Rusty Fence in Mandeville, LA

The city of Mandeville is located on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, right on the foot of Causeway bridge that runs in the middle of the lake. Causeway is an extremely straight, two-lane highway with no shoulders.

After an agonizing 40 minute drive from New Orleans, you'll reach a quaint residential area overlooking the big lake. Lakeshore Drive runs alongside the shoreline, and a couple of nice restaurants cater to the residents. And their ground floors are 15 feet above ground. 40 steps of stairs will prepare you for a guilt-free meal.

When hurricanes hit New Orleans, except for the famous one that came in 2005, we typically experience street floods caused by pumps not pumping rain water fast enough out of the bowl in which we live. But if you live on Lakeshore Drive in Mandeville, you would see lake water gushing into your homes. When the flood insurance rate went up across the country, what most residents and restaurants on Lakeshore Drive did was elevate the existing structure. Some rebuilt from scratch with grand staircases leading up to the main entrance.

And others decided not to deal with any of it, and put the vacant lot for sale.

Rusty Fence
oil on canvas, 36"x24"