February 24, 2025
- The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, which translates to "Old Square" in French, is the historic heart of New Orleans and home to the oldest residential community in America, with over 4,000 residents and 15 million visitors annually. The oldest surviving residence is Madame John's Legacy built in 1789.
- The area it occupies is the same military-style grid of seventy squares that French Canadian naval officer Jean Baptiste Bienville designated as the original City of New Orleans. Initially a French colony, it was later transferred to Spanish rule. The population remained largely French-speaking.
- New Orleans began as a modest trading camp on the curving east bank of the Mississippi River. As “La Nouvelle-Orléans” grew, the city followed the river’s curve, earning the nickname “Crescent City” for its distinctive shape.
- Although founded under French Rule, ownership was transferred by France's Louis XV to Charles III of Spain in 1762. Spanish Rule lasted four decades but left a lasting mark on the city’s architecture. The semi-fortified streetscapes, plastered brick houses, wrought-iron balconies, walled courtyards, and curvilinear hinges and locks are all remnants of Spanish influence.
- The French Quarter was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966.
- The oldest continually operating cathedral in America, St. Louis Cathedral, is a prominent landmark with its triple spires.
- The National Trust for Historic Preservation considers the French Quarter to be one of the most endangered historical places in the country.
- The monument to General Andrew Jackson at Jackson Square was the world’s first equestrian statue in which the horse had more than one foot off the base. This pose has since become a standard in the world of equestrian statues. The original bronze version sits in Lafayette Square within President’s Park in Washington, D.C., just north of the White House.
- Mardi Gras was made a legal holiday in 1875 when Governor Warmoth signed the “Mardi Gras Act.” Mardi Gras now brings in over a million visitors!
- New Orleans has the most bars per capita in America, but most of the treasured watering holes are nestled in the French Quarter.
- Bourbon Street isn't named for the drink that flows freely in its many bars and clubs. The street gets its name from the Bourbon Dynasty, who ruled France at the time of New Orleans' founding. In all likelihood, Bourbon (the whiskey) was also named after the Bourbon dynasty, but exactly how this happened is lost to history.
- The French Quarter has weathered many storms. Massive fires in 1788 and 1794 destroyed 80 percent of the Quarter's buildings. The fire on December 8, 1794, consumed over 212 buildings including the royal jail significantly altering the cityscape. The city withstood the Battle of New Orleans and the Civil War. The French Quarter narrowly escaped the flooding from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It’s one of America's most resilient neighborhoods!
