The man with the umbrella is fantastic. What a great entrance to a cool boutique hotel that would have made.

The view of fresh line, water pipes, certainly coincide with the time frame.
According to New Orleans - A History of Three Great Public Utilities

Paper read by
Hon. Martin Behrman
Mayor of New Orleans, La.
before Convention of League of American Municipalities,
Milwaukee, Wis., September 29, 1914

"The construction of the new system was commenced in 1905 and the completed system went into operation in February, 1909. Only three and a half years were consumed in the construction of a plant covering over five hundred (500) miles of streets with water ... By 1917 it is expected that all of the premises of the city will have been connected both with the water works and with the sewers, and vaults and cesspools will have been eliminated from the entire well built-up area of the city."

With it being on Canal Street, and the picture being "circa 1910", it makes the case the photo could be from the end of 1908, to beginning of 1909, as Canal Street and the French Quarter would seem to have been in the initial, completed system.

I have no idea as to what that contraption next to the pole might be used for. Is it the "better mousetrap" we've been waiting for?

Massive, solid structure for the Ages - at least until 1956. Up until 1954 most of the major rail lines had their own individual terminals. That was when Union Passenger Terminal was built and they all collected there. The old terminals were torn down after that.

Talk about a convenient location. For the first decade of its time serving NoLa this station was directly adjacent to the infamous Storyville district of legalized prostitution and gaming. You could walk out the door, turn right and be in one of the dozens of high class brothels in about 30 seconds. Gents: Don't forget your cash and your umbrella.

It was terminal.

The station was razed in 1956 after passenger service was relocated to the new Union Terminal. After station and tracks were removed the ground was landscaped and the area was designated as the "Garden of the Americas.

I’m afraid I am one of those men who do hide from the elements when presented with unwanted heat. Never mind the heat, which runs against my Northern-boy default state of winter, but the sun has been terribly unkind to me. My dermatologist (who has cut five basal cell carcinomas out of my flesh this past decade) had me pegged when she asked if, at the start of every July, I got shoved outdoors by my mother to get burned in order to get "a good base" for the rest of the summer. So now I put sunscreen on my bald head every day, wear a hat if I'm out for extended periods, and stick to the shadows on sunny days. If being a heliophobe makes me "invisible to the ladies," so be it.

This guy with the umbrella is an integral part of this image in my opinion, but I doubt it was planned. Maybe ? However, the ladies do not even have him in their radar. Why? My guess is, as it would be today, that women are not much into men that hide from the sun under an umbrella. It seems very odd to me that he is standing there on a nice sunny day acting like it's a bad thing. They did not know at this time that the sun can damage your skin and even kill you, so he seems kinda wimpy to me, and I'm figuring invisible to the ladies. I could easily be wrong, and this will sound like some macho b.s., but even in 2019 knowing what we all know the sun is capable of good or bad, Men do not hide from the elements when presented with unwanted heat. At least not ones that I know.

As far as this building -- It is stunning to me. That arch is "on point". Really nice masonry work there. I wonder why it was torn down so soon? I would bet that one of your many amazing commenters will know the answer. I don't have time tonight to fall down that rabbit hole of research. Next thing you know, I will be watching videos on how to carve stone.