The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood in the city of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Square" in English), a central square. The district is more commonly called the French Quarter today, or simply "The Quarter," related to changes in the city with American immigration after the 1803

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...

. Most of the extant historic buildings were constructed either in the late 18th century, during the city's period of Spanish rule, or were built during the first half of the 19th century, after U.S. purchase and statehood. The district as a whole has been designated as a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

, with numerous contributing buildings that are separately deemed significant. It is a prime tourist destination in the city, as well as attracting local residents. Because of its distance from areas where the levee was breached during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 as well as the strength and height of the nearest Mississippi River Levees in contrast to other levees along the canals and lakefront, it suffered relatively light damage from floodwater as compared to other areas of the city and the greater region.

History

The French claimed Louisiana in the 1690s, and Jean Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville was appointed Director General in charge of developing a colony in the territory, and founded New Orleans in 1718. In 1721, the royal engineer Adrien de Pauger designed the city's street layout. He named the streets after French royal houses and Catholic saints, and paid homage to France's ruling family, the

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanis ...

, with the naming of Bourbon Street. New Orleans was ceded to the Spanish in 1763 following the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754– ...

. The Great New Orleans Fire of 1788 and another in

1794 Events January–March * January 1 – The Stibo Group is founded by Niels Lund as a printing company in Aarhus (Denmark). * January 13 – The U.S. Congress enacts a law providing for, effective May 1, 1795, a United Sta ...

destroyed 80 percent of the city's buildings, and so nearly all the French Quarter dates from the late 1790s onwards. The Spanish introduced strict new fire codes that banned wooden siding in favor of fire-resistant brick, which was covered in

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

, painted in the pastel hues fashionable at the time. The old French peaked roofs were replaced with flat tiled ones, but the still largely French population continued to build in similar styles, influenced by colonial architecture of the Caribbean, such as timber balconies and galleries. (In southeast Louisiana, a distinction is made between "balconies", which are self-supporting and attached to the side of the building, and "galleries," which are supported from the ground by poles or columns.) French Quarter03 New Orleans

When

Anglophone Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest langua ...

Americans began to move in after the

in 1803, they mostly built on available land upriver, across modern-day Canal Street. This thoroughfare became the meeting place of two cultures, one

Francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the ...

Creole and the other Anglophone American. (Local landowners had retained architect and surveyor Barthelemy Lafon to subdivide their property to create an American suburb). The median of the wide boulevard became a place where the two contentious cultures could meet and do business in both French and English. As such, it became known as the "neutral ground", and this name is still used for medians in the New Orleans area. During the 19th century, New Orleans was similar to other Southern cities in that its economy was based on selling cash crops, such as sugar and tobacco. By 1840, newcomers whose wealth came from these enterprises turned New Orleans into the third largest

metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...

in the country. The city's port was the nation's second largest, with

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

being the largest. The development of New Orleans famous ornate cast iron 'galleries' began with the two storey examples on the Pontalba Buildings on Jackson Square, completed in 1851. As the most prominent and high class address at the time, they set a fashion for others to follow, and multi-level cast iron galleries soon replaced the old timber French ones on older buildings as well as gracing new ones. Even before the Civil War, French Creoles had become a minority in the French Quarter. In the late 19th century the Quarter became a less fashionable part of town, and many immigrants from southern Italy and Ireland settled there. From 1884 to 1924 an estimated 290,000 Italian immigrants, a great deal of them from Sicily, arrived in New Orleans and settled in the French Quarter, which acquired the nickname "Little Palermo." In 1905, the Italian consul estimated that one-third to one-half of the Quarter's population were Italian-born or second generation Italian-Americans. Irish immigrants also settled heavily in the Esplanade area, which was called the "Irish Channel". In 1917, the closure of Storyville sent much of the vice formerly concentrated therein back into the French Quarter, which "for most of the remaining French Creole families . . was the last straw, and they began to move uptown." This, combined with the loss of the French Opera House two years later, provided a bookend to the era of French Creole culture in the Quarter. Many of the remaining French Creoles moved to the university area. In the early 20th century, the Quarter's cheap rents and air of decay attracted a bohemian artistic community, a trend which became pronounced in the 1920s. Many of these new inhabitants were active in the first preservation efforts in the Quarter, which began around that time. As a result, the Vieux Carré Commission (VCC) was established in 1925, spearheaded by Elizabeth Werlein. Although initially only an advisory body, a 1936 referendum to amend the Louisiana constitution afforded it a measure of regulatory power. It began to exercise more power in the 1940s to preserve and protect the district. Bourbon Street French Quarter

Meanwhile,

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

brought thousands of servicemen and war workers to New Orleans as well as to the surrounding region's military bases and shipyards. Many of these sojourners paid visits to the Vieux Carré. Although nightlife and vice had already begun to coalesce on

Bourbon Street Bourbon Street (french: Rue Bourbon, es, Calle de Borbón) is a historic street in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans. Extending thirteen blocks from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue, Bourbon Street is famous for its many bars a ...

in the two decades following the closure of Storyville, the war produced a larger, more permanent presence of exotic, risqué, and often raucous entertainment on what became the city's most famous strip. Years of repeated crackdowns on vice in Bourbon Street clubs, which took on new urgency under Mayor deLesseps Story Morrison, reached a crescendo with District Attorney

Jim Garrison James Carothers Garrison (born Earling Carothers Garrison; November 20, 1921 – October 21, 1992) was the District Attorney of Orleans Parish, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

levee and the French Quarter consumed the attention of Vieux Carré preservationists through much of the 1960s. On December 21, 1965, the "Vieux Carre Historic District" was designated a

. After waging a decade-long battle against the

Vieux Carré Riverfront Expressway The Vieux Carré Riverfront Expressway was a controversial, mostly-elevated, never-built freeway that would have cut through the French Quarter (Vieux Carré) of New Orleans, Louisiana. From 1964 to 1969, it was also designated Interstate 310 (I ...

that utilized the newly passed National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, preservationists and their allies forced the issue into federal court, eventually producing the cancellation of the freeway plan in 1969. The victory was important for the preservation of the French Quarter, but it was hardly the only challenge. Throughout the 1960s, new hotels opened regularly, often replacing large sections of the French Quarter. The VCC approved these structures as long as their designers adhered to prevailing exterior styles. Detractors, fearing that the Vieux Carré's charm might be compromised by the introduction of too many new inns, lobbied successfully for passage in 1969 of a municipal ordinance that forbade new hotels within the district's boundaries. However, the ordinance failed to stop the proliferation of timeshare condominiums and clandestine

bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

inns throughout the French Quarter or high-rise hotels just outside its boundaries. In the 1980s, many long-term residents were driven away by rising rents, as property values rose dramatically with expectations of windfalls from the planned 1984 World's Fair site nearby. More of the neighborhood was developed to support

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

, which is important to the city's economy. But, the French Quarter still combines residential, hotels, guest houses, bars, restaurants and tourist-oriented commercial properties.

Effect of Hurricane Katrina

As with other parts of the city developed before the late 19th century, and on higher land predating New Orleans' levee systems, the French Quarter remained substantially dry following Hurricane Katrina. Its elevation is five feet (1.5 m) above sea level. Some streets had minor flooding, and several buildings suffered significant wind damage. Most of the major landmarks suffered only minor damage. In addition, the Quarter largely escaped the looting and violence that occurred after the storm; nearly all of the antique shops and art galleries in the French Quarter, for example, were untouched. Mayor Ray Nagin officially reopened the French Quarter on September 26, 2005 (almost a month after the storm), for business owners to inspect their property and clean up. Within a few weeks, a large selection of French Quarter businesses had reopened. The Historic New Orleans Collection's Williams Research Center Annex was the first new construction completed in the French Quarter after Hurricane Katrina.

Post-Katrina

In 2020 Mayor of New Orleans LaToya Cantrell proposed ending use of automobiles in the French Quarter.

Geography

The French Quarter is located at and has an elevation of . According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy An economy is an area of th ...

, the district has a total area of . of which is land and (25.76%) of which is water.

Boundaries

The most common definition of the French Quarter includes all the land stretching along the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue (13 blocks) and inland to North Rampart Street (seven to nine blocks). It equals an area of 78 square blocks. Some definitions, such as city zoning laws, exclude the properties facing Canal Street, which had already been redeveloped by the time architectural preservation was considered, and the section between Decatur Street and the river, much of which had long served industrial and warehousing functions. Any alteration to structures in the remaining blocks is subject to review by the Vieux Carré Commission, which determines whether the proposal is appropriate for the historic character of the district. Its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: Esplanade Avenue to the north, the

to the east, Canal Street, Decatur Street and Iberville Street to the south and the Basin Street, St. Louis Street and North Rampart Street to the west. The National Historic Landmark district is stated to be 85 square blocks. The Quarter is subdistrict of the French Quarter/CBD Area.

Adjacent neighborhoods

* Faubourg Marigny (east) *

Central Business District A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the " cit ...

(west) * Iberville (north) * Tremé (north)

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 4,176 people, 2,908 households, and 509 families residing in the neighborhood. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 8,523 /mi² (3,212 /km). As of the

of 2010, there were 3,813 people, 2,635 households, and 549 families residing in the neighborhood.

Landmarks and attractions

Jackson Square

Jackson Square (formerly or , in French and Spanish, respectively), originally designed by architect and landscaper Louis H. Pilié (officially credited only with the iron fence), is a public, gated park the size of a city block, located at the front of the French Quarter (GPS ). In the mid-19th century, the square was named after President (formerly General, of

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Fren ...

acclaim)

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame a ...

. In 1856, city leaders purchased an

equestrian statue An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning ' knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is ...

of Jackson from the sculptor Clark Mills. The statue was placed at the center of the square, which was converted to a park from its previous use as a military parade ground and execution site. (Convicted criminals were sometimes hanged in the square. After the slave insurrection of 1811 during the U.S. territorial period, some of the insurgents were sentenced to death here in

Orleans Parish New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

across Decatur Street; however, the view was blocked in the 19th century when larger levees were built along the river. The riverfront was long devoted to shipping-related activities at the heart of the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

. The administration of Mayor

Moon Landrieu Moon Edwin Landrieu (born Maurice Edwin Landrieu; July 23, 1930 – September 5, 2022) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th mayor of New Orleans from 1970 to 1978. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented New ...

put in a scenic boardwalk across from Jackson Square; it is known as the "Moon Walk" in his honor. At the end of the 1980s, old wharves and warehouses were demolished to create Woldenberg Park, extending the riverfront promenade up to Canal Street. On the opposite side of the square from the River are three 18th‑century historic buildings, which were the city's heart in the colonial era. The center of the three is St. Louis Cathedral. The

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

was designated a

minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

. To its left is the Cabildo, the old city hall, now a museum, where the final transfer papers for the

were signed. To the cathedral's right is the Presbytère, built to match the Cabildo. The Presbytère, originally planned to house the city's

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

priests and authorities, was adapted as a courthouse at the start of the 19th century after the Louisiana Purchase, when civilian government was elevated over church authority. In the 20th century it was adapted as a museum. On each side of the square are the Pontalba Buildings, matching red-brick, one-block-long, four‑story buildings constructed between 1849 and 1851. The ground floors house shops and restaurants; the upper floors are apartments. The buildings were planned as row townhouses; they were not converted to rental apartments until the 1930s (during the Great Depression). The buildings were designed and constructed by Baroness Micaela Almonester Pontalba, daughter of Don Andres Almonaster y Rojas, a prominent Spanish philanthropist in Creole New Orleans. Micaela Almonaster was born in Louisiana in 1795. Her father died three years later, and she became sole heiress to his fortune and his New Orleans land holdings. Directly across from Jackson Square is the

Jax Brewery Jackson Brewing Company, or Jackson Brewery, was a regional brewery operating in New Orleans, from 1890 to 1974. One of two breweries selling ''Jax'' beer, along with Jacksonville's Jax Brewing Company, it was popularly known as the Jax Brewer ...

building, the original home of a local

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cer ...

. After the company ceased to operate independently, the building was converted for use by retail businesses, including restaurants and specialty shops. In recent years, some retail space has been converted into riverfront

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

s. Behind the Jax Brewery lies the Toulouse Street Wharf, the regular pier for the excursion steamboat, '' Natchez''. From the 1920s through the 1980s, Jackson Square became known for attracting painters, young art students, and caricaturists. In the 1990s, the artists were joined by tarot card readers,

mime Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) is an Internet standard that extends the format of email messages to support text in character sets other than ASCII, as well as attachments of audio, video, images, and application programs. Messa ...

s, fortune tellers, and other street performers. Live music has been a regular feature of the entire Quarter, including the Square, for more than a century. Formal concerts are also held, although more rarely. Street musicians play for tips. Diagonally across the square from the Cabildo is Café du Monde, open 24 hours a day except for

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

. The historic open-air cafe is known for its café au lait, its coffee blended with chicory, and its beignets, made and served there continuously since the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

period (1862). It is a custom for anyone visiting for the first time to blow the powdered sugar off a beignet and make a wish.

Bourbon Street

The most well known of the French Quarter streets, Bourbon Street, or Rue Bourbon, is known for its drinking establishments. Most of the bars frequented by tourists are new but the Quarter also has a number of notable bars with interesting histories. The

Old Absinthe House The Old Absinthe House is a historic building on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. History The building was constructed in the early 19th century; one of the better-known structures in the Vieux Carre from the per ...

has kept its name even though absinthe was banned in the U.S. from 1915 to 2007 because it was believed to have toxic qualities. Pat O'Brien's Bar is known both for inventing the red

Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depe ...

cocktail and for having the first dueling piano bar. Pat O'Brien's is located at 718 St. Peter Street. Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop is a tavern located on the corner of Bourbon and St. Philip streets. Built sometime before 1772, it is one of the older surviving structures in New Orleans. It is also the oldest bar in all of America that still operates as a bar. According to legend, the structure was once a business owned by the Lafitte brothers, perhaps as a "front" for their smuggling operations at Barataria Bay. The

Napoleon House The Napoleon House (french: Maison Napoléon; es, Casa de Napoleón), also known as the Mayor Girod House or Nicolas Girod House, is a historic building at 500 Chartres Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. ...

bar and restaurant is in the former home of mayor

Nicholas Girod Nicolas Girod (''French spelling'') or Nicholas Girod (April 1751—September 1840) was the fifth mayor of New Orleans, from late in 1812 to September 4, 1815. He was the first mayor of the city after Louisiana entered into the Union as a sta ...

. It was named for an unrealized plot to rescue Napoleon from his exile in

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three consti ...

and bring him to New Orleans. The original

Johnny White's Johnny White's is a bar in New Orleans known for remaining open despite Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, e ...

bar is a favorite of motorcycle bikers. In 2005 an offshoot called Johnny White's Hole in the Wall, along with Molly's at the Market, drew national media attention as the only businesses in the city to stay open throughout Hurricane Katrina and the weeks after the storm.

Spirits on Bourbon Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

was featured on the season three of ''Bar Rescue.'' It has become a staple of Bourbon Street, with its light-up skull cup and Resurrection drink. The

Bourbon Pub Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * A beer produced by Br ...

and Oz, both located at the intersection of Bourbon and St. Ann Streets, are the two largest gay clubs in New Orleans. Café Lafitte in Exile, located at the intersection of Bourbon and Dumaine, is the oldest continuously running

gay bar A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) clientele; the term '' gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities. Gay bars once serv ...

in the United States. These and other gay establishments sponsor the raucous

Southern Decadence Southern Decadence is an annual six-day event held in New Orleans, Louisiana, by the gay and lesbian community during Labor Day Weekend, culminating in a parade through the French Quarter on the Sunday before Labor Day. History The event trace ...

Festival during

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United ...

weekend. This festival is often referred to as New Orleans' Gay Mardi Gras. St. Ann Street is often called "the Lavender Line" or "the Velvet Line" in reference to its being on the edge of the French Quarter's predominately gay district. While gay residents live throughout the French Quarter, that portion northeast of St. Ann Street is generally considered to be the gay district. New Orleans and its French Quarter are one of a few places in the United States where possession and consumption of alcohol in open containers is allowed on the street. French Quarter Street is also home to

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

music; there are many street performers and

shops. Many streets are filled with

clubs with live

performances, making it an attractive destination in the neighborhood.

Restaurants

The neighborhood contains many restaurants, ranging from formal to casual, patronized by both visitors and locals. Some are well-known landmarks, such as Antoine's and Tujague's, which have been in business since the 19th century. Arnaud's,

Galatoire's Galatoire's is a restaurant at 209 Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Jean Galatoire, an immigrant from a small village near Pau, France, in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains, established a "salo ...

Broussard's Broussard's, along with Galatoire's, Antoine's, and Arnaud's, is one of the four classic Creole New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,Brennan's Brennan's is a Creole restaurant in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. History Brennan's was founded in 1946 by Owen Brennan, an Irish-American restaurateur and New Orleans native. It was originally called the Vieux Carré restauran ...

are also venerable. Less historic—but also well-known—French Quarter restaurants include those run by chefs Paul Prudhomme ("K-Paul's"), Emeril Lagasse ("NOLA"), and John Besh. Port of Call on Esplanade Avenue has been in business for more than 30 years, and is recognized for its popular "Monsoon" drink (their answer to the "Hurricane" at Pat O'Brien's Bar) as well as for its food. The Gumbo Shop is another traditional eatery in the Quarter and where casual dress is acceptable. For a take-out lunch, Central Grocery on Decatur Street is the home of the original muffaletta Italian sandwich, with New Orleans being a major center for Italian cuisine in the American South.

Hotels

Accommodations in the French Quarter range from large international chain hotels, to

s, to time-share condominiums and small guest houses with only one or two rooms. The French Quarter is known for its traditional-style hotels, such as the Bourbon Orleans, Hotel Monteleone (family-owned), Royal Sonesta, the Astor, and the Omni Royal Orleans. The Hotel St. Pierre is a small hotel also consisting of historic French Quarter houses, with a courtyard patio. The Audubon Cottages are a collection of seven Creole cottages, two of which were utilized by John James Audubon in the early 19th century when he worked in New Orleans for a short time. Also utilized by Audubon was the current breakfast room of the Dauphine Orleans Hotel, a 111-room hotel located on Dauphine Street. The Dauphine Orleans Hotel's on-site bar, May Baily's Place, was once one of New Orleans' most-known brothels, and it is rumored that the ghosts of prostitutes and

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

soldiers haunt the property.

Education

Orleans Parish School Board The Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) governs the public school system that serves New Orleans, Louisiana. It includes the entirety of Orleans Parish, coterminous with New Orleans. The OPSB directly administers 6 schools and has granted chart ...

(OPSB) manages the public school system. The

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans ( la, Archidioecesis Novae Aureliae, french: Archidiocèse de la Nouvelle-Orléans, es, Arquidiócesis de Nueva Orleans) is an ecclesiastical division of the Roman Catholic Church spanning Jefferso ...

operates area Catholic schools. Cathedral Academy, originally St. Louis Cathedral School, was in the French Quarter. It opened in 1914, and had a building separate from that of its parish. In 2012 the archdiocese decided to close the school. It had 156 students in 2012, and the archdiocese's criterion for optimal enrollment in a K–7 was 200. St. Stephen School in

Uptown New Orleans Uptown is a section of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, on the east bank of the Mississippi River, encompassing a number of neighborhoods (including the similarly-named and smaller Uptown area) between the French Quarter and the Jeffers ...

offered places to St. Louis Cathedral students. Cathedral Academy parents stated opposition against the closure.

References

External links

* (VCC) (Archive) - City of New Orleans
Harriet Joor: ''The City of Iron Lace''National Historic Landmarks Program: Vieux Carré Historic District

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20150528102925/http://btr360.com/2015/05/28/a-kora-african-bass-harp-plays-in-jackson-square-new-olreans/ A Travel Description: At Jackson Square in the French Quarter {{authority control Downtown New Orleans Neighborhoods in New Orleans Louisiana populated places on the Mississippi River National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana Busking venues Villages in Louisiana French colonial architecture Tourist attractions in New Orleans Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana National Register of Historic Places in New Orleans