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Frontin, An Enslaved Child from the Boré Plantation
On January 21, 1783, Étienne de Boré, an enslaver and owner of the Boré Plantation located within today’s Audubon Park, visited a public slave auction in order to sell two enslaved boys. Alexandro…
Fort Pike
In 1819, President James Monroe commissioned Fort Pike’s construction alongside six other forts on the Louisiana coast. [2] Originally known as Fort Petites Coquilles, Monroe commissioned the fort…
The Native Roots of the French Market
“Many of the places and locations known to tourists and travelers worldwide, such as the Port of New Orleans, the French Market, and Congo Square, served as thoroughfares for trade and culture long…
Street Food Vendors
“Belle calas tout chaud, Madam, belle calas tout chaud,” calls out the calas lady selling fried rice fritters to the tourist and locals roaming New Orleans Streets. The calas lady is one of the most…
St. Roch Cemetery, Plagues, and Germans in New Orleans
Established in 1875, St. Roch Cemetery lies just north of the Faubourg Marigny in the St. Roch neighborhood.
The founder of St. Roch Cemetery was Father Peter Leonhard Thevis, pastor at Holy…
Robert Charles Riots
In late 1865, Robert Charles was born a free man in Copiah County, southwest Mississippi. It was not long after the Union Army had dealt the treasonous insurrection its final defeat on the…
The Dolliole Family: Builders, Architects, Patriots, and Community Leaders
A prominent family of free people of color, the Dollioles made a name for themselves as prolific builders, civic leaders, and savvy businesspeople integral to the development of New Orleans. Through…
The Beaurepaire Family: Freedom to Slavery and Back Again
The house today marked 727-729 Burgundy Street, relatively unchanged since the early 1800s, has a history that reflects the tricky navigation of enslavement and freedom by a family called the…
Diamond Film Company Studios
The Diamond Film Studios was to be the primary production site for the Diamond Film Company, one of the first homegrown film companies in New Orleans. The founding of the company was linked to an…
Joan of Arc Statue: Joanie on the Pony: Home at Last
Each year on January 6th, the Krewe de Jeanne d’Arc honors St. Joan and the French heritage of New Orleans with a celebration.
"As the first day of the carnival season, that date suggests…
Huey P. Long Bridge: The Kingfish and Public Works Projects in Louisiana
The Huey P. Long Bridge spans the Mississippi River in Jefferson Parish, a few miles upstream of New Orleans itself, and features a central 4.4-mile rail track. At the time of its construction, the…
Political Rallies in Palmer Park
Political rallies were an important part of Palmer Park’s early history. Local political organizations held numerous rallies and speeches in the park in the first half of the 20th century. The 1919…
Segregation in Palmer Park
Though designated for public use, Palmer Park was segregated until the 1970s. The park’s namesake, Benjamin Palmer, was a staunch defender of slavery and leading segregationist, set a tone of…
Civil Rights Activists Protest Woolworth’s Department Store
On September 9, 1960, seven local university students staged a sit-in at Woolworth’s department store located at 1031 Canal Street to protest the store’s refusal to serve Black people at the lunch…
Agriculture Street Landfill Opening and Operations
In 1909, Agriculture Street Landfill (ASL) opened to accommodate trash produced by half of New Orleans residents. ASL occupied 95 acres of previously undeveloped swampland surrounded by Abundance…
Local Residents Demand Closure of Agriculture Street Landfill
Throughout the 1950s, the local community suffered from horrible stenches, pest infestations, and smoke emanating from Agriculture Street Landfill (ASL). Spontaneous combustion commonly occurred at…
Toxic Chemicals Deposited at Agriculture Street Landfill
In 1948, facing increased public health concerns, the Louisiana State Legislature passed a law prohibiting open-air landfills in highly populated areas. [1] However, New Orleans city officials…
Origins of New Orleans City Park
Before the French colonized Louisiana, Native Americans lived on the land that is now City Park. Bayou St. John, which runs through the park today, was part of a trade route commonly used by the…
Fort Macomb
Constructed in 1822 under the direction of architect Simon Bernard, Fort Wood was thought to be impregnable to enemy troops attacking in the narrow straits of lakes Borgne and St. Catherine. In 1851,…
French Opera House
The fabulous French Opera House dominated a vastly different Bourbon Street than the gaudy strip of today. Designed by James Gallier Jr. and erected in 1859, the Opera House became the cultural…
Napoleon House
Built upon the lot bequeathed to him by his brother, Mayor Nicolas Girod built the “Napoleon House” as a safe haven for Napoleon Bonaparte during his exile. Not being successful, the house eventually…
Waldo Burton Memorial Home
The Waldo Burton Memorial Home was a boy's home operated by the Society for the Relief of Destitute Orphan Boys (a Presbyterian organization dating to 1824). The building itself was built and donated…
Hamilton Square: The Original Palmer Park
In 1831, McCarty Plantation, located upriver from the central hub of New Orleans, was bought by several investors including the New Orleans Canal and Banking Company and Senator John Slidell. Two…
Palmer Park: The Name
Hamilton Square was renamed Palmer Park as a “testimony to the honor of the late B. M. Palmer” through a city ordinance on July 1902. Benjamin Morgan Palmer was pastor of New Orleans First…