Editing French Quarter

{{about|the French Quarter in New Orleans|other cities with "French Quarter" areas}}
{{redirect|Vieux Carré|the play|Vieux Carré (play)|the cocktail|Vieux Carré (cocktail)}}
{{use American English|date = November 2019}}
{{use mdy dates|date = November 2019}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                    = French Quarter
| native_name             = {{native name|fr|Vieux Carré}}
| native_name_lang        = fr
| settlement_type         = [[Neighborhoods in New Orleans|Neighborhood]]
<!-- images, nickname, motto -->
| image_skyline           = French Quarter, looking north with Mississippi River to the right 2011.jpg
| image_caption           = The French Quarter, looking north with Mississippi River to the right
| image_flag              = 
| image_shield            = 
| motto                   = 
| nickname                = 
| etymology               = 
<!-- location -->
| subdivision_type        = Country
| subdivision_name        = [[United States]]
| subdivision_type1       = State
| subdivision_name1       = [[Louisiana]]
| subdivision_type2       = City
| subdivision_name2       = [[New Orleans]]
| subdivision_type3       = Planning District
| subdivision_name3       = District 1, French Quarter/CBD
<!-- maps and coordinates -->
| image_map               = 
| map_caption             = Location of the French Quarter and [[New Orleans Central Business District|Central Business District]] in New Orleans
| pushpin_map             = 
| pushpin_relief          = 
| pushpin_map_caption     =  
| coordinates             = {{coord|29|57|31|N|90|03|54|W|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_footnotes   = 
<!-- established -->
| established_title       = Mayor-Council<ref>{{Cite web |url = http://www.cityofno.com/pg-1-9.aspx |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100104002121/http://cityofno.com/pg-1-9.aspx |url-status = dead |publisher = City of New Orleans |title = City Charter |archive-date = January 4, 2010 }}</ref>
| established_date        = 
<!-- area -->
| area_footnotes          = 
| dunam_link              = 
| area_total_km2          = 
| area_total_sq_mi        = 0.66
| area_land_sq_mi         = 0.49
| area_water_sq_mi        = 0.17
<!-- elevation -->
| elevation_footnotes     = 
| elevation_m             = 
| elevation_ft            = 3
<!-- population -->
| population_as_of        = 2010
| population_footnotes    = 
| population_total        = 3888
| population_density_km2  = auto
| population_density_sq_mi=
| population_demonym      = 
<!-- time zone(s) -->
| timezone1               = [[North American Central Time Zone|CST]]
| utc_offset1             = -6
| timezone1_DST           = [[North American Central Time Zone|CDT]]
| utc_offset1_DST         = -5
| timezone2               =  
| utc_offset2             = 
| timezone2_DST           = 
| utc_offset2_DST         = 
<!-- postal codes, area code -->
| postal_code_type        = ZIP Codes
| postal_code             = 70116 – 70130
| area_code_type          =  
| area_code               = [[Area code 504|504]]
| geocode                 = 
| iso_code                = 
<!-- website, footnotes -->
| website                 = 
| module                  = 
{{Infobox NRHP
| embed        = yes
| name         = Vieux Carre Historic District
| nrhp_type    = nhld
| locmapin     = Louisiana#USA
| area         = 
| built        = 1734
| architect    = 
| architecture = 
| designated_nrhp_type = December 21, 1965<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web |url = http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=258&ResourceType=District |title = Vieux Carre Historic District |access-date = 2008-01-31 |type = National Historic Landmark summary listing |publisher = National Park Service |archive-date = September 25, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080925140845/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=258&ResourceType=District |url-status = dead }}</ref>
| added        = October 15, 1966<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref>
| refnum       = 66000377
| nocat        = yes
}}
}}
The '''French Quarter''', also known as the {{lang|fr|'''Vieux Carré'''}} ({{IPA|en-uk|ˌvjɜː kəˈreɪ}}; {{IPA|en-US|vjə kəˈreɪ}};<ref>{{Cite web |title=the-vieux-carre - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes {{!}} Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com |url=https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/the-vieux-carre |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20180604150814/http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com:80/definition/english/the-vieux-carre? |archive-date=2018-06-04 |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com |language=en}}</ref> {{IPA|fr|vjø kaʁe|lang}}), is the oldest [[Neighborhoods in New Orleans|neighborhood]] in the city of [[New Orleans]]. After New Orleans ({{langx|fr|Nouvelle-Orléans}}) was founded in 1718 by [[Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville]], the city developed around the {{lang|fr|Vieux Carré}} ("Old Square" in English), a central square. The district is more commonly called the French Quarter today, or simply "The Quarter", related to changes in the city with American immigration after the 1803 [[Louisiana Purchase]].<ref>{{Cite web |url = http://www.inetours.com/New_Orleans/French_Quarter_History.html |title = New Orleans French Quarter History, Architecture and Pictures<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date = October 28, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130325111616/http://inetours.com/New_Orleans/French_Quarter_History.html |archive-date = March 25, 2013 |url-status = usurped }}</ref> Most of the extant historic buildings were constructed either in the late 18th century, during the city's period of Spanish rule, or were built during the first half of the 19th century, after U.S. purchase and statehood.

The district as a whole has been designated as a [[National Historic Landmark]], with numerous contributing buildings that are separately deemed significant. It is a prime tourist destination in the city, as well as attracting local residents.

The French Quarter suffered relatively light damage from floodwater as compared to other areas of the city and the greater region, due to its distance from areas where the levee was breached during [[Hurricane Katrina]] in 2005 as well as the strength and height of the nearest Mississippi River Levees in contrast to other levees along the canals and lakefront.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nola.com/katrina/graphics/flashflood.swf |title=Archived copy |access-date=February 15, 2015 |archive-date=January 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150130054914/http://www.nola.com/katrina/graphics/flashflood.swf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==History==
The French claimed Louisiana in the 1690s and Jean Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville was appointed Director General in charge of developing a colony in the territory, and founded New Orleans in 1718. In 1721, the royal engineer [[Adrien de Pauger]] designed the city's street layout. He named the streets after French royal houses and Catholic saints, and paid homage to France's ruling family, the [[House of Bourbon]], with the naming of Bourbon Street.<ref>{{cite book |last = Asbury |first = Herbert |author-link=Herbert Asbury |title = The French Quarter: An Informal History of the New Orleans Underworld |location = Garden City, New York |publisher = Garden City Publishing Company |year = 1936 }}</ref>{{page needed|date=April 2020}} New Orleans was ceded to the Spanish in 1763 following the [[Seven Years' War]]. The [[Great New Orleans Fire (1788)|Great New Orleans Fire of 1788]] and another in [[Great New Orleans Fire (1794)|1794]] destroyed 80 percent of the city's buildings, and so nearly all the French Quarter dates from the late 1790s onwards.

The Spanish introduced strict new fire codes that banned wooden siding in favor of fire-resistant brick, which was covered in [[stucco]], painted in the pastel hues fashionable at the time. The old French peaked roofs were replaced with flat tiled ones, but the still largely French population continued to build in similar styles, influenced by colonial architecture of the Caribbean, such as timber balconies and galleries. (In southeast Louisiana, a distinction is made between "balconies", which are self-supporting and attached to the side of the building, and "[[Gallery (New Orleans)|galleries]]," which are supported from the ground by poles or columns.)

[[File:French Quarter03 New Orleans.JPG|thumb|left|Elaborate ironwork galleries on the corner of Royal and Dumaine streets (featured are the Miltenberger Houses)]]
[[File:French Quarter-874.JPG|thumb|left|The 'galleries' introduced after 1851]]
When [[English language|Anglophone]] Americans began to move in after the [[Louisiana Purchase]] in 1803, they mostly built on available land upriver, across modern-day [[Canal Street, New Orleans|Canal Street]]. This thoroughfare became the meeting place of two cultures, one [[Francophone]] [[Louisiana Creole people|Creole]] and the other Anglophone American. (Local landowners had retained architect and surveyor [[Barthelemy Lafon]] to subdivide their property to create an American suburb). The [[Central reservation|median]] of the wide boulevard became a place where the two contentious cultures could meet and do business in both French and English. As such, it became known as the "neutral ground", and this name is still used for medians in the New Orleans area.

During the 19th century, New Orleans was similar to other Southern cities in that its economy was based on selling [[cash crop]]s, such as sugar, tobacco and cotton produced by enslaved labor. By 1840, newcomers whose wealth came from these enterprises turned New Orleans into the third largest [[metropolis]] in the country.<ref name="OnParade">{{cite book |first = J. Mark |last = Souther |title = New Orleans on Parade |location = Baton Rouge |publisher = Louisiana State University Press |year = 2006 }}</ref>{{page needed|date=April 2020}} The city's port was the nation's second largest, with [[New York City]] being the largest.<ref>{{Cite web |url = https://www.crt.state.la.us/louisiana-state-museum/online-exhibits/coffee-trade-and-port-of-new-orleans/index |title = Coffee Trade and Port of New Orleans |website = www.crt.state.la.us |date = January 14, 2014 |language = en |access-date = 2018-10-23 }}</ref>

The development of New Orleans famous ornate cast iron 'galleries' began with the two storey examples on the [[Pontalba Buildings]] on [[Jackson Square (New Orleans)|Jackson Square]], completed in 1851. As the most prominent and high class address at the time, they set a fashion for others to follow, and multi-level cast iron galleries soon replaced the old timber French ones on older buildings as well as gracing new ones.<ref>{{Cite web |url = https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NHLS/74000934_text |title = Pontalba Buildings |type = National Register of Historic Places Inventory }}</ref>

Even before the Civil War, French Creoles had become a minority in the French Quarter.<ref name="ellis1">{{cite book |last = Ellis |first = Scott S. |title = Madame Vieux Carré: the French Quarter in the Twentieth Century |publisher = University of Mississippi |year = 2010 |isbn = 978-1-60473-358-7 |page = 7 }}</ref> In the late 19th century the Quarter became a less fashionable part of town, and many immigrants from southern Italy and Ireland settled there. From 1884 to 1924 an estimated 290,000 Italian immigrants, a great deal of them from Sicily, arrived in New Orleans and settled in the French Quarter, which acquired the nickname "Little Palermo."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Scott |first1=Mike |title=The Sicilian surge: When the French Quarter became 'Little Palermo' |url=https://www.nola.com/300/article_0306471d-e628-5e90-bb23-61b0937be5ae.html |website=NOLA |date=March 19, 2017 |access-date=29 June 2021}}</ref> In 1905, the Italian consul estimated that one-third to one-half of the Quarter's population were Italian-born or second generation Italian-Americans. Irish immigrants also settled heavily in the Esplanade area, which was called the "Irish Channel".<ref name="ellis2">{{harvp|Ellis|2010|p= 11|ps=.}}</ref>

In 1917, the closure of [[Storyville, New Orleans|Storyville]] sent much of the vice formerly concentrated therein back into the French Quarter, which "for most of the remaining French Creole families . . was the last straw, and they began to move uptown."<ref name="ellis3">{{harvp|Ellis|2010|pp= 20–21|ps=.}}</ref> This, combined with the loss of the [[French Opera House]] two years later, provided a bookend to the era of French Creole culture in the Quarter.<ref name="ellis4">{{harvp|Ellis|2010|p= 21|ps=.}}</ref> Many of the remaining French Creoles moved to the university area.<ref>{{cite book |title = New Orleans 1900 to 1920 |first = Mary Lou |last = Widmer |publisher = Pelican Publishing |year = 2007 |isbn = 978-1-58980-401-2 |page = 23 }}</ref>

In the early 20th century, the Quarter's cheap rents and air of decay attracted a [[Bohemianism|bohemian]] artistic community, a trend which became pronounced in the 1920s. Many of these new inhabitants were active in the first preservation efforts in the Quarter, which began around that time.<ref name="ellis5">{{harvp|Ellis|2010|p= 24|ps=.}}</ref> As a result, the Vieux Carré Commission (VCC) was established in 1925, spearheaded by Elizabeth Werlein. Although initially only an advisory body, a 1936 referendum to amend the Louisiana constitution afforded it a measure of regulatory power. It began to exercise more power in the 1940s to preserve and protect the district.<ref name="ellis6">{{harvp|Ellis|2010|p= 43|ps=.}}</ref>

[[File:Bourbon Street French Quarter.jpg|thumb|The {{lang|fr|Rue Bourbon}}, or [[Bourbon Street]], was named for the former ruling dynasty of France, now the ruling dynasty of Spain.]]
Meanwhile, [[World War II]] brought thousands of servicemen and war workers to New Orleans as well as to the surrounding region's military bases and shipyards. Many of these sojourners paid visits to the Vieux Carré. Although nightlife and vice had already begun to coalesce on [[Bourbon Street]] in the two decades following the closure of Storyville, the war produced a larger, more permanent presence of exotic, risqué, and often raucous entertainment on what became the city's most famous strip. Years of repeated crackdowns on vice in Bourbon Street clubs, which took on new urgency under Mayor [[deLesseps Story Morrison]], reached a crescendo with District Attorney [[Jim Garrison]]'s raids in 1962, but Bourbon Street's clubs were soon back in business.<ref>{{cite book |last = Souther |first = J. Mark |title = New Orleans on Parade: Tourism and the Transformation of the Crescent City |location = Baton Rouge |publisher = Louisiana State University Press |year = 2013 |pages = 41–50 }}</ref>

[[File:Streetlight and sign in the French Quarter of New Orleans, part of the Louisiana State Museum.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A streetlight and sign in the French Quarter section of New Orleans, LA]]
[[File:20150307-LouisianaSupremeCourt.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Louisiana Supreme Court]] Building]]
The plan to construct an elevated Riverfront Expressway between the [[Mississippi River]] levee and the French Quarter consumed the attention of Vieux Carré preservationists through much of the 1960s. On December 21, 1965, the "Vieux Carre Historic District" was designated a [[National Historic Landmark]].<ref name="nhlsum" /><ref name="nrhpinv2">{{Cite web | url={{NHLS url|id=66000377}} | title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Vieux Carré Historic District | date=February 1975 | first=Patricia |last = Heintzelman | publisher=National Park Service }}</ref> After waging a decade-long battle against the [[Vieux Carré Riverfront Expressway]] that utilized the newly passed [[National Historic Preservation Act of 1966]], preservationists and their allies forced the issue into federal court, eventually producing the cancellation of the freeway plan in 1969.<ref>{{harvp|Souther|2013|pp= 66–71|ps=.}}</ref>

The victory was important for the preservation of the French Quarter, but it was hardly the only challenge. Throughout the 1960s, new hotels opened regularly, often replacing large sections of the French Quarter. The VCC approved these structures as long as their designers adhered to prevailing exterior styles. Detractors, fearing that the Vieux Carré's charm might be compromised by the introduction of too many new inns, lobbied successfully for passage in 1969 of a municipal ordinance that forbade new hotels within the district's boundaries. However, the ordinance failed to stop the proliferation of [[timeshare]] condominiums and clandestine [[bed and breakfast]] inns throughout the French Quarter or high-rise hotels just outside its boundaries.<ref>{{harvp|Souther|2013|pp=54–63, 203|ps=.}}</ref> In the 1980s, many long-term residents were driven away by rising rents, as property values rose dramatically with expectations of windfalls from the planned [[1984 World's Fair]] site nearby.

More of the neighborhood was developed to support [[tourism]], which is important to the city's economy. But, the French Quarter still combines residential, hotels, guest houses, bars, restaurants and tourist-oriented commercial properties.

===Effect of Hurricane Katrina===
{{main|Effects of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans}}

As with other parts of the city developed before the late 19th century, and on higher land predating New Orleans' levee systems, the French Quarter remained substantially dry following Hurricane Katrina. Its elevation is five feet (1.5 m) above sea level.<ref>{{Cite news |url = http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-08-31T161230Z_01_ROB586049_RTRUKOC_0_UK-WEATHER-KATRINA.xml |title = Officials rescue Katrina's survivors amid 'chaos' |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050911082124/http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-08-31T161230Z_01_ROB586049_RTRUKOC_0_UK-WEATHER-KATRINA.xml |archive-date = September 11, 2005 |url-status = dead |first = Rick |last = Wilking |date = August 31, 2005 |publisher = Reuters |access-date = 2009-11-27 }}</ref> Some streets had minor flooding, and several buildings suffered significant wind damage. Most of the major landmarks suffered only minor damage.<ref>{{Cite web |url = http://www.frenchquarter.com/ |title = New Orleans French Quarter Dining, Hotel & Nightlife |website = FrenchQuarter.com }}</ref> In addition, the Quarter largely escaped the looting and violence that occurred after the storm; nearly all of the antique shops and art galleries in the French Quarter, for example, were untouched.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-rumors27sep27,0,5492806,full.story?coll=la-home-headlines |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051105091741/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-rumors27sep27,0,5492806,full.story?coll=la-home-headlines |url-status = dead |archive-date = November 5, 2005 |work = Los Angeles Times |first1 = Susannah |last1 = Rosenblatt |first2 = James |last2 = Rainey |title = Katrina Takes a Toll on Truth, News Accuracy |date = September 27, 2005 }}</ref>

Mayor [[Ray Nagin]] officially reopened the French Quarter on September 26, 2005 (almost a month after the storm), for business owners to inspect their property and clean up. Within a few weeks, a large selection of French Quarter businesses had reopened. The [[Historic New Orleans Collection]]'s Williams Research Center Annex was the first new construction completed in the French Quarter after Hurricane Katrina.<ref>{{Cite web |url = https://www.hnoc.org/visit/chartres-street-campus |title = Chartres Street Campus &#124; The Historic New Orleans Collection |website = www.hnoc.org }}</ref>

===Post-Katrina===
In 2020, [[Mayor of New Orleans]] [[LaToya Cantrell]] proposed ending use of automobiles in the French Quarter.<ref>{{cite web|author=Williams, Jessica|url=https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_185e382a-a045-11ea-8c44-db6307b74b91.html|title=French Quarter as pedestrian-only zone? LaToya Cantrell says she's for it, task force to study |newspaper=[[The Times Picayune]]|date=2020-05-27|access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref>

===2025 truck attack===
{{Main|2025 New Orleans truck attack}}

Early on the morning of [[New Year's Day|January 1st]], 2025, a man later identified by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] as Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar<ref>{{Cite web |title=MSN |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/suspect-identified-in-new-orleans-terror-attack-as-shamsud-din-jabbar-42-army-vet-with-driving-ban/ar-AA1wOet8 |access-date=2025-01-01 |website=www.msn.com}}</ref> rammed a pick-up truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street, killing 15 <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/new-orleans-mass-casualty-bourbon-street-01-01-25-hnk/index.html | title=New Orleans truck attack, at least 14 killed on Bourbon Street New Year's celebrations: Live updates | website=[[CNN]] | date=January 2025 }}</ref> and injuring at least 36, including two police officers who were shot.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Levenson |first=Jessie Yeung, Chris Boyette, Andy Rose, Holly Yan, Tori B. Powell, Eric |date=2025-01-01 |title=At least 10 killed after driver plows into crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans: Live updates |url=https://edition.cnn.com/us/live-news/new-orleans-mass-casualty-bourbon-street-01-01-25-hnk |access-date=2025-01-01 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> Jabbar was shot and killed by police after crashing into a crane and leaving the vehicle armed with two firearms. The crime, which the FBI is currently investigating as an act of terrorism,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-01 |title=Driver rams New Year's revelers in New Orleans, killing 10; FBI doesn't believe he acted alone |url=https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-car-bourbon-street-63a1b43d615af365cb8ba6f5f0583eca |access-date=2025-01-01 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref> occurred during New Year's celebrations and a day before the city hosted the [[2025 Sugar Bowl|Sugar Bowl]]. The FBI stated that they believe Jabbar worked alone. Security footage showed Jabbar planting an explosive device in the French Quarter. [[Pipe bomb]]s were found in coolers on Bourbon Street.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Middleton |first=Joe |date=2025-01-01 |title=New Orleans attack latest: Death toll now at 15 as FBI looks for others who helped suspected terrorist |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/new-orleans-bourbon-street-car-crash-latest-casualties-news-b2672408.html |access-date=2025-01-02 |work=The Independent |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-01-01 |title=Man Drives Truck Into New Orleans Crowd, Killing At Least 10: Live Updates |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01/01/us/new-orleans-vehicle-crash |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250101170142/https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01/01/us/new-orleans-vehicle-crash |archive-date=2025-01-01 |access-date=2025-01-02 |language=en |last1=Barrett |first1=Devlin |last2=Goldman |first2=Adam |last3=Aleaziz |first3=Hamed |last4=Cochrane |first4=Emily |last5=Kavi |first5=Aishvarya }}</ref>

==Geography==
The French Quarter is located at {{Coord|29|57|31|N|90|03|54|W|type:city}}<ref name="GR1">{{cite web |url = http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html |publisher = [[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date = 2011-04-23 |date = 2011-02-12 |title = US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990 }}</ref> and has an elevation of {{convert|1|ft|1}}.<ref name="GR3">{{cite web |url = http://geonames.usgs.gov |access-date = 2008-01-31 |title = US Board on Geographic Names |publisher = [[United States Geological Survey]] |date = 2007-10-25 }}</ref>  According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the district has a total area of {{convert|0.66|sqmi|1}}.  {{convert|0.49|sqmi|1}} of which is land and {{convert|0.17|sqmi|1}} (25.76%) of which is water.

===Boundaries===
The most common definition of the French Quarter includes all the land stretching along the [[Mississippi River]] from [[Canal Street, New Orleans|Canal Street]] to [[Esplanade Avenue, New Orleans|Esplanade Avenue]] (13 blocks) and inland to [[Rampart Street|North Rampart Street]] (seven to nine blocks).  It equals an area of 78 square blocks. Some definitions, such as city zoning laws, exclude the properties facing Canal Street, which had already been redeveloped by the time architectural preservation was considered, and the section between Decatur Street and the river, much of which had long served industrial and warehousing functions.

Any alteration to structures in the remaining blocks is subject to review by the Vieux Carré Commission, which determines whether the proposal is appropriate for the historic character of the district.  Its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: Esplanade Avenue to the north, the [[Mississippi River]] to the east, Canal Street, [[Decatur Street (New Orleans)|Decatur Street]] and Iberville Street to the south and the [[Basin Street]], St. Louis Street and North Rampart Street to the west.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://gnocdc.org/orleans/1/48/index.html |title = French Quarter Neighborhood |author = Greater New Orleans Community Data Center |access-date = 2008-06-21 |archive-date = September 19, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080919134952/http://gnocdc.org/orleans/1/48/index.html |url-status = dead }}</ref>

The National Historic Landmark district is stated to be 85 square blocks.<ref name="nhlsum"/><ref name="nrhpinv2"/> The Quarter is subdistrict of the French Quarter/CBD Area.

===Adjacent neighborhoods===
{{further|Neighborhoods in New Orleans}}
* [[Faubourg Marigny]] (east)
* [[New Orleans Central Business District|Central Business District]] (west)
* [[Iberville Projects|Iberville]] (north)
* [[Tremé]] (north)

==Demographics==
As of the [[census]] of 2000, there were 4,176 people, 2,908 households, and 509 families residing in the neighborhood.<ref name="French Quarter Neighborhood">{{cite web |title = French Quarter Neighborhood |url = http://gnocdc.org/NeighborhoodData/1/FrenchQuarter/index.html |publisher = Greater New Orleans Community Data Center |access-date = 5 January 2012 |archive-date = June 10, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120610054610/http://www.gnocdc.org/NeighborhoodData/1/FrenchQuarter/index.html |url-status = dead }}</ref> The [[population density]] was 8,523 /mi<sup>2</sup> (3,212 /km{{sup|2}}). As of the [[census]] of 2010, there were 3,813 people, 2,635 households, and 549 families residing in the neighborhood.<ref name="French Quarter Neighborhood" />

==Landmarks and attractions==

===Jackson Square===
{{Main|Jackson Square (New Orleans)}}
[[File:Jackson Square New Orleans.JPG|thumb|[[Andrew Jackson|Jackson]] [[equestrian statue]] and [[St. Louis Cathedral (New Orleans)|St. Louis Cathedral]] &ndash; flanked by [[the Cabildo]] and [[the Presbytere]]]]

Jackson Square (formerly {{lang|fr|Place d'Armes}} or {{lang|es|Plaza de Armas}}, in French and Spanish, respectively), originally designed by architect and landscaper Louis H. Pilié (officially credited only with the iron fence), is a public, gated park the size of a city block, located at the front of the French Quarter (GPS {{Coord|29.95748|-90.06310|display=inline}}). In the mid-19th century, the square was named after President (formerly General, of [[Battle of New Orleans]] acclaim) [[Andrew Jackson]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}

In 1856, city leaders purchased an [[Equestrian sculpture|equestrian statue]] of Jackson from the sculptor Clark Mills. The statue was placed at the center of the square, which was converted to a park from its previous use as a [[military parade]] ground and execution site. (Convicted criminals were sometimes hanged in the square. After the [[1811 German Coast Uprising|slave insurrection of 1811]] during the [[Territory of Orleans|U.S. territorial period]], some of the insurgents were sentenced to death here in [[Orleans Parish]] under a justice system which had not yet been converted to American ideals, and their severed heads were displayed here.)<ref>{{Cite book|last=Blyth|first=Robert|title=Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve|year=2012|language=English}}</ref>

The square originally overlooked the [[Mississippi River]] across Decatur Street; however, the view was blocked in the 19th century when larger levees were built along the river. The riverfront was long devoted to shipping-related activities at the heart of the [[port]]. The administration of Mayor [[Moon Landrieu]] put in a scenic boardwalk across from Jackson Square; it is known as the "Moon Walk" in his honor. At the end of the 1980s, old wharves and warehouses were demolished to create [[Woldenberg Park]], extending the riverfront promenade up to [[Canal Street, New Orleans|Canal Street]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Woldenberg Park |url=https://www.neworleans.com/listing/woldenberg-park/32771/ |access-date=2022-07-12 |website=www.neworleans.com |language=en-us}}</ref>

On the opposite side of the square from the River are three 18th‑century historic buildings, which were the city's heart in the colonial era. The center of the three is [[St. Louis Cathedral (New Orleans)|St. Louis Cathedral]]. The [[cathedral]] was designated a [[minor basilica]] by [[Pope Paul VI]]. To its left is [[the Cabildo]], the old city hall, now a museum, where the final transfer papers for the [[Louisiana Purchase]] were signed. To the cathedral's right is [[the Presbytère]], built to match the Cabildo. The Presbytère, originally planned to house the city's [[Roman Catholic]] priests and authorities, was adapted as a courthouse at the start of the 19th century after the Louisiana Purchase, when civilian government was elevated over church authority. In the 20th century it was adapted as a museum.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}

On each side of the square are the [[Pontalba Buildings]], matching red-brick, one-block-long, four‑story buildings constructed between 1849 and 1851. The ground floors house shops and restaurants; the upper floors are apartments. The buildings were planned as row townhouses; they were not converted to rental apartments until the 1930s (during the [[Great Depression]]).{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}
[[File:Instrument Men Statue.jpg|thumb|Instrument men fountain in the French Quarter, September 2022.]]
The buildings were designed and constructed by [[Baroness Micaela Almonester Pontalba]], daughter of Don [[Andres Almonaster y Rojas]], a prominent Spanish philanthropist in [[Louisiana Creole people|Creole]] New Orleans. Micaela Almonaster was born in Louisiana in 1795. Her father died three years later, and she became sole heiress to his fortune and his New Orleans land holdings.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}

Directly across from Jackson Square is the [[Jax Brewery]] building, the original home of a local [[beer]]. After the company ceased to operate independently, the building was converted for use by retail businesses, including restaurants and specialty shops. In recent years, some retail space has been converted into riverfront [[Condominium (living space)|condominium]]s.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}} Behind the Jax Brewery lies the Toulouse Street Wharf, the regular pier for the excursion steamboat, ''[[Natchez (boat)#Current Natchez|Natchez]]''.

From the 1920s through the 1980s, Jackson Square became known for attracting [[Painting|painters]], young art students, and [[caricaturist]]s. In the 1990s, the artists were joined by [[tarot card readers]], [[mime artist|mime]]s, fortune tellers, and other street performers.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}

Live music has been a regular feature of the entire Quarter, including the Square, for more than a century. Formal concerts are also held, although more rarely. Street musicians play for tips.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}

Diagonally across the square from the Cabildo is [[Café du Monde]], open 24 hours a day except for [[Christmas Day]]. The historic open-air [[coffeehouse|cafe]] is known for its [[café au lait]], its coffee blended with [[chicory]], and its [[beignets]], made and served there continuously since the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] period (1862). It is a custom for anyone visiting for the first time to blow the [[powdered sugar]] off a beignet and make a wish.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}

===Bourbon Street===
{{Main|Bourbon Street}}
[[File:French Quarter-865.JPG|thumb|The [[Old Absinthe House]]]]
The most well-known of the French Quarter streets, Bourbon Street, or Rue Bourbon, is known for its drinking establishments. Most of the bars frequented by tourists are new but the Quarter also has a number of notable bars with interesting histories. The [[Old Absinthe House]] has kept its name even though [[absinthe]] was banned in the U.S. from 1915 to 2007 because it was believed to have toxic qualities.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}

[[Pat O'Brien's Bar]] is known both for inventing the red [[Hurricane (cocktail)|Hurricane]] cocktail and for having the first [[Dueling pianos|dueling piano]] bar.  Pat O'Brien's is located at 718 St. Peter Street.<ref>{{cite news |last = Marszalek |first = Keith I.  |date = November 30, 2008 |url = http://blog.nola.com/anguslind/2008/11/pat_os_turns_75_this_week.html |title = Home of the 'Hurricane' Pat O'Brien's turns 75 this week |work = nola.com |access-date = 2009-06-19 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120324085132/http://blog.nola.com/anguslind/2008/11/pat_os_turns_75_this_week.html |archive-date = March 24, 2012 |url-status = dead }}</ref>

[[Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop]] is a tavern located on the corner of Bourbon and St. Philip streets. Built sometime before 1772, it is one of the older surviving structures in New Orleans. It is also the oldest bar in all of America that still operates as a bar. According to legend, the structure was once a business owned by the [[Jean Lafitte|Lafitte brothers]], perhaps as a "front" for their smuggling operations at [[Barataria Bay]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}

The [[Napoleon House]] bar and restaurant is in the former home of mayor [[Nicholas Girod]]. It was named for an unrealized plot to rescue [[Napoleon]] from his exile in [[Saint Helena]] and bring him to New Orleans.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022|title=Napoleon House History|url=https://www.napoleonhouse.com/history/|access-date=January 13, 2022|website=Napoleon House}}</ref>

The original [[Johnny White's]] bar is a favorite of [[motorcycle|motorcycle bikers]].  In 2005 an offshoot called Johnny White's Hole in the Wall, along with [[Molly's at the Market]], drew national media attention as the only businesses in the city to stay open throughout Hurricane Katrina and the weeks after the storm.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}}

[[Spirits on Bourbon]] was featured on the season three of ''Bar Rescue.'' It has become a staple of Bourbon Street, with its light-up skull cup and Resurrection drink.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}

The [[Bourbon Pub]] and Oz, both located at the intersection of Bourbon and St. Ann Streets, are the two largest [[homosexual|gay]] clubs in New Orleans. [[Cafe Lafitte in Exile|Café Lafitte in Exile]], located at the intersection of Bourbon and Dumaine, is the oldest continuously running [[gay bar]] in the United States. These and other gay establishments sponsor the raucous [[Southern Decadence]] Festival during [[Labor Day]] weekend. This festival is often referred to as New Orleans' Gay Mardi Gras.  St. Ann Street is often called "the Lavender Line" or "the Velvet Line" in reference to its being on the edge of the French Quarter's predominately gay district.  While gay residents live throughout the French Quarter, that portion northeast of St. Ann Street is generally considered to be the gay district.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}}

New Orleans and its French Quarter are one of a few places in the United States where possession and consumption of [[alcoholic beverage|alcohol]] in [[United States open container laws|open containers]] is allowed on the street.<ref>{{Cite web |url = http://secure.cityofno.com/SystemModules/PrintPage.aspx?portal=2&load=~%2FPortalModules%2FViewPressRelease.ascx&itemid=509 |title = City of New Orleans memo<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date = December 21, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071004151522/http://secure.cityofno.com/SystemModules/PrintPage.aspx?portal=2&load=~%2FPortalModules%2FViewPressRelease.ascx&itemid=509 |archive-date = October 4, 2007 |url-status = dead }}</ref> French Quarter Street is also home to [[jazz music]]; there are many street performers and jazz shops. Many streets are filled with jazz clubs with live jazz performances, making it an attractive destination in the [[Neighborhoods in New Orleans|neighborhood]].<ref>{{Cite web|author=Lorenza Brascia|title=Your best day in New Orleans, guided by sound|url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/07/03/us/new-orleans-soundtracks/index.html|access-date=2021-10-19|website=CNN|date=July 3, 2017 }}</ref>

===Museums===

The French Quarter boasts several museums, including the [[New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum]], [[New Orleans Pharmacy Museum]], [[New Orleans Jazz Museum]], [[The Historic New Orleans Collection]] and the Museum of Death.

===Restaurants===
The neighborhood contains many restaurants, ranging from formal to casual, patronized by both visitors and locals. Some are well-known landmarks, such as [[Antoine's]] and [[Tujague's]], which have been in business since the 19th century. [[Arnaud's]], [[Galatoire's]], [[Broussard's]], and [[Brennan's]] are also venerable.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}

Less historic&mdash;but also well-known&mdash;French Quarter restaurants include those run by chefs [[Paul Prudhomme]] ("K-Paul's"), [[Emeril Lagasse]] ("NOLA"), and [[John Besh]]. Port of Call on [[Esplanade Avenue, New Orleans|Esplanade Avenue]] has been in business for more than 30 years, and is recognized for its popular "Monsoon" drink (their answer to the "Hurricane" at [[Pat O'Brien's Bar]]) as well as for its food.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}

The Gumbo Shop is another traditional eatery in the Quarter and where casual dress is acceptable. For a take-out lunch, [[Central Grocery]] on [[Decatur Street (New Orleans)|Decatur Street]] is the home of the original [[muffaletta]] [[Italians in New Orleans|Italian]] [[sandwich]], with New Orleans being a major center for Italian cuisine in the American South.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}

===Hotels===
{{see also|Canal Street, New Orleans#Hotels}}
Accommodations in the French Quarter range from large international chain hotels, to [[bed and breakfast]]s, to time-share condominiums and small guest houses with only one or two rooms.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}} The French Quarter is known for its traditional-style hotels, such as the Bourbon Orleans, [[Hotel Monteleone]] (family-owned), Royal Sonesta, the Astor, and the [[Omni Royal Orleans]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}} The [[Hotel St. Pierre]] is a small hotel also consisting of historic French Quarter houses, with a courtyard patio.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}

The Audubon Cottages are a collection of seven [[Creole cottage]]s, two of which were utilized by [[John James Audubon]] in the early 19th century when he worked in New Orleans for a short time.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}} Also utilized by Audubon was the current breakfast room of the Dauphine Orleans Hotel, a 111-room hotel located on Dauphine Street.<ref name="Reynolds 2015">{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/hotels/2015/02/10/new-orleans-historic-haunted-hotels/23166771/|title=Seven New Orleans hotels with amazing history|last=Reynolds|first=Jane|date=February 10, 2015|website=[[USA Today]]|access-date=April 27, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Dickinson|first=Joy|date=2001|title=Scarlett Slept Here: A Book Lover's Guide to the South|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TEzGGSW-kWMC&pg=PA120|publisher=[[Citadel Press]]|isbn=978-0806520926}}</ref> The Dauphine Orleans Hotel's on-site bar, May Baily's Place, was once one of New Orleans' most-known brothels, and it is rumored that the ghosts of prostitutes and [[American Civil War]] soldiers haunt the property.<ref name="Reynolds 2015" />

==Education==
{{expand section|date=May 2020}}
[[Orleans Parish School Board]] (OPSB) manages the public school system.

The [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans]] operates area Catholic schools. Cathedral Academy, originally St. Louis Cathedral School, was in the French Quarter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cathedralacademyno.org/#|title=Home|publisher=Cathedral Academy|access-date=2020-05-29}}</ref> It opened in 1914,<ref name=TanCathedraloppose>{{cite web|author=Tan, Sarah|url=https://www.nola.com/news/education/article_439646e6-f63f-56f1-bfc2-0dcbc47d090d.html|title=Archdiocese of New Orleans to close Cathedral Academy |newspaper=[[The Times Picayune]]|date=2012-12-06|access-date=2020-05-29}}</ref> and had a building separate from that of its parish.<ref>{{cite web|author=Harden, Kari Dequine|url=https://www.nola.com/news/article_209f0df0-2133-512f-953d-d26e19047b62.html|title=School's shuttering saddens parents|newspaper=[[The Times Picayune]]|date=2012-12-10|access-date=2020-05-29|quote=[...]and is in the French Quarter just a few blocks from its affiliated church, St. Louis Cathedral.}}</ref> In 2012 the archdiocese decided to close the school. It had 156 students in 2012, and the archdiocese's criterion for optimal enrollment in a K–7 was 200. St. Stephen School in [[Uptown New Orleans]] offered places to St. Louis Cathedral students.<ref name="TanCathedraloppose"/> Cathedral Academy parents stated opposition against the closure.<ref name=TanCathedraloppose/>

==See also==
{{Portal|Louisiana|Cities|United States}}
* [[Buildings and architecture of New Orleans]]
* [[French Market]]
* [[French Quarter Festival]], early April
* [[Jackson Square (New Orleans)|Jackson Square]]
* [[Louisiana Creole cuisine]]
* [[Satchmo SummerFest]], early August
* [[List of National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Orleans Parish, Louisiana]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|French Quarter}}
{{Wikivoyage|New_Orleans/French_Quarter|French Quarter}}
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.new-orleans.la.us/cnoweb/VCC/index.html |date=* |title=Vieux Carré Commission }} (VCC) (Archive) - City of New Orleans
*[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/Louisiana/New_Orleans/_Texts/Iron_Lace*.html Harriet Joor: ''The City of Iron Lace'']
*[http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=258&ResourceType=District National Historic Landmarks Program: Vieux Carré Historic District] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080925140845/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=258&ResourceType=District |date=September 25, 2008 }}
*[http://www.nps.gov/history/NR/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/20vieux/20vieux.htm ''Vieux Carré:A Creole Neighborhood in New Orleans,'' a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20150528102925/http://btr360.com/2015/05/28/a-kora-african-bass-harp-plays-in-jackson-square-new-olreans/ A Travel Description: At Jackson Square in the French Quarter]

{{New Orleans District 1}}

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[[Category:French Quarter| ]]
[[Category:Downtown New Orleans]]
[[Category:Neighborhoods in New Orleans]]
[[Category:Louisiana populated places on the Mississippi River]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana]]
[[Category:Busking venues]]
[[Category:Villages in Louisiana]]
[[Category:French colonial architecture in the United States]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in New Orleans]]
[[Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in New Orleans]]
[[Category:Colonial architecture in Louisiana]]