"He used to design at night so people wouldn't see that this African-American was walking the course that he was hired to design."

Farrell Evans interviews Treme star Wendell Pierce about the City Park redevelopment project in New Orleans, which is also slated to include a rejuvenation of Joe Bartholomew's course.

How much money is the city spending on the redevelopment of the neighborhood?

It's upward of about $15 million now. The city still owns the golf course and the redevelopment of it. We negotiated with the government to get back all the properties that people gave up after the storm. Through the Road Home program we're building solar and geothermal homes. We didn't want to just redevelop the neighborhoods into their old form. It will be the largest green community in New Orleans. The remodeled homes are up now and we have about 50 people in line to buy homes.

The historic Joseph M. Bartholomew Golf Course is the anchor of the neighborhood.
During segregation it was the only golf course open to African-Americans in New Orleans. It was the workingman's course. It was the destination golf course for blacks in the 1950s and '60s.

And this is astounding...and heartbreaking:

Who was Joe Bartholomew?

He was a black golf-course architect who designed most of the public golf courses in New Orleans, including Metairie, City Park No. 1 and No. 2. But because he was black he couldn't play on them. He used to design at night so people wouldn't see that this African-American was walking the course that he was hired to design.

Over the years there has been a bit of golf lore generated in the neighborhood about Bartholomew.
He had a secret match against a U.S. Open champion. I don't remember what year it was. I think it might have been in 1920 or the late teens. He actually beat the guy. People know that story. Growing up he was just "Mr. Joe," the older gentleman who would be in the clubhouse or at the bar. It wasn't until I got older that I understood his significance in New Orleans history.