French Quarter History

Don’t Play Parking Russian Roulette in the French Quarter!

Photo by Bryan Dorrough For the most part, parking on the streets of the French Quarter is a very bad proposition for visitors. Stringent parking control measures are in effect and meter limits are strictly enforced by dour and determined meter maids. Tow trucks are always on the streets, even...

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New Orleans’ Tricentennial Celebration

Happy birthday to New Orleans, 300 years in the making! The year 2018 marks the city of New Orleans's 300th anniversary, and the city is going all out on the monthslong celebration of its illustrious history, diverse culture and unique traditions. The extensive program, put forth by city...

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Ghost Tours in the French Quarter

Photo courtesy of Cemetery Tour New Orleans at Basin St. Station on Facebook Halloween in New Orleans has grown into an extremely popular party holiday for pleasure seekers, with its active nightlife, dining scene and seasonal festivals booming this time of year. But the city holds a much...

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Over-the-top Gravesites in New Orleans

Italian Benevolent Society Tomb, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA—photo by traveljunction on Flickr From Ernie K-Doe to the fictional Ignatius P. Reilly, many over-the-top personalities comprise the city of New Orleans. Not surprisingly, these larger-than-life characters often take their...

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The Historic New Orleans Collection Presents Storyville: Madams and Music

Postcard showing view of Storyville courtesy of The Historic New Orleans Collection Many know Storyville as the red light district where prostitution and jazz music flourished in New Orleans from 1895 to 1917. A lineage of musical geniuses, including Jelly Roll Morton, Buddy Bolden and Pops...

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Year-Round Christmas Shopping in New Orleans at Santa’s Quarters

Even on the muggiest of Louisiana days, it's always Christmas inside Santa’s Quarters in the French Quarter. Those who have never ventured into the store can’t help but wonder, How do they stay in business year-round? What is it a front for? But Santa’s Quarters (1025 Dectatur St) owner...

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The True History and Faith Behind Voodoo

By: Katy Reckdahl Every year now, The Voodoo Experience, with its taglines “join the ritual,” and “worship the music,” pegs its calendar to Halloween. This has become a tradition in New Orleans, much like All Saints’ Day, when families head to the graveyards of the French Quarter and...

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Gardens of the French Quarter – St. Anthony’s Garden

By: Sally Reeves Detail, Ignace Broutin, Plan de la Nouvelle Orléans telle qu'elle estoit le premier janvier mil sept cent trente-deux. French Centre des archives d'outre-mer 04DFC 90A. Broutin's plan of the garden and the Capuchin complex in 1732. Several drainage features seem to be...

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Grand Chorus Without End at the Old Cathedral in Jackson Square

By: Sally Reeves Every quarter-hour, the thin peal of bells at St. Louis Cathedral calls saints and sinners, mostly the latter. They clang out a slightly off-key sound, as if they well know the offbeat rhythms of the neighborhood below them. The pulse of a circus atmosphere around the church...

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By: Sally Reeves If "the seed must die to generate new life," it was the post Civil War demise of the old Creole society in the New Orleans French Quarter that gave rise to a world of romantic reminiscences about it. Those enigmatic Creoles-- be they private, penurious, prideful in their...

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