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H.E.R.E. (Human Rights for Everyone) Activists Unite Against Anita Bryant: June 18, 1977
Paper Monument Project #014: The first significant demonstration on behalf of gay rights in New Orleans occurred on June 18, 1977. The occasion was a protest rally against homophobic crusader Anita…
Arson Attack on the UpStairs Lounge
Paper Monument Project #025: Despite the French Quarter’s “anything goes” reputation, gay bars were routinely raided in the early 1970s and being out of the closet was unthinkable to many in the LGBTQ…
Prytania Streetcar Line
The Prytania Streetcar began operation in 1861 as a mule-drawn car line. It was called the "Silk Stocking" line because its route included the streets of the "Garden District," an uptown area of the…
1984 World's Fair Gondola (MART)
The signature attraction of the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition held in New Orleans was MART (Mississippi Aerial River Transit), a $12 million aerial gondola transport system that connected the fair…
Freedom Riders at Xavier University
Imagine sitting on a bus, hearing loud shouts from outside. You look out the window to see a giant mob of segregationists throwing anything they can get their hands on at you. These are the scenes…
Romance or Power Imbalance? The Hazeur Family
A wealthy man, Louis Hazeur De Lorme (ca. 1760-1828) was a highly respected man in his community. He shared a large indigo plantation with his brothers-in-law, Francois and Louis Xavier three and half…
Election Controversy and the Rise of the White League
The Battle of Liberty Place, which took place on September 14, 1874, exemplified the hostility that existed in Reconstruction-era New Orleans between the old social order on one side and so-called…
Government Forces and Fighting on Canal Street
On September 14, 1874, Reconstruction forces prepared to defend the state government and, most importantly, Governor Kellogg from the White League. Though the state used the St. Louis Hotel on Royal…
The Creation of the Battle of Liberty Place Monument
In September 1874, just two days after what would become known as the Battle of Liberty Place, the Daily Picayune suggested the creation of a monument to commemorate the event. In 1882 the city set…
Protest and Removal of Battle of Liberty Place Monument
Taken off the street in 1965 because of construction in the area, the Battle of Liberty Place monument returned in time for the anniversary of the battle in 1970. Around this time, the typical…
Chef Menteur Pass Bridge
The Chef Menteur Pass Bridge offered free access to and from New Orleans, helping to make the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain and the rest of the Gulf Coast more accessible to the city. Political…
Pontchartrain Railroad
The Pontchartrain Railroad was one of the first lines completed in the United States. First opening in 1831, and remaining opened uninterrupted for over 100 years, it ran the five-mile length of…
Maestri Bridge
The first bridge built across the Pontchartrain was the Watson-Williams Toll Bridge, also known as the Five-Mile Bridge and now the Maestri Bridge; the Louisiana Highway Commission approved its…
Pontchartrain Causeway Assoc. vs. Watson-Williams & Co.
Two bids were placed to construct the bridge across Lak Pontchartrain. From late 1924 until a decision was made in February 1925, The Times-Picayune reported frequently on construction proposals…
Integrating Ben Franklin High School
In the fall of 1963, Ben Franklin High School became the first New Orleans public high school to integrate. Fourteen African American students, all of whom met Franklin's stringent admissions…
Prytania Theatre
The Prytania Theatre is the oldest operating theater in New Orleans, dating back to 1915. It is the only single-screen, suburban theater in the state of Louisiana. It caters to film buffs and families…
K&B Drug Stores
Katz & Besthoff, Ltd., later known as K&B, was a drug store chain headquartered in New Orleans throughout much of the 20th century. 1011 Canal Street was home to one of the chain's 186 storefronts.…
San Malo Maroons
Paper Monuments Project #010: The San Malo Maroons have the most remarkable and extensively documented history of runaway slave communities in the Western Hemisphere. The Spanish authorities were…
Monument to the Immigrant: The Marble is an Immigrant, too!
The “Monument to the Immigrant” was erected in March 1995 and stands along the Mississippi River in Woldenberg Park. The monument depicts an immigrant family on one side and the other side a stylized…
Singer Sewing Center
In 1930, Signer Sewing Company hired local architects Charles Favrot and Louis A. Livaudais to erect a Neoclassical style storefront at 934 Canal Street to house a flagship Singer Sewing Center. [1,…
The Bench: The Unofficial Landmark of a Bygone Era
Since the 1970s, Frenchmen has been home to a smorgasbord of music venues that have birthed, incubated, and showcased various facets of the local music scene. We’ve asked hundreds of musicians about…
The Spotted Cat: Trombone Battle Of The Century
Young musicians on Frenchmen Street have unique opportunities to be inspired by their musical heroes on an up close and personal level. Jeremy Phipps, of the contemporary band People Museum, grew up…
The Rooftop of Café Brasil: Adé Salgado Surveys The New Millennium
Famed coffeeshop-turned-music-incubator Café Brasil was a fixture on the Frenchmen Street scene between its opening in 1985 and its closure in 2006, the year after Hurricane Katrina. Although the…
d.b.a.: Margie Perez gets a Wonderful Surprise
Anything can happen on Frenchmen St. when the stars align! Margie Perez recounts a magic night on Frenchmen, capturing a moment in time: shortly after Hurricane Katrina, before smart phones, and…