(CNN) — “The first thing you notice about New Orleans are the burying grounds — the cemeteries — one of the best things there are here” wrote Bob Dylan in his 2004 book “Chronicles: Volume One.”
“Going by, you try to be as quiet as possible, better to let them sleep… The past doesn’t pass away so quickly here.”
The legendary American folksinger wasn’t thinking about the virtually abandoned airport terminal at New Orleans Louis Armstrong International (MSY), but his words certainly are apposite. While not dead yet, the old MSY is currently stuck in quiet purgatory.
CNN Travel went to explore.
New $1.3 billion terminal
Architecturally speaking, the ultramodern César Pelli-designed terminal is an international gateway that might look more at home in Bahrain than the Bayou.
On the south side of the airfield, “The City That Care Forgot” has all but forgotten its old airline terminal.
It was the bustling location of countless tourists toasting their Mardi Gras trip with one last Hurricane, emotional embraces of reunions and farewells, and late passengers breathlessly running to make their flight. The building’s darkest and finest hour was as a shelter and staging area during Hurricane Katrina. Now it lies in repose.
On its final day of operations on November 5, 2019, nearly 15,000 people flowed through its doors. As the last flight out neared, New Orleans laissez le bon temps rouler one last time, sending the tired 61-year-old edifice off…