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Maps of Historic Gaming Dens
Clubs often changed owners, locations and names, but the general area and primary circle of families involved with the clubs remained largely consistent. While the gaming activity was illegal, it was…
"Tolerating" Gambling
The state of illicit gambling in New Orleans was summed up well in the 1938 WPA New Orleans City Guide, "although gambling is, strictly speaking, illegal, these places are usually open for business…
Gambling in the "Free State of Jefferson"
Oral history interview with Buddy Adams about gambling in Jefferson.
Gambling Club Owner “Birthday” Cakes
Al Kleindienst explained that he met a Dakin Street club owner because the owner would frequent the Kleindienst bakery. Al asked the man why he was always buying so many birthday cakes, and the owner…
Gaming Chips
Every club would produce their own gaming and roulette chips, marked with their names or an identifiable symbol. Since the closing of the clubs, these have become collector's item.
Club Forest
According to Al Kleindienst, after a fire in 1942 destroyed George and Rudy O'Dwyer's Original Southport Club, they "moved to the Club Forest at 407 Jefferson Highway and called it O'Dwyer's Club…
O'Dwyer's Club
According to Al Kleindienst, a long-time resident of the Greater New Orleans Area, the O'Dwyer family opened a gambling club at 100 Jefferson Highway in 1949 called "O'Dwyer's." The O'Dwyer brothers…
Southport Gambling Club
Southport was one of the most infamous clubs in the area. It was owned by Carlos Marcello and is now a music venue called Southport Hall. It moved and changed names several times.
According to Al…
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.…
Circle Food Store
Originally the St. Bernard Market founded in 1854, Circle Food Store was a community gathering space which housed a grocery store, bakery, pharmacy, uniform shop, dentist, chiropractor, bill payment…
The Founding of Tulane University
Tulane University is often cited as being founded in 1834 by seven young medical doctors and it is true that Tulane’s earliest roots lie in the school founded by these seven. However, the institution…
Sherwood Anderson
“Blessed be these people,” Sherwood Anderson wrote in 1922 from his third-floor apartment in the Vieux Carré. “They know how to play. They are truly a people of culture.” Anderson, riding the crest of…
Saenger Amusement Company
The Saenger Amusement Company, organized in 1912 by brothers Julian and Abraham Saenger, grew into one of the largest motion picture chains in the south, with a peak total of 324 Saenger theaters…
Liberty Theatre
The Liberty Theatre owned by the Saenger Amusement Company and managed under the auspices of Boehringer Amusement Company opened in 1918. The theater was lavishly designed with the intention of being…
Aristide Mary
Aristide Mary’s politics embodied Creole activism in New Orleans. A native of the city, Mary’s mixed race ancestry shaped his experiences and political ideas. Educated in Paris, Mary became a lawyer…
Rodolphe and Daniel Desdunes
Born in New Orleans in 1849, Rodolphe Desdunes actively participated in the city’s Creole social and political scene, eventually co-founding the Comité des Citoyens (Citizens’ Committee) in 1891. As…
Caesar Carpentier Antoine
Caesar Carpentier Antoine was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on September 10, 1836, to a prominent Creole family. His family were part of an established network of Creoles of color in Louisiana that…
Rigolets Bridge
The Rigolets Bridge opened on June 9, 1930, as one of the first public bridges crossing Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana. It spanned almost 3,900 feet and carried U.S. Highway 90 connecting New Orleans…
Antoine's Restaurant
For over 170 years, Antoine’s Restaurant has served as one of the premier locations for fine Creole dining in the New Orleans French Quarter. Established in 1840 by Antoine Alciatore, Antoine’s is…
Pat O'Brien's
Located in the heart of the New Orleans French Quarter, Pat O’Brien’s is a prime destination for tourists who may not know its past as a popular speakeasy. On December 3, 1933, two days after the…
Brennan's Restaurant
For over 70 years, visitors and locals alike have considered Brennan’s Restaurant one of the French Quarter’s top-dining locations. In 1946, New Orleans native Owen Brennan founded the restaurant and…
Sit-Ins and Marches at City Hall
During the 1960s, Jim Crow laws confined Black New Orleanians to second class citizenship: white owned businesses, restaurants, hotels, and other establishments denied accommodations for Black…
St. Mary's Assumption Catholic Church
St. Mary's Assumption was built by German Catholics in 1858 in Baroque-style architecture. A room behind the High Altar contains the Seelos Museum, which includes a shrine dedicated to the saint-to-be…
Commander Noel Carriere
Paper Monuments Project #016: Commander Noel Carriere, decorated for his actions during the Revolutionary War, was a member of the free black militia before he gained his legal freedom in 1771.