Historic Neighborhoods

The Garden District

    

This whole area was once a number of plantations, including the Livaudais Plantation. It was sold off in parcels to mainly wealthy Americans who did not want to live in the French Quarter with the Creoles. It became a part of the city of Lafayette in 1833, and was annexed by New Orleans in 1852. The district was laid out by New Orleans architect, planner and surveyor Barthelemy Lafon.  

   

 

The French Quarter

The French Quarter is the oldest and most famous and visited neighborhood of New Orleans. It was laid out in French and Spanish colonial times in the 18th century. While it has many hotels, restaurants, and businesses catering to visitors, it is best appreciated when you recall that it is still a functioning mixed-use residential/commercial neighborhood where locals live. The French Quarter or "Vieux Carre" ("old square" in French) stretches along the Mississippi River from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue (13 blocks long) and back from the Mississippi to Rampart Street (6 blocks wide).

 

"The Quarter" is compact. One can spend an enjoyable vacation here without leaving it for several days. If the French Quarter is your headquarters, consider leaving your car behind and not bothering to rent one if your health permits a few blocks walk. Parking is difficult, expensive, or both. Occasional trips to other parts of town can be made by streetcar or cab. The neighborhood is pedestrian friendly. Take care walking at night, particularly on dark or deserted streets. If you've been drinking, a cab is advisable.

The "Upper Quarter" (between Canal Street and Jackson Square) is the area most patronized by visitors, but the "Lower Quarter" (between Jackson Square and Esplanade Avenue) also has shops and restaurants sprinkled amongst the residences. 

Architectural Highlights

St. Louis Cathedral

St. Louis Cathedral is among the tallest and most imposing structures in the French Quarter. As well as one of the most recognizable. As the mother church of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, St. Louis Cathedral has a long and interesting history. It is the oldest continuously active Roman Catholic Cathedral in the United States, originally built in 1727 and dedicated to King Louis IX of France, “The Crusading King” who was later canonized by the Church. The original St. Louis Cathedral burned during the great fire of 1794 and was rebuilt. The present structure was completed in the 1850s.

In September 1987 the cathedral witnessed the historic visit of Pope John Paul II and the plaza directly in front of the church was renamed in the pope’s honor. Shortly afterward the status of the Cathedral was upgraded to a Basilica.

The Pontalba Apartments

On either side of the square are the Pontalba Apartments built by the Baroness Michaela Pontalba in the 1850's. They are the oldest apartment buildings in the United States. The Baroness is a colorful figure in New Orleans history. She is the daughter of Don Andres de Almonaster y Roxas, who is buried under the floor of the St. Louis Cathedral. Michaela survived an attempted murder by her father-in-law in Paris 1834. She returned to New Orleans 1848 to find the old Creole families were moving to Esplanade Avenue. Seeking to restore this area of the French Quarter, she built her grand row houses, and convinced city officials to renovate the Square, and surrounding buildings to resemble the great public squares in Europe.

The Old Ursuline Convent

The Old Ursuline Convent is the oldest building in the Mississippi Valley and the only building of the original colony still standing. Authorized by King Louis XV of France in 1745, it was originally built for the Sisters of Ursula, who had settled in New Orleans in 1727. The Ursuline nuns conducted a school to educate the daughters of wealthy Creoles. One notable alumna was the Baroness de Pontalba. The nuns also educated Indian and African-American girls in special classes. In that era, a nun, Sister Francis Xavier, became the first woman pharmacist in the New World.

Louisiana Superdome

Completed in 1975, the spaceship-shaped Louisiana Superdome has been described as the largest domed structure in the world. Located near the French Quarter of New Orleans, the Louisiana Superdome sheltered thousands from the wrath of Hurricane Katrina. The storm damaged the distinctive domed roof.

The Cabildo

The Cabildo was the seat of colonial government in New Orleans, and is now a museum. The Cabildo as it appears today was built between 1795-99 as the home of the Spanish municipal government in New Orleans, and the mansard roof was later added, in French style. The building took its name from the governing body who met there — the "Illustrious Cabildo," or city council. The Cabildo was the site of the Louisiana Purchase transfer ceremonies in 1803, and continued to be used by the New Orleans city council until the mid 1850

New Orleans Architectural Styles

In New Orleans, old homes are architectural treasures. Take a leisurely walk through one of the city's unique neighborhoods and find a myriad of styles, including: Creole Cottage 1790-1850. Found mainly in the French Quarter and surrounding area. Cottages are single story, set at ground level. Steeply pitched roof. Symmetrical four-opening facade wall, set close to front property line. Made of stucco or wood exterior.                                                              American Townhouse 1820-1850. Found in the Central Business District or Lower Garden District. A narrow three-story structure set near ground level. Facade wall on property line. Asymmetrical arrangement of facade openings, balcony on second floor. Exterior made of brick or stucco. Creole Townhouse Not pictured. 1788-mid-1800s. Found in the French Quarter and surrounding neighborhoods. Two to four-story structure set at or near ground level. Asymmetrical arrangement of arched openings on facade wall set on property line. Iron balcony at second and sometimes third levels. Steeply pitched side-gabled roof often with multiple roof dormers. Brick or stucco exterior. Raised Center-Hall Cottage or Villa 1803-1870. Found in the Garden District, Uptown, Carrollton and elsewhere. One-and-a-half story house raised two to eight feet above ground on brick piers. Full-width front gallery framed by six columns supporting entablature. Five openings with front door in the center. Side-gabled roof, often broken by central dormer. Exterior made of wood. Shotgun House 1850-1910. Found throughout New Orleans. Usually one-story, but many with second story set at rear of house (called camelback). Narrow rectangular structure raised on brick piers. Most have narrow front porch covered by a roof apron and supported by columns and brackets, often with lacey Victorian ornamentation. Predominant New Orleans house type. Wood exterior. Double-Gallery House 1820-1850. Found in the Lower Garden District, Garden District, Uptown, Esplanade Ridge. Two-story structure raised on low brick piers. Side-gabled or hipped roof. Structure set back from property line. Covered two-story galleries framed by columns supporting entablature. Asymmetrical arrangement of facade openings.

New Orleans History

In 1718, Sieur de la Bienville founded a strategic port city five feet below sea level near the juncture of the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico, it had to be reclaimed from a swamp. The new city, or ville, was named La Nouvelle Orléans for Philippe, Duc d’Orléans, and centered around the Place d’Armes (later known as Jackson Square).

New Orleans c.1722

It was confined to the area we now call the French Quarter or Vieux Carré (Old Square). The society that settled on the bend of the Mississippi was French in origin and at heart. Even so, in 1762, either because he lost a bet or because the royal coffers were exhausted, Louis XV gave Louisiana to his Spanish cousin, King Charles III. Spanish rule was relatively short— lasting until 1800— but Spain left its imprint.

New Orleans c.1764

In 1788, the city went up in flames, incinerating over 850 buildings. New Orleans was still recovering when a second fire in 1794 destroyed 200 structures.From Spain, Louisiana was ceded back to France and was finally sold by Napoleon to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. At fifteen million dollars, it was one of the greatest real estate bargains in history.
After the sale, Americans arrived en masse. Unwelcome in the Creole enclave of the French Quarter, they settled across Canal Street in the Central Business District. The two factions skirmished often, and the Canal Street median became neutral territory. Ever since, all city medians have been called neutral grounds. Louisiana joined the Union and New Orleans became the state capital. The New Orleans, the first steamboat to navigate the Mississippi successfully, arrived here from Pittsburgh. The voyage inaugurated the booming cotton and tobacco river trade that soon transformed the port of New Orleans into the second wealthiest city (after New York) in the nation.

The war of 1812 began, culminating in the Battle of New Orleans, three years later. In 1815, British troops attacked New Orleans and tried to persuade pirate Jean Lafitte to join them. Instead, Lafitte offered his men and guns to the commander of the U.S. troops, General Andrew Jackson. On the morning of January 8, a polyglot band of 4,000 militia, frontiersmen, former Haitian slaves, and pirates outfought 8,000 British veterans at Chalmette Battlefield, just a few miles east of the French Quarter. Only eight Americans died. English casualties exceeded 2,000.

New Orleans and Surrounding Land Plots c.1819

During the 18th and 19th centuries, New Orleans dominated the Caribbean as the most active port city and trade destination for island crops like sugar cane, rum, tobacco and fruit.
Thousands of refugees arrived from the Caribbean following the Haitian Revolution of 1791 to 1804. Following the revolution, thousands more gens de couleur libres, or free people of color, arrived in New Orleans. Most were from Senegambia, now the area in Central Africa known as Benin. Their presence effectively doubled the size of the city.

New Orleans c.1873

By the mid 1800s, the city in the bend of the river became the fourth largest in the U.S. and one of the richest, dazzling visitors with chic Parisian couture, fabulous restaurants and sophisticated culture.
Society centered around the French Opera House, where professional opera and theater companies played to full houses. In fact, opera was performed in New Orleans seven years before the Louisiana Purchase, and more than 400 operas premiered in the Crescent City during the 19th century.

New Orleans c.1908