Although New Orleans might try to hide that it sits on honest-to-God swampland with its miles of asphalt, pavement, 400,000 residents, and a single cluster of skyscrapers, you can still find alligators in the city. Crawling through the bayou, sure, but in bite-size incarnations.
But what if I told you that the Crescent City had a man-sized prehistoric monstrosity right smack in the middle of one of the nicest parts of town? Horror movie fodder! Nightmare fuel! Next door to $5 donuts!
I'm telling you now: Magazine St has one. It is, of course, taxidermied and proudly on display at New Orleans's one and only alligator museum. The Great American Alligator Museum, to be exact. Ignore the imitators!
In addition to this now-placid creature from the lagoon, the museum contains
- An alligator skin trucker hat
- Taxidermy a la Dr Moreau
- Alligator-themed illness alleviations from days of yore
- Pure, unadulterated kitsch
- And much, much more
- Give it a gander in the narrow window of Thursdays to Saturdays 3:00 to 5:30