Royal 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 () was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Square" in English), a ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, U.S. It is one of the original streets of the city, dating from the early 18th century, and is known today for its

antique shop An antique shop (or antiques shop) is a retail store specializing in the selling of antiques. Antiques shops generally have a physical presence in a shop where the wares are stored and displayed, but some antique shops are online, with no phy ...

art galleries An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The long ...

, and hotels.

History Of Royal Street

The street starts at Canal Street (above Canal Street, the corresponding street is

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 Jeffer ...

' St. Charles Avenue). Royal runs down through the

Faubourg Marigny The Faubourg Marigny ( ; sometimes called The Marigny) is a Neighborhoods in New Orleans, neighborhood of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Its boundaries, as defined by the City Planning Commission, are Rampart Street, North R ...

, Bywater, and Lower Ninth Ward neighborhoods to the

Jackson Barracks Jackson Barracks is the headquarters of the Louisiana National Guard. It is located in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana. The base was established in 1834 and was originally known as New Orleans Barracks. On July 7, 1866, it was rena ...

. The

Industrial Canal The Industrial Canal is a waterway in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The waterway's proper name, as used by the U.S. Army United States Army Corps of Engineers, Corps of Engineers and on NOAA nautical charts, is Inner Harbor Navigation ...

forms a gap in the street between the Bywater and Lower Ninth Ward neighborhoods. The portion of ''Rue Royale'' in the upper French Quarter (toward Canal Street) is known for its opulent

antique An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...

shops and art galleries. The prices at those shops tend to be high; indeed, the area has been listed as one of the world's most expensive places to shop. The finer antique stores display not simply items that are old, but such rare items as pieces of fine furniture owned by royalty of past centuries. The 800 block of Royal has traditionally been similar to the 700 Block, featuring various art galleries. Art galleries still line this block; however, the recent openings of The Vampire Cafe, Voodoo Bone Lady, and Sassy Magick Noir have transformed the block into a haven for the spiritual and spooky inclined. The 700 block of Royal features the galleries of New Orleans–based artists Ally Burguieres and

George Rodrigue George Rodrigue (March 13, 1944 – December 14, 2013) was an American artist who in the late 1960s began painting Louisiana landscapes, followed soon after by outdoor family gatherings and southwest Louisiana 19th-century and early 20th-centu ...

. Each afternoon, three blocks of Royal Street in the Quarter, between St. Louis and St. Ann Streets, are closed to traffic to create a

pedestrian zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or ...

. At that time numerous

street performers Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

set up. Outstanding, up-and-coming New Orleans

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musicians can be heard in the vicinity, although performers vary widely. Royal Street also contains restaurants and hotels, notably the Hotel Monteleone, a family-owned high-rise established in the late 19th century. Despite catastrophic effects of 2005's Hurricane Katrina in much of New Orleans, Royal Street was spared the flood, other than in the lower ninth ward. The

, originally the city itself, was built upon naturally-higher ground next to a curve in the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

References

{{NOLA Streets Streets in New Orleans Economy of New Orleans Shopping districts and streets in the United States Tourist attractions in New Orleans French Quarter

History Of Royal Street

See also

References