French Quarter

The French Quarter, today the center for tourist activity in New Orleans, contains some of the best restaurants, museums, and nightlife the city has to offer. Walking down any street in the Quarter, a person will find great architecture and some fantastic local legends to boot.

The original plan of New Orleans - twelve square blocks - held a distinctive French flare due to the city’s architects, Adrien de Pauger and Leblond de la Tour.   However, the disastrous fires of 1788 and 1794 destroyed much of the Vieux Carre (translated as the Old Square), leaving only a few buildings. Jackson Square, the heart of the French Quarter, contains the best centralization of the older public buildings and the monuments that can be seen in the city. From 1795-1799 construction ensued upon the Cabildo, one of the most imposing buildings in this area. This building originally held the seat of colonial government and local prison, and then the Louisiana Supreme Court where Plessy v. Ferguson was decided. Today, it is a part of the Louisiana State Museum system.  

Another building of local historic and cultural importance, the St. Louis Cathedral, was designed in 1724 and burned in the Fire of 1788.  Andres Almonester y Roxas, who is buried underneath the floor, financed its reconstruction from 1789-1794. The Presbytere flanks the other side of the Cathedral from the Cabildo and its planner originally prepared it to be a rectory. Instead, it became a courthouse and it is also now a part of the Louisiana State Museum system.

Le Petit Theatre, across St. Peter Street from the Cabildo, was destroyed in the Fire of 1794, killing many slaves on-site. It was rebuilt shortly thereafter (1796) with sections added in 1922. Throughout the years, the theater has gained a reputation for being haunted, due to the many deaths and strange occurrences that happened here throughout its history. According to local psychics and others involved with this building, former actors and patrons of the theater have remained there long after being burried.

The Lalaurie House, located at 1140 Royal Street, is also considered as another one of the city’s haunted structures. Its owner, Madame Delphine Lalaurie, and her husband held a high social ranking in New Orleans during the mid-nineteenth century. Yet, Madame Lalaurie also possessed another status - she treated her slaves in a manner so cruel that it shocked other slave owners. In 1834, the Lalaurie slaves apparently set fire to the house to make townsfolk aware of their plight. When firefighters arrived at the scene, some became ill from the stench of decomposing bodies and burning flesh. People were chained to the wall in various stages of mutilation and death. The people of New Orleans were so outraged, when word got around, of the atrocities found in this home that a mob attacked the Lalauries but they escaped to the northshore of New Orleans.

The Ursuline Convent, the oldest and one of the most historic buildings in New Orleans, was the only structure to survive the fires of 1788 and 1794. Ignace Francois Broutin, engineer-in-chief of Louisiana, designed this building in 1745 and the building was completed around 1750. The Ursuline nuns used this building for a convent, school, and orphanage until 1824. Today, it is the rectory for the neighboring St. Mary’s Italian Church.

The French Quarter offers everything from the profane to the religious. It steeps itself in local history, legend, and custom. Furthermore, it offers something for everyone; from parents who want to take their kids on educational tours to students who want to enjoy themselves during their holidays.