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Metairie CBDPhoto: PhotogMetairie · CC BY-SA 3.0
C−History
History · Metairie

Metairie’s post office opened in 1901, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #121 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it

Most of Metairie was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Its Register listing is the Stewart Building. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1970.

1901first post office
1on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
8old photos & papers
33famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Metairie’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Metairie began

When was Metairie founded?

1901

The Metairie post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 136,477 in 19702020 census: 143,507125 years

How historic is Metairie?

C−

More historic than 16% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Metairie post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Metairie’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Metairie is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #121 of 161 in Louisiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Metairie’s overall grade.
Founding era1901, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19402.5% of homes (±0.4) · typical LA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 0.1 per 10,000 residents · typical LA town 3.8 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 16%
NewerOlder
Louisiana towns of 2,500+ (161)Ahead of 25%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Metairie ranks #361 on History.

Louisiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Louisiana town has 3.8 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Metairie’s 0.1 sits near the middle of its state (42% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

Newer cities are common at Metairie’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Metairie’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages14 hamlets and corners are still on the map.On the map since 18917 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1992. Watch Metairie change.Famous sons and daughtersEllen DeGeneres, Sal Khan and 31 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Metairie’s post office has been open since 1901.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Beverly KnollBissonet PlazaBonnabel PlaceBucktownHarahan JunctionIndian BeachMetairie TerraceOak Ridge ParkOrlandos Mobile Home ParkPontchartrain GardensPontchartrain ShoresShrewsburyWestgateWillowdale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Metairie
Garden of MemoriesProvidence Memorial Park

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the map

Metairie on the map, 1891 to 1992

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Metairie. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Metairie on the 1891 USGS mapMetairie on the 1932 USGS mapMetairie on the 1951 USGS mapMetairie on the 1965 USGS mapMetairie on the 1972 USGS mapMetairie on the 1989 USGS mapMetairie on the 1992 USGS map1891New Orleans sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Metairie.

Famous people

33 famous people were born in Metairie

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Ellen DeGeneresAmerican comedian, television host, actress, an… · b. 1958
Sal KhanAmerican educator · b. 1976
Ashley ScottAmerican actress · b. 1977
Jon BatisteAmerican musician and singer (b. 1986) · b. 1986
M
Madison WolfeAmerican actress · b. 2002
Linda TueroAmerican tennis player · b. 1950
The story

How Metairie came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Metairie.

Read it all →

Métairie (French: [metɛʁi]) is the French term for a small tenant farm which paid the landlord with a share of the produce, a practice also known as sharecropping (in French, métayage). In the 1760s, many of the original French farmers were tenants; after the Civil War, the majority of the community's inhabitants were sharecroppers until urbanization started in the 1910s.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Metairie, 1880 to 1986

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880In the archive1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA) - Jefferson Parish - New Orleans U…
  3. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1901Post officeThe Metairie post office opens
  6. 1926In the archiveSnap Pep Jazz Abbie Brunies Orch at Metairie Inn 1926
  7. 1935In the archiveJefferson Parish Louisiana Riverfront New Orleans Map 1935
  8. 1947In the archive1947Flood17thStCanal
  9. 1951In the archiveJefferson Parish Louisiana Riverfront New Orleans Map 1951
  10. 1958Born hereEllen DeGeneres is born here
  11. 1976Born hereSal Khan is born here
  12. 1977Born hereAshley Scott is born here
  13. 1979In the archiveJefferson Parish Louisiana Riverfront New Orleans Map 1979
  14. 1986Born hereJon Batiste is born here
By decade

Metairie, decade by decade

7 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA) - Jefferson Parish - New Orleans Urbanized Area - ED 26-21 to 22…18801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA…
1890s–1910snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1920s–1970s5 items
Snap Pep Jazz Abbie Brunies Orch at Metairie Inn 19261926Snap Pep Jazz Abbie Brunies Orch at Metairie Inn 1926Jefferson Parish Louisiana Riverfront New Orleans Map 19351935Jefferson Parish Louisiana Riverfront New Orleans Map…Map1947Flood17thStCanal19471947Flood17thStCanalJefferson Parish Louisiana Riverfront New Orleans Map 19511951Jefferson Parish Louisiana Riverfront New Orleans Map…MapJefferson Parish Louisiana Riverfront New Orleans Map 19791979Jefferson Parish Louisiana Riverfront New Orleans Map…Map
1990s1 item
Jefferson Parish Louisiana Riverfront New Orleans Map 19981998Jefferson Parish Louisiana Riverfront New Orleans Map…Map
Date unknown1 to date
Lake Pontchartrain Causeway & Southern Toll Plaza Bridge, Causeway BoulevardDate?Lake Pontchartrain Causeway & Southern Toll Plaza Bri…
Today16 recent
Canal lakewards of Pomona Street, Metairie, Louisiana August 20252025Canal lakewards of Pomona Street, Metairie, Louisiana…The vintage London Lodge Motel, the word "motel" missing its m, stands2021The vintage London Lodge Motel, the word "motel" miss…The Airline Skate Center, an indoor roller-skating rink along Airline Highway, once a main route between New Orleans an…2021The Airline Skate Center, an indoor roller-skating ri…Post-Hurricane Ida distribution center, John C Bright Playground2021Post-Hurricane Ida distribution center, John C Bright…USA meter stamp KB2p1B2016USA meter stamp KB2p1BMetairie, Louisiana - view from rooftop parking lot of Lowe's, 16 March 2016 - 42016Metairie, Louisiana - view from rooftop parking lot o…Metairie, Louisiana - view from rooftop parking lot of Lowe's, 16 March 2016 - 32016Metairie, Louisiana - view from rooftop parking lot o…Metairie, Louisiana - view from rooftop parking lot of Lowe's, 16 March 2016 - 22016Metairie, Louisiana - view from rooftop parking lot o…Metairie, Louisiana, United States April 2015 - pretty blue flower2015Metairie, Louisiana, United States April 2015 - prett…Diamonds and Octagon2015Diamonds and OctagonSunset from the Danziger Bridge looking towards Metairie 32012Sunset from the Danziger Bridge looking towards Metai…Metairie Galleria2011Metairie GalleriaJefferson Parish Suburbs of New Orleans2010Jefferson Parish Suburbs of New OrleansISS015-E-29568 - View of Louisiana2007ISS015-E-29568 - View of LouisianaHayley Fields at the Beth Israel Torah Dedication Ceremony2006Hayley Fields at the Beth Israel Torah Dedication Cer…LAMap-doton-Metairie2004LAMap-doton-Metairie
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA) - Jefferson Parish - New Orleans Urbanized Area - ED 26-21 to 22…
Retake this view1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA) - Jefferson Parish - New Orleans Urbanized Area - ED 26-21 to 22…, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Metairie’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Metairie

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2026
Stewart Building
Stewart Building
Buildings
All 1 listings
Stewart BuildingBuilding · listed 2026

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Metairie, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,000120,000140,000160,000180,000198020002020Peak: 164,160

Between 136,477 and 164,160 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Metairie’s Wikipedia page.

Help out

Finish Metairie’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
6 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old view1950 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Kenner3 historic placesCNew Orleans192 historic placesA+River RidgeIts storyD

Questions about Metairie’s history

What year was Metairie founded?

The Metairie post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Metairie rank for history?

Metairie is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #121 of 161 in Louisiana. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Metairie?

One place: the Stewart Building (listed 2026).

How old are the homes in Metairie?

3% of Metairie’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1972.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (21), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.