Decatur Street is a street in the

French Quarter The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans (french: La Nouvelle-Orléans) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Squ ...

neighborhood of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

that runs parallel to 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 f ...

. Decatur was formerly known as "Levee Street" or ''Rue de la Levée'', as it was originally the location of the levee. In 1870, when the river had altered its course, it was renamed "Decatur Street" in honor of the naval hero

Stephen Decatur Jr. Stephen Decatur Jr. (; January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was an American naval officer and Commodore (rank), commodore. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in Worcester County, Maryland, Worcester County. His father, Stephen De ...

Decatur begins at Canal Street (the corresponding street up-river of Canal Street is

Magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

), runs across the French Quarter , and terminates at St. Ferdinand Street in the

Faubourg Marigny The Faubourg Marigny ( ; sometimes called The Marigny) is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Its boundaries, as defined by the City Planning Commission, are North Rampart Street and St. Claude Avenue to the n ...

neighborhood. The most famous sights on Decatur Street are Jackson Square and nearby ''

Café du Monde Café du Monde (French for "Café of the World" or "the People's Café") is a renowned open-air coffee shop located on Decatur Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It is a New Orleans landmark and tourist ...

''. For about a century, ''upper Decatur Street'' (the portion closer to Canal Street) had many businesses catering to

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

s visiting 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 Ham ...

of New Orleans. In the late 20th century, it was redeveloped and became more upscale, with establishments such as the

House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers''. The first location opened at ...

. In the late 20th century, ''lower Decatur Street'' became a center of local punk and goth subculture. It contains various bars and musical venues and is not far from Faubourg Marigny's

Frenchmen Street Frenchmen Street is in the 7th Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is best known for the three-block section in the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood which since the 1980s has developed as the center of many popular live-music venues, including Cafe ...

venues. The Palm Court Cafe is a famous

traditional jazz Trad jazz, short for "traditional jazz", is a form of jazz in the United States and Britain in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, played by musicians such as Chris Barber, Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball, Ken Colyer and Monty Sunshine, based on a reviva ...

venue located on Decatur Street.

References

{{NOLA Streets Streets in New Orleans

See also

References