plate lunches, steaks, ribs, po-boys and the local favorite: fried pecan pie.
The historic district illustrates a late-nineteenth and early twentieth century community that served as a summer resort and weekend getaway for people from New Orleans and beyond. It contains a concentration of historic residential, commercial and civic buildings, including the Longbranch Hotel, nominated separately to the National Register of Historic Places.
Located down the street from the Museum is the Abita Mystery House, a quirky Old School-style roadside attraction that’s loaded with folk art and kooky animated displays where you can push buttons to create your own twisted monster or a 22 foot long “Bassigator.” The Brewery features seven flagship and seasonal brews such as Turbodog, Andygator and Amber.
Mandeville
Mandeville is a quiet, upscale enclave within St. Tammany Parish that’s small on crime and large on beautiful homes and a high standard of living. This town combines a strong sense of history with a progressive vision for the future.
In the late 1800s Mandeville became a summer retreat for families that wanted to escape New Orleans’ hot and humid climate. Many of these homes still stand on Lakeshore Drive today.
The community is full of family-friendly activities such as a farmers market, jazz fests and outdoor concerts. The Tammany Trace bike and hiking trail runs through the town, which makes it easy to explore all of Mandeville’s natural beauty.
Mandeville is also home to the historic Mandeville Academy, which teaches English, French and the Classics. Its students are well prepared to attend college and are offered the highest salary of any private school in the area. In addition, the local economy is strong and boasts a low unemployment rate.