Here is a view of the neutral ground and the downtown-side roadway of Canal Street from the St. Charles/Royal Street intersection.  Horsecars of the New Orleans City Railroad lay over on the three outbound (lakebound) inner tracks after having been turned on the turntable, which can just be glimpsed at the left.  The tail end of a horsecar is also seen at the left, entering the turntable.  To our right, several ladies in the long dresses that were universal at this time are talking to a cab driver at the head of a line of cabs waiting for work.  The ladies are standing on the outer lakebound track.  Here is another example of traffic going the “wrong way,” compared to what a modern driver would expect, in the roadway at the right.  The domed building in the right background is the Mercier Building, erected in 1887.  This building later housed the original Maison Blanche department store.  The light tower was erected not later than 1887, and it is absent here, so the picture must date from 1887. — American Picture Gallery, used with permission