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Gwen Bristow: Best Selling Author 1903-1980
Gwen Bristow, though not originally from New Orleans, was a great contributor to both Southern literature and the Times-Picayune newspaper. She helped mold the face of Southern writing into what it is…
Emma Barrett: Jazz Pianist and Vocalist 1897-1983
Emma Barrett, a self-taught jazz pianist and vocalist, was born on March 25, 1897, and began performing in venues across New Orleans at just twelve years old. [1] Despite being unable to read music,…
St. Augustine Catholic Church
Founded in 1841 by free people of color, St. Augustine is the oldest African-American parish in the United States. Civil Rights activists Homer Plessy and A.P. Tureaud were parishioners of St.…
Integrating UNO: Legal and Political Actions
Ironically, for Joseph Narcisse (one of the 55 black students to first integrate LSUNO in1958) becoming part of history started right after his graduation from St. Augustine High School, when he…
Taking the Elysian Fields Bus to UNO in 1958
Begin this tour by climbing aboard the 55 Elysian Fields bus, just as many black students did on their first day of classes in September 1958. The bus runs from Canal Street, through the French…
Joseph Guillaume's Audacious Ride
On May 4, 1867, Guillaume acted. What happened next is open to some debate. According to the New Orleans Times, at 11:30 a.m. Guillaume hailed a “Whites Only” car number 148 on Love Street, now known…
Previous Protests of Streetcar Segregation
No doubt Guillaume had heard of Dr. R. I. Cromwell, who had forcibly been thrown from a non-star car by five or six men who kicked him and tore his clothes. Cromwell noted the inequity of the star…
State Cycling Championship of 1891 at the Fair Grounds
In the late nineteenth century, bicycles appeared on city streets, country roads, and race tracks. Cycle racing in New Orleans rose with a tide of interest in sports—recreational and spectator—among…
The Star Car
Joseph Guillaume had had enough. The Civil War was over, Reconstruction was in full swing, yet the practice of segregation on the streetcars of New Orleans continued. Every third streetcar—although it…
Audubon Park Race Track, Cyclists hold League meet in 1887
In September of 1887, New Orleans cyclists held the 3rd annual meet of the League of American Wheelmen (LAW), Louisiana Division, at the Audubon Park Race Track. Originally a horse racing track, it…
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…
1984 World's Fair Monorail
When planning the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition (LWE), fair and city officials decided to build a monorail system. This project had two objectives. First, it was intended to move many visitors so as…
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…
First Cycling Races Held on a Track in New Orleans 1887
In the 1880s, along with the rise of spectator and participatory sports, cycling races appeared in New Orleans. The city's first bicycle club, the New Orleans Bicycle Club, formed in 1881. All members…
Cycling Races at Audubon Driving Park Race Track 1887-1890
The Audubon Driving Park Track was used in the late 1880s as a horse racing track. ("Driving" referred to horse riding.) Audubon Park, built in 1879, had been the site of the World's Industrial Cotton…
The Clubhouse of the Louisiana Cycling Club: Completed 1890
In August of 1890, work was completed on the clubhouse of the Louisiana Cycling Club (LCC) at 1637 Octavia Street. The Queen Anne-style building still stands at that address. The party celebrating its…
Reviving the Vieux Carre: Home of the Louisiana Supreme Court, 1910-1958 & 2004-present
The Louisiana State Legislature established the Courthouse Commission in 1902 in response to the persistent need for a new courthouse for the Louisiana Supreme Court and the New Orleans Civil District…
Henry Morton Stanley: Reborn in New Orleans
Journalist and explorer Henry Morton Stanley, who coined the now-famous phrase “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” during his travels, spent formative years in New Orleans. The origins of Henry Morton…
Upstairs Lounge Fire, 1973: News Coverage
National press coverage of the Upstairs Lounge fire was rather light and short-lived considering the scale of the crime. Coverage in New Orleans was insensitive and callous; newspaper reporters…
Battle of New Orleans: Pirate's Alley, The Arsenal, Creole House & Jackson House
Walking out of Jackson Square toward St. Louis Cathedral, Pirate’s Alley appears on the left, between the Cathedral and the Cabildo. Formerly known as “Orleans Alley,” the passage is one block long,…
Battle of New Orleans: St. Louis Cathedral
Facing Jackson Square and the Mississippi River, the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, is the oldest Catholic cathedral in continual use in the United States. With its three steeples,…
1929 Streetcar Strike
Following increasingly heated contract negotiations, New Orleans streetcar motormen and conductors struck beginning July 1, 1929. The survival of the carmen's union and 1,100 jobs was in question.…
Upstairs Lounge Fire, 1973: In Memoriam
The Upstairs Lounge had served as the home of a religious denomination, the Metropolitan Community Church; however, no church would allow a prayer service for those who died, except for the pastor of…
Upstairs Lounge Arson, 1973: Aftermath
Thirty-two people died in the Upstairs Lounge Fire, making it the deadliest fire in the history of New Orleans. In the fire’s aftermath, many New Orleans residents revealed prejudice against LGBT…