How old is french quarter

A new house style was introduced: the American townhouse, featuring interior hallways and stairways. Greek Revival and Italianate architectural details were becoming popular across America and were often applied to the facades of these townhouses.

This decline continued for the rest of the s and into the s. New Orleans as a whole also began to decline, partly due to the ravages of yellow fever epidemics in the s and the Civil War in the s. In the late s industrialization came to New Orleans, and in the French Quarter structures close to the river turned into warehouses, sugar refineries, rice mills, breweries and saw mills.

Many beautiful large residences turned into laundries, small factories and rooming houses for the workers. Even the lovely historic Beauregard House had become a wine warehouse by the early s. A smaller house style was used in the s: the shotgun, which was one-room wide and three to six rooms deep, usually constructed of wood, a departure from the brick and masonry of earlier styles. It soon became a battleground between developers and preservationists, which has continued to this day.

Although that plan was defeated after a ten-year battle, many old buildings have unfortunately been torn down elsewhere in the quarter. Lovely old residences, which had become rooming houses and warehouses, have been restored to their original charm and single-family status. Today — Restoring the beauty of the quarter, making it safe and fun for visitors, has created a great interest in tourism.

However, recently the commercial development has gone too far in that direction. Now many large residences and mansions are being sub-divided yet again, this time into condos primarily for out-of-town vacationers.

Hotel expansion, though helpful for the tourists, has diminished some of the original character. The residential population has dropped from 11, in to in The chance for visitors to get to see this living treasure is wonderful. However, there must be a way to accommodate both the tourist AND the attraction. By now most of the original French families, the Italian and Sicilian families, the artists and writers have left, largely due to rising rent and real estate costs.

That leaves the preservationists and those admirers who appreciate the historical quality of the Quarter to take charge of its future. You must be logged in to post a comment.

Keep reading for the top 10 hidden gems in the French Quarter! That also makes it the oldest example of the French colonial architecture still standing in the United States. Take a self-guided tour and get transported back in time with beautiful relics like a hand-crafted cypress staircase, oil paintings featuring past archbishops, bronze busts, and religious statues.

Located inside one of the historic Pontalba Buildings in Jackson Square, the House is part of the Louisiana State Museum collection and offers a glimpse into antebellum life in New Orleans. This picturesque museum replicates the look and feel of Parisian architecture, the style favored by Baroness Micaela Almonester de Pontalba The woman who bought the property and commissioned the buildings; her father helped finance other famous NOLA architecture like The Cabildo and St.

Louis Cathedral. Yep, that Napoleon. Though Napoleon House never actually housed Napoleon Bonaparte, that was the idea. The owner at the time offered up the building to Napoleon as refuge during his exile. Now an historic landmark and beloved local restaurant, this building has been family-owned since Phillip, a decisive naval battle where a Union fleet under the command of Rear Admiral David Farragut charged up the Mississippi River past the two forts.

The Union fleet all but destroyed the Confederate fleet there, and took the city without any real opposition. This action effectively cut the Confederacy off from the rest of the world, and the city remained in Union hands through the end of the war. Union General Benjamin Butler took control of the city, and abolished all French-language instruction in the schools of the city.

In the late 19th century, the French Quarter became a less popular neighborhood to live in, and many long time French Creole families moved out into different neighborhoods in the city. At the same time, European immigrants from Italy and Ireland took up residence in the neighborhood, bringing their own cultures into the mixing bowl that is the French Quarter.

By , up to one half of the population were of Italian descent, according to the Italian consul. The French Quarter had another significant influx of a different variety in when the Storyville neighborhood that served as the hub of prostitution in the city, was shut down. Much of the vice of Storyville moved to the French Quarter, and Bourbon Street in particular, and the neighborhood began to build its current reputation. This reputation was amplified further during the Second World War, when thousands of servicemen made their way through the city.

Bourbon Street proprietors opened a large number of bars, strip clubs, and burlesque shows. Over 50 different shows could be found on the streets through the s and s, and the servicemen spread the street's notorious reputation far and wide. In the s, the city tried to clean up Bourbon Street, and many of the adult entertainment venues on the street were raided and closed down, but the peep shows and sidewalk beer stands continued, and the theme of vice continues to this day.

This reputation of Bourbon Street, combined with the city's liberal open container laws, has caused the street to become one of the more infamous parts of New Orleans' Mardi Gras festivities over the past 20 or so years. The street has become a magnet for the young and uninhibited during the celebration while more family friendly Mardi Gras festivities take place elsewhere in the Quarter and the city. At the same time as Bourbon Street's rise to infamy, the neighborhood became home to a community of artistic bohemians that helped set the stage for the French Quarter's current atmosphere.

The Bohemians were attracted by the combination of cheap rent, as well as the old charm that had started to show signs of neglect by the s. These artists started the Vieux Carre Commission, or VCC, in order to help protect the charm and historical significance of the neighborhood. The VCC's role in preserving the French Quarter was further solidified in through a referendum to amend the constitution of Louisiana that allowed it to exercise some regulatory power, and the commission began to exercise its abilities more in the coming decades.

One of the VCC's biggest fights for the preservation of the French Quarter began in the s, when plans were released to construct an expressway that would cut through the historic neighborhood. Many people in New Orleans were angered by this plan, so efforts were quickly launched to preserve the historical neighborhood. After pushing the issue all the way to a federal court, the preservationists were able to force the cancellation of the expressway.

While the plans for building the expressway were struck down, the fight to preserve the charm continued as the French Quarter's reputation as a tourist attraction grew. Hotels, condominiums, and bed and breakfasts popped up throughout the district, and while the VCC was successful in ensuring their architectural styling fit in with the charm of the neighborhood, they were unable to stem the flood of tourists.

Many longtime residents were pushed out of the neighborhood as the French Quarter was developed to take advantage of tourism, and property values shot up. However, not all residents left, and the neighborhood still has a wide variety of shops, residences, hotels, bars, and restaurants, as well as a number of tourism-focused commercial entities. Despite the influx of tourism, the French Quarter has managed to maintain its old charm.

Every day, thousands of visitors wander through the streets of the French Quarter, taking in the historical architecture, exploring 18th century streets, and experiencing the culture of the city. The cultural center of the French Quarter has always been Jackson Square, a historic park which is located at the front of the neighborhood.

Jackson Square was originally designed as a military parade ground at the center of French colonial New Orleans, and in it became the site of the official signing of the Louisiana Purchase, making the former French and Spanish city into an American one. The plaza was renamed in after Andrew Jackson, who led the defense of the city against the British in the War of , and in a statue was erected in his honor in the middle of the park.

Jackson Square has also long been associated with a thriving art scene.