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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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Audubon Park
Sandwiched between St. Charles Avenue and the Mississippi River, is the lush urban oasis- Audubon Park. Named after naturalist John James Audubon, the park is used for outdoor recreation of all kinds.…
Lafayette Square
Planned in 1788, Lafayette Square is named after Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de LaFayette: a French aristocrat and general who fought on the American side of the American Revolution.
The Desire Line: Streetcar Loss & Rebirth in New Orleans
The Desire streetcar line gained widespread acclaim when Tennessee Williams' play, "A Streetcar Named Desire," was published in 1947. By that time, New Orleanians were quite familiar with the Desire…
Gallatin Street: An Introduction
A small, two-block stretch called Gallatin Street, now called French Market Place, was once the headquarters of vice in New Orleans. A visitor to the street in 1873 described the scene for the…
The Demise of Gallatin Street
In 1924, Times-Picayune journalist Lyle Saxon provided a description of Gallatin Street as it appeared in the 1920s, calling it “deserted, forgotten, given over to warehouses and storage rooms of…
The Barrooms and Brothels of Gallatin Street
Gallatin Street was once filled with barrooms, dance houses, and brothels — most institutions serving as all three. There was rarely a fee to enter, but men were encouraged to buy a drink for their…
The People of Gallatin Street
Gallatin Street’s close proximity to the port made it a quick and frequent stop for those who docked, worked, or lived near the booming economic area. Close to half a million immigrants came through…
The Bonne Carré Spillway
The Bonne Carré Spillway was constructed by the US Army Corps of Engineers in December 1935, with the aim of alleviating flooding pressure on the city of New Orleans by allowing the Mississippi River…
Gordon Plaza Deemed EPA Superfund Site
By 1985, just four years after the first residents moved into Gordon Plaza, state environmentalists recommended testing soil and air in the Gordon Plaza subdivision to determine the extent of…
Saint Louis Cathedral
The Saint Louis Cathedral is an iconic fixture of the New Orleans landscape. The present structure is at least the third building to serve as a Catholic church here since the French occupied the…
Constructing Gordon Plaza
In the 1970s, under the administrations of Mayors “Moon” Landrieu and his successor “Dutch” Morial, the city planned and built housing for elderly and low-income families on the former site of…
Les Pierres
“Always the dance floor. Always the music.” And “always a lot of sexual energy.”
Sicilian Lynchings at the Old Parish Prison
On March 15, 1891, a lynch mob of thousands descended upon the city jail. The destruction and terror caused by this well-orchestrated mob reverberated well past this day, affecting local and global…
Lake Johansen, Station Farm, and Sports & Leisure at the National Leprosarium, Carville, Louisiana
Up until the 1950s, the 80 or so acres ahead and to the left of you were farmed by about 30 laborers who grew fruits and vegetables to feed the staff and patients.
Corn was grown to feed…
Federal Staff Housing, Site Utilities, The National Leprosarium
The State of Louisiana ran this 450 acre site as the Louisiana Leper Home from 1894 to 1921. In 1921, the Federal Government purchased the site for $35,000; the patient census was about 300. The…