The History of Pontchartrain Beach

There are no natural beaches along the southern shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Pontchartrain Beach was originally a brackish marsh and swampland which provided habitat for fish, shellfish, muskrats, osprey, alligators and other native flora and fauna.  

In the 1830s, the swamp began to give way to human interests making Pontchartrain Beach a recreational area to enjoy for many years.  During the early 1800s until the early 1900s, the current site of Pontchartrain Beach became known as Milneberg, a camp and resort-like destination connected by train along Elysian Fields Avenue to the Faubourg Marigny.  Known as “Smokey Mary”, the train brought residents and visitors alike to this waterfront haven until the 1930s.

Pontchartrain Beach construction began in the 1930s as a result of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Orleans Levee District’s (OLD) “Lakefront Improvement Project.” This improvement project included the creation of Pontchartrain Beach by shipping in sand from Horn Island, Mississippi.  This project resulted in a 21-acre beach with infrastructure for an amusement park.  In 1939, OLD and the Batt Family signed a lease agreement to establish the Pontchartrain Beach Amusement Park.  At its peak, the park had features such as the Zephyr roller coaster, an Olympic size swimming pool, a waterfront stage for live entertainment and a bathhouse.

Economic and environmental factors led to the ultimate closure of Pontchartrain Beach in 1983.  Poor water quality, gradual erosion, and hurricanes were the major contributors to the park’s decline.  From 1983 until 2003, the site was officially closed to the public except during the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation’s (LPBF) “Back to the Beach” annual event, providing outreach opportunities for the foundation and nostalgic experiences for visitors. 

In 1991, UNO bought a portion of the property and began construction of a research and technology park.  With the requirement of allowing public access, UNO leased the 15-acre beach that remains today.  Once major construction of the UNO research and technology park was completed, the beach was periodically opened to the public.  After UNO’s lease ended, there were two plans, one in 2006 and one in 2016, that proposed recreational uses for the beach. In 2016, Gulf Coast Bank and Trust and the Azby Fund donated the money to purchase 17,000 tons of sand to replenish the beach. The Lakefront Management Authority now owns the property which the Pontchartrain Beach Foundation will lease for the development and operation.