Focusing on three sites on the banks of the Mississippi River, this large-scale analytical project makes connections between historical, natural conditions and the construction of modern port facilities in and around New Orleans. One illustrated study, for example, analyzes the former cypress forest of Audubon Park, which existed before the city’s development, to link past and present: the natural history of the site’s topography can thus be connected imaginatively to the pilings that create the wharves at the river’s edge. This project illustrates how an understanding of historical, natural topography can inspire today’s constructions along the river to forge even stronger psychological and physical connections for New Orleanians with the river that has given their city life.