Avondale was home to one of the nation’s biggest shipbuilding facilities and was once the largest employer in Louisiana. Established in 1938 as Avondale Marine Ways, it later became a unit of Northrop Grumman Corporation, then Huntington Ingalls; it closed in 2014. In its early years, the facility specialized in all-steel construction and primarily built and repaired river barges. During World War II, Avondale manufactured seagoing craft for the war effort. Postwar it expanded its range to include seagoing vessels for the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy, tankers for oil companies, and container ships for commercial companies. Encompassing 268 acres along the bank of the Mississippi River, the shipyards presented a formidable sight, with cranes and structural equipment (some still in use) rising high above the levee, reiterating the centrality of the river to the area’s culture as the facility and docks seek a new use.
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