Haunting photos show a Six Flags in New Orleans that has been abandoned for almost 2 decades
One of the eeriest reminders of Hurricane Katrina is an abandoned Six Flags in New Orleans. This is what the park looks like now.
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- During Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, Six Flags New Orleans was completely flooded.
- Since then, the park has stood abandoned, save for visits from urban explorers and alligators.
- A lease was signed in October 2023 to begin redeveloping the land, but work has not started yet.
Before Hurricane Katrina hammered the Gulf Coast in 2005, killing almost 1,400 people and destroying millions of dollars worth of property, there was a Six Flags just outside New Orleans.
After the storm, the park was flooded. Once the waters finally receded, the question became: What should we do with this park?
Almost two decades later, Six Flags New Orleans still sits abandoned, now a time capsule of life before Katrina. However, as of August 2023, plans for a $500 million development are moving ahead, reported Axios New Orleans. A lease was signed two months later in October. But no ground has been broken, meaning, for now, it's still sitting silently.
Here's what it looks like now, how it's been used since the storm, and what the city has decided to do with the park.
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After the floodwaters receded, what was left of the amusement park was a wasteland.
Gerald Herbert/AP
The sign still reads "Closed for Storm."
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Its location in a low-income neighborhood (New Orleans East) that's far away from other classic New Orleans tourist attractions, like the French Quarter, was not ideal.
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The financial issues continued even after Jazzland turned into a Six Flags.
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The real French Quarter is home to hundreds of years of history.
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Almost all of the "flat rides" were submerged, according to Modern Day Ruins.
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The gates remain locked.
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The city of New Orleans took over in 2009, according to Abandoned America.
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According to the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report, Southern Star Amusement announced its plans to completely refurbish and even expand the park in 2008. However, these plans were canceled in 2009.
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These plans were also scrapped, reported NOLA.com.
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But, as The New Orleans Advocate reported, just two years later, this idea was called off, too.
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While the Industrial Development Board of New Orleans originally went with the outlet mall plan, Jazzland continued pursuing its idea and maintained its interest in purchasing the land in 2017, according to NOLA.com.
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Mitch Landrieu was the Mayor of New Orleans from 2010 to 2018 — his term ended in May that year. It became his decision in 2017.
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NOLA.com reported in 2018 that current mayor LaToya Cantrell also passed on Dreamlanding Festival Park.
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According to NOLA.com, the demolition was predicted to cost $1.3 million. Instead, Mayor Cantrell has since decided on a different route.
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Bayou Phoenix's plan includes "a sports complex, an indoor/outdoor waterpark and hotel, a logistics center, a mega travel center, and the redevelopment of the Eastover Country Club, Golf Course and Residences."
The choice was made official in October 2021.
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There are also parts of New Orleans proper that haven't recovered.
20th Century Fox
"A reported 100 alligators were removed from the site as it was being prepared for the crew to take over," according to NOLA.com.
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According to Wired, the "Jurassic World" crew filmed at the park for nine weeks.
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As NOLA.com reported, in addition to "The Park," other movies filmed at SFNO include "Deepwater Horizon," "Reminiscence," "Project Power," and "Stolen."
Walt Disney Television
"Cloak & Dagger," one of the TV shows that's part of the larger extended Marvel universe, took place in New Orleans — so of course, the characters had to visit the landmark in an episode fittingly titled "Funhouse Mirrors."
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YouTube documentarian Jake Williams told NOLA.com it took five months to get permission from the city of New Orleans to film inside the park. Speaking of abandoned places, "They're like museums," he told the site, "like walking through a period of time."
The film is now streaming on Tubi, as well as VOD.
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There are plenty of YouTube videos.
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"Walking into the abandoned amusement park 10 years after Hurricane Katrina devastated it was an eerie experience. Gone was the scent of cotton candy and the sounds of laughter as I walked into the abandoned Six Flags Amusement Park. It was like the whole world had died, and I was the only one left. It wasn't just surreal. It was apocalyptic," photographer Seph Lawless told the New York Daily News in 2015.
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You can see them in this YouTube video, for one.
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"I applaud NORA (New Orleans Redevelopment Authority) and Bayou Phoenix on reaching this critical milestone toward the redevelopment of the blighted former Six Flags site," Cantrell said, according to 4WWL.
In May 2023, NORA said Bayou Phoenix's 700-page plan still had holes and most likely needed to be redone, according to NOLA.com.
By October, Bayou Phoenix finally signed a lease for the land. As Biz New Orleans reported, the next step is raising $500 million to begin construction, and signing tenants. According to the report, the site could contain "a water park, a youth sports facility, two hotels, an 8.5-acre man-made lake, a movie studio, an amphitheater, and retail outlets."
But that hasn't happened yet.
So, for now, the park stands as a testament to the long-lasting and apocalyptic impact of Hurricane Katrina on the city of New Orleans and the entire Gulf Coast.