New Orleans

Introduction
Getting There
Getting Around
People
Neighborhoods
History
Government
Public Safety
Economy
Environment
Shoppping
Education
Health Care
Media
Sports
Parks and Recreation
Performing Arts
Libraries and Museums
Tourism
Holidays and Festivals
Famous Citizens
For Further Study

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America, North America

Founded: 1718; Incorporated: 1805
Location: Southeastern Louisiana on Lake Pontchartrain near the mouth of the Mississippi River; United States, North America
Motto: "Laissez le bon temps rouler!" ("Let the good times roll!")
Flag: White field with red (top) and blue (bottom) stripes, and three gold fleur de lys.
Flower: Magnolia (Louisiana state flower)
Time Zone: Central Standard Time (CST)
Ethnic Composition : 34.9% white, 61.9% black, 3.5% Hispanic origin, 3.2% other
Elevation: 5 ft. below sea level
Latitude and Longitude: 29°95′44N, 90°07′50W
Coastline: 40 miles
Climate: Semitropical climate. Winters are mild, and snowfall is rare; summers are hot and humid, and thunderstorms are common.
Annual Mean Temperature: 70.4°F (21.4°C)
Seasonal Average Snowfall: . 20 in. (50 mm); Average annual precipitation (total of rainfall and melted snow) : 62.08 in. (1,580 mm)
Government: Mayor-council
Weights and Measures: Standard US
Monetary Units: Standard US
Telephone Area Codes: 504
Postal Codes: 70053, 70056, 70112–70119, 70122, 70124–70131

1. Introduction

The cosmopolitan city of New Orleans is located on Lake Pontchartrain near the mouth of the Mississippi River in southeastern Louisiana. A beguiling combination of old and new, New Orleans has been dubbed "America's Most Interesting City." For most of its history, New Orleans' status as a major port city has made it a bustling center of commerce and industry. Economic opportunity attracted hundreds of thousands of early settlers, resulting in today's ethnically diverse population of Creoles, Cajuns and those of Italian, African and Caribbean descent. While the New Orleans metro area today remains an important commercial and industrial hub, it is arguably most famous as a tourist destination. In the early nineteenth century, the American Sector was located just upriver of the original French colony, founded in 1718. Today, visitors come from around the globe to experience the old-world charm of the carefully preserved French Quarter, also called the Vieux Carre (Old Square). Travelers come to dine in its fine restaurants, listen to incomparable jazz, and browse in Royal Street's fine antique shops. Home to the world-famous annual Mardi Gras celebration, New Orleans lives by its motto: "laissez le bon temps rouler!" ("Let the good times roll!")

2. Getting There

New Orleans is situated on the Mississippi River, 177 kilometers (110 miles) northwest of its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico. Lake Pontchartrain borders the city to the north. Most of New Orleans lies between Lake Pontchartrain and the east bank of the Mississippi, which follows a crescent-shaped bend, giving New Orleans the nickname the Crescent City.

Surrounding communities include Covington, Grenta, Harahan, Kenner, Metairie, Slidell, and Westwego. Major cities within 161 kilometers (100 miles) include Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Gulfport, Biloxi, and Pascagoula, Mississippi; and Mobile, Alabama.

Highways

Four major north-south highways serve the New Orleans area: Interstate 55 runs from New Orleans to Chicago, Illinois; U.S. Highway 61 runs from New Orleans to Memphis, Tennessee; U.S. Highway 11; and State Highway 23. The two main east-west routes are Interstate 10, which runs from Jacksonville, Florida, to Los Angeles, California; and U.S. Highway 90, which connects the city with Lafayette to the west and Mobile, Alabama, to the east.

Bus and Railroad Service

Buslines serving New Orleans include Baptiste, Canary's Transportation, Loews Express, Louisiana Transit, and Greyhound. The main bus terminal is the Greyhound/Trailways Bus Station at 1001 Loyola Avenue. Amtrak passenger trains arrive and depart from the Amtrak Station, also located at 1001 Loyola Avenue. New Orleans is connected via rail to California, Chicago, Florida, New York, and points in between.

New Orleans Population Profile

City Proper

Population: 496,000
Area: 468 sq km (180.6 sq mi)
Ethnic composition: 34.9% white; 61.9% black; 3.5% Hispanic origin; 3.2% other
Nicknames: America's Most Interesting City; The Crescent City; The Big Easy

Metropolitan Area

Population: 1,072,000
Area: 941 sq km (363.5 sq mi)
World population rank ¹: 341
Percentage of national population ²: 0.4%
Average yearly growth rate: 0.4%

1. The New Orleans metropolitan area's rank among the world's urban areas.
2. The percent of the United States' total population living in the New Orleans metropolitan area.

Airports

Major domestic airlines running flights to and from New Orleans International Airport include American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, Southwest, TWA, United, and US Airways. Many international airlines also fly directly into the airport, which is 23 kilometers (14 miles) northwest of downtown New Orleans (approximately 20 minutes). Locals sometimes still call it Moissant Field, its former name.

Shipping

In the world of trade, New Orleans is known as one of the busiest and most efficient international ports in the country, handling 14 million tons of cargo annually. More than 100 steamship lines dock there, and as many as 52 vessels can be berthed at one time.

3. Getting Around

In the early nineteenth century, the city of New Orleans was divided: Americans settled upriver of the original French colony. Today, Canal Street acts as the official dividing line between the historic French Quarter and the rest of the city. Street names actually change as one crosses Canal Street from the French Quarter: Bourbon becomes Carondelet; Royal becomes St. Charles; and so on. Directions in New Orleans are described with respect to the waters, which weave around the city: lakeside means toward Lake Pontchartrain; riverside means toward the Mississippi River; upriver refers to Uptown; and downriver refers to Downtown.

Bicycle Paths

The French Quarter welcomes bikers, with Royal and Bourbon streets closing off during the day to all traffic but cyclists and pedestrians. City Park and Audubon Park are also bicycle-friendly locations.

Ferry Service

In a 25-minute round trip, the Canal Street Ferry travels across the Mississippi between the Canal Street Wharf and Algiers Ferry Landing. The ride is free to pedestrians; motorists pay one dollar for return to the wharf. The ferry runs daily from 5:30 am to 9:30 PM.

Bus and Commuter Rail Service

The Regional Transit Authority (RTA) operates buses, shuttles, and streetcars throughout the New Orleans area. Buses require one dollar exact change or a token (sold only in banks). Transfers are ten cents extra. The Vieux Carre shuttle runs weekdays from 5:00 am to 7:30 pm. Visitor passes allow unlimited travel on buses and streetcars. One-day passes are issued for four dollars; three-day passes may be purchased for eight dollars. The Riverfront Streetcar operates along the river between Esplanade Avenue and the Robin Street Wharf. It makes five stops above Canal Street and five stops below. The streetcar runs from 6:00 am to midnight on weekdays and 8:00 a.m. to midnight on weekends. The fare is one dollar and 25 cents.

Sightseeing

Walking tours are one of the most popular ways to see New Orleans. A walk through the historic French Quarter offers access to various jazz clubs, museums, antique shops, and galleries. A stroll through the Garden District offers a view of the elegant mansions, known for their extravagant gardens, built by the Americans who settled in New Orleans after the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. A walking tour through the foot of Canal Street in the Central Business District offers shopping mall stops, as well as visits to the World Trade Center and the Aquarium of the Americas.

Sightseeing tours by steamboat and streetcar are also popular. The New Orleans Steamboat Company runs the two-hour Natchez harbor cruise for a fare of $14.75 at 11:30 am and 2:30 pm daily. It also runs a two-hour evening jazz cruise from 7:00 to 9:00 pm daily. The evening cruise fare is $22.50, $42.50 with dinner. A smaller boat, the John James Audubon, runs between the Aquarium of the Americas and the Audubon Zoo. The Audubon cruise leaves daily at 10:00 AM, noon, 2:00, and 4:00 pm from the aquarium; and 11:00 AM, 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00 pm from the zoo. Round-trip fare is $13.50.

The St. Charles Streetcar offers a 90-minute, 13-mile sightseeing opportunity. An official historic landmark, the streetcar travels up St. Charles Avenue, through the Garden District, past the Audubon Park and Zoo, as well as other popular Uptown sights. For a one-dollar fare, the streetcar boards in the Central Business District at Canal and Carondelet Streets. It runs daily every five minutes from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm ; every 15 to 20 minutes from 6:00 pm to midnight; and every hour from midnight to 7:00 AM.

4. People

In 1990, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated a year-2000 population of 487,780 for the city of New Orleans. However, by 1999 the population count exceeded 496,000 people. The census also listed the racial/ethnic breakdown as 34.9 percent white, 61.9 percent black, 3.5 percent Hispanic origin, and 3.2 percent other. However, in a city as cosmopolitan as New Orleans, there is a lot more to racial/ethnic heritage than can be revealed by a statistical breakdown. Today's population is a colorful amalgamation of Creole, Cajun, Caribbean, African, and Italian descent. However, the Creole and Cajun cultures are probably those most distinctive of New Orleans.

One very important thing to understand is that while both groups are French in descent, Creoles are not Cajuns, and Cajuns are not Creoles. By strict definition, a Creole is a descendant of an early French or Spanish settler, born in the colony, not in Europe. From the beginning, Creoles were strictly city dwellers. They called themselves "French," spoke French, and considered themselves the true natives. As a result of their stubborn insistence on French language, culture, and customs (and consequent inability to adapt to anything American), they were economically overrun by "Les Americaines" after the Louisiana Purchase. However, the Creole legacy lives on in New Orleans culture in many ways—its food, its music, and the French Quarter.

Cajuns, on the other hand, are descendants of rustic, country dwellers who lived along the bayous amid the swamps. They were manual laborers who celebrated as hard as they worked. Happily isolated, they were devoutly Catholic and spoke their own provincial version of French, dating back to their ancestral home in Brittany and Normandy. The word Cajun is actually a corruption of the word "Acadian." The Cajuns' ancestors were actually exiled from New Acadia (today known as Nova Scotia) by the British in 1755. In one of the nation's largest mass migrations, more than 10,000 made their new home in Louisiana. Today, there are nearly one million people of Cajun descent. Those once isolated and ridiculed have acquired a kind of nouveau chic status as Cajun restaurants, music, artwork, and folklore have become all the cultural rage.

5. Neighborhoods

Major neighborhoods and other well-known parts of the city include the French Quarter, the Central Business District, the Garden District, the University Section, Mid-City, and Lakeshore Drive. Surrounding communities include Covington, Grenta, Harahan, Kenner, Metairie, Slidell, and Westwego.

The French Quarter

Also called Vieux Carre (Old Square), the French Quarter is the original colony, founded by French Creoles in 1718. The carefully preserved historic district is delineated by Canal Street, Esplanade Avenue, North Rampart Street, and the Mississippi River.

The neighborhood is characterized by two-and three-story buildings of old brick and pastel-painted stucco. An eclectic crowd passes beneath hanging plants that dangle from the eaves of buildings. Home to some 7,000 residents, most houses date from the early to mid-nineteenth century and are fronted by secluded courtyards.

Although the district encompasses only about two-and-a-half kilometers (one square mile), it is packed full of must-see locations. Other than world-renowned French Creole restaurants, jazz clubs, and antique shops, the district is home to St. Louis Cathedral at Jackson Square, the Cabildo, Washington Artillery Park, the Old U.S. Mint, the Beauregard-Keyes House, the Gallier House, Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum, the nineteenth-century LaBranche Houses, First Skyscraper, Preservation Hall, the Historic New Orleans Collection, the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, Napoleon House, Hermann-Grima House, the Musee Conti Wax Museum, and the Old Ursuline Convent, which is the only remaining original French colonial structure today.

Downriver

Downriver of the French Quarter are the suburbs of Marigny, Bywater, Treme—famous for Congo Square and Basin Street—Arabi, and Chalmette, where the Battle of New Orleans was fought in 1815. Algiers is a very old residential section on the city's west bank, across the Mississippi from the Quarter and the foot of Canal Street.

The Central Business District

The heart of America's second-largest port, as well as the main parade route during Mardi Gras, the Central Business District cuts a wide path between Uptown and Downtown, Canal Street being the official dividing line. Defined by Canal Street, the river, Howard Avenue, and Loyola Avenue, the Central Business District is home to the city's newest convention hotels, shopping malls, and department stores, international trade agencies and consulates, monuments, and the Superdome. Points of particular interest include the World Trade Center, the Aquarium of the Americas, Woldenberg Riverfront Park, and the Spanish Plaza.

The Garden District

One of the nation's most picturesque neighborhoods, the Garden District is defined by St. Charles Avenue, Louisiana Avenue, Jackson Avenue, and Magazine Street. It was settled by Americans who rushed to New Orleans after the 1803 Louisiana Purchase but remained upriver of the already-established French Quarter. Countering the Creole penchant for secluded courtyards, they built elegant homes surrounded by lavish gardens; however, many of the district's most stunning mansions were built during the city's "golden age," from 1830 until the Civil War.

Today, the grand mansions are private homes and closed to the public, but they are worth seeing from the outside. Sites of particular interest include Colonel Short's Villa, the Robinson House, and the home of novelist Anne Rice.

Upriver

Beyond the Garden District lies the University Section, home of Loyola University and Tulane University, Audubon Park and Audubon Zoo, one of the nation's top five zoos, and the Carrollton and Broadmoor residential sections. Riverbend is both a residential and shopping area that is situated in an uptown bend in the Mississippi.

Mid-City

Located between downtown and Lake Pontchartrain, Mid-City is predominantly a residential area. It is also home to one of the nation's largest urban parks. City Park encompasses 607 hectares (1,500 acres) and contains the New Orleans Museum of Art, boating and fishing lagoons, golf and tennis courts, botanical gardens, a playground and amusement park with an antique carousel, and the world-renowned Live Oak trees. Also in Mid-City is the Fair Grounds Race Course, host to thoroughbred racing and the annual Jazz and Heritage Festival.

Lakeshore Drive

As is suggested by its name, Lakeshore Drive follows the south bank of Lake Pontchartrain. On the east end is Lakefront Airport, and on the west is West End Park, known for its fine seafood restaurants. The area is a popular picnic, fishing, sailing, and sunning spot. It is also host to the Mardi Gras Fountain, which is surrounded by plaques bearing various Carnival krewe emblems.

6. History

The region today called New Orleans was first visited by Europeans in 1541 when a Spanish exploration party led by Hernando de Soto discovered the Mississippi River. It was the French, however, who claimed the Mississippi River Territory when explorer Robert Cavalier de la Salle visited the area in 1682. At the turn of the eighteenth century, French brothers Pierre le Moyne d'Iberville and Jean Baptiste le Moyne de Bienville established a colony in southeastern "Louisiane" when they arrived with 200 settlers. Dubbed La Nouvelle Orleans, the colony was named in honor of Phillippe, duc d'Orleans, the Regent of France. In 1763, the Spanish overtook control of the Louisiana Territory and ruled until 1801 when Napoleon regained it for France. Just two years later, in 1803, Napoleon sold the land to the United States in a deal known historically as the Louisiana Purchase.

New Orleans grew tremendously in the nineteenth century. It was incorporated as a city in 1805. The College of Orleans, the first institution of higher learning in Louisiana, opened in the city in 1811. The following year the first steamboat began operating between New Orleans and Natchez. The War of 1812 actually ended in New Orleans when, on January 8, 1815, General Sir Edward Pakenham attacked the city with a British force and was defeated by U.S. General Andrew Jackson at Chalmette Plantation, now a National Historical Park. Louisiana was admitted to the Union on April 30, 1812, with New Orleans as the state capital. It remained so until 1849, except for a brief period between 1830 and 1831.

The city's location near the mouth of the Mississippi River made it an excellent locale for trade with cotton and sugarcane as the primary commodities. Hundreds of thousands of people were drawn by economic opportunity, and New Orleans' population skyrocketed to 166,375 by the 1850s. New Orleans had become the third-largest city in the United States.

An important Confederate port, New Orleans was captured by Union troops early in the Civil War and held under military rule for the duration. The Civil War led to a period of economic decline, and it was not until 1880 that port tonages were comparable with those of the late 1850s. Recovery was due largely to government construction of the Eads jetties (walls built out into the water to restrain currents and protect a harbor or pier) at the mouth of the Mississippi in 1879, greatly improving access to the Port of New Orleans.

At the turn of the twentieth century, Louisiana established the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans, and modernization of the port was underway. In 1917, a screw-type electric pump made substantial swamp drainage possible, and formerly uninhabitable land became habitable. By the 1930s, all of the swamp areas were as effectively drained as the higher sites.

In addition to swamp problems, fires, hurricanes, and yellow fever epidemics have taken their toll on the city, especially in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. However, New Orleans' ongoing battle with nature has been made easier by twentieth century technology, and the city has experienced continuous growth since 1900.

In the second half of the twentieth century, establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) space-flight facility and further expansion of port facilities contributed to New Orleans' accelerated growth rate. In 1984, New Orleans' Mississippi River waterfront even hosted the Louisiana World Exposition.

In the 1990s, the Port of New Orleans remained among the busiest in the country. Rich in heritage and culture, the population continues to be extremely diverse, consisting of Creoles (descendants of the original French and Spanish colonists), Cajuns (descendants of the Acadians who were driven from Nova Scotia by the British in 1755), and other groups whose ancestry lies in Italy, Africa, and the Caribbean islands. New Orleans is also a major tourist destination, famous for its historic French Quarter and annual Mardi Gras celebration. With a population of more than 496,000 people at the outset of the twenty-first century, New Orleans is Louisiana's largest city.

7. Government

The New Orleans city government operates under the Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans, as amended January 1, 1996. This charter calls for a mayor-council form of government, wherein the mayor is to be aided by a chief administrative officer who is responsible to the mayor in the performance of duties. The council is to consist of seven members, five of whom are to be elected from districts and two from the city at large. The mayor and council members are all elected to four-year terms.

8. Public Safety

As the New Orleans City Council conducted hearings for the 2000 Millenium Budget, the recommended operating budget of $507,304,152 proposed to continue the city's commitment to improving public safety. Highlights of the budget included the provision of funding to bring the New Orleans Police Department to a full force of 1,700 officers and the provision for continuation of the city's five-year Rebuild New Orleans Now! capital initiative to repair streets, parks, and public buildings.

Overall, the New Orleans Police Department has reported a steady drop in the number of violent crimes. The most notable is the 23 percent reduction of violent crime citywide for the first six months of 1997 compared to the first six months of 1996. The comparison of non-violent crimes for the same periods also shows a decrease by 11 percent.

In 1997, the total crime index stood at 53,399. Violent crimes reported to police (per 100,000 population) included 363 murders, 487 rapes, 5,349 robberies, and 4,677 aggravated assaults. Property crimes included 10,236 burglaries and 2,044 motor vehicle thefts.

9. Economy

Since its founding in 1718, New Orleans' status as a port city has been a major factor in its economic development. Its location near the mouth of the Mississippi River enabled the city to grow as an important center for trade. In the nineteenth century, primary commodities included cotton and sugarcane. During the Civil War, the port served as a vital military post. However, the region experienced economic decline as New Orleans, originally part of the Confederacy, was captured by Union troops early in the war. The city recovered its prosperous economic status by the early 1900s.

In the twenty-first century, the New Orleans metro area remains an important commercial and industrial hub. In the world of trade, it is known as one of the busiest and most efficient international ports in the country. Not only does the Port of New Orleans play a vital role in the region's economy, but in Louisiana's economy as a whole: ten percent of the state's entire workforce is employed in port-related activities.

Despite a decline during the 1980s, the oil and gas industry also remains an important part of the city's economic base. Major U.S. petroleum companies located in New Orleans include Shell, Exxon, Mobil, and British Petroleum (BP).

The economy has diversified significantly since the 1980s, and service industries currently make up the largest employment sector in the region. Tourism and health care are among the city's fastest-growing industries.

Other major boosters of the New Orleans' economy range from higher education to aerospace to finance. Both Tulane and Loyola Universities are major employers. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) maintains an assembly facility in the city. Major companies headquartered in the New Orleans' area include Hibernia Corp; Lockheed Martin Michoud Space Systems; Schwegmann Giant Super Markets; and Union Carbide Corp.

As of June 1999, the New Orleans labor force numbered 624,200, and unemployment stood at 4.6 percent.

10. Environment

New Orleans may be a thriving metropolis, but it was once written off as nothing more than an alligator and mosquito-infested swamp. The maze of river, bayous, lakes, and swamps made land access and travel difficult. The semitropical climate provided the perfect breeding conditions for mosquitoes, and diseases, such as yellow fever and malaria, ran rampant. In its earliest days the area was actually referred to as the Isle of Orleans.

Today, New Orleans is defined by the very bodies of water that once made habitation so unlikely. Its nickname—the Crescent City—actually refers to the shape of the land that has been molded by the Mississippi River. The river winds through the city and rushes out into the Gulf of Mexico, which lies 177 kilometers (110 miles) to the south. To the north of the city lies Lake Pontchartrain, actually a coastal lagoon, 40 kilometers (25 miles) wide and 64 kilometers (40 miles) long with a total area of more than 1,606 square kilometers (620 square miles).

The Greater New Orleans area covers about 941 square kilometers (363.5 square miles), but only 514 (198.4) are somewhat dry land. This is because, at five feet below sea level, New Orleans is the lowest point in the state of Louisiana.

11. Shopping

Shopping in New Orleans winds along the Mississippi River, all the way from the French Quarter to Uptown beyond Riverbend.

The French Quarter is the place to hunt for antiques. There shoppers will also find art galleries, designer boutiques, bookstores, and an array of unique shops. Along Canal Place, located on Canal Street, shoppers can admire the finery of jewelry designer Mignon Faget and browse in the likes of Saks Fifth Avenue, Laura Ashley, Gucci, and Brooks Brothers. Riverwalk, located at 1 Poydras Street, is a long marketplace boasting more than 200 shops, restaurants, food courts, and huge windows overlooking the Mississippi. New Orleans Centre, between the Hyatt Regency Hotel and the Superdome on Poydras Street, has more than 100 vendors, including Macy's and Lord & Taylor. For six miles along Magazine Street, Victorian houses and small cottages filled with antiques and collectibles welcome shoppers. Riverbend, located at Maple Street and Carrollton Avenue is comprised of turn-of-the-century Creole cottages that host toy shops, designer boutiques, delis, and more. Metairie's three-level Esplanade Mall at West Esplanade Avenue houses 155 shops, including Macy's and Mervyn's. Finally, the Warehouse District, bordered by Girod Street, Howard Avenue, Camp Street, and the river, is a major center for the visual arts, Julia Street being particularly noteworthy.

Shopper's guides are published by the Magazine Street Merchants Association and the Royal Street Guild; shopping information can also be found at the New Orleans Welcome Center.

12. Education

Most education in the state of Louisiana was provided through private schools until Reconstruction. In fact, New Orleans' Creole population often sent their children to be educated abroad in France. It was not until Huey Long's administration, when spending for education increased significantly and free textbooks were supplied, that education became a high priority for the state.

Desegregation of Louisiana schools actually started in New Orleans. Integration of New Orleans public schools began in 1960; two years later, the archbishop of New Orleans required that all Catholic schools under his jurisdiction be desegregated.

In 1996, the parish was ranked as the thirty-third-largest school district in the nation with an enrollment of 85,064 students.

In 1999, there were 274 public and 135 private elementary schools, 53 public and 29 private high schools in New Orleans. There were also three public and five private four-year universities, two community colleges, two medical schools, two law schools, and two theological seminaries. Among the post-secondary institutions, the most well-known include Loyola University of Louisiana and Tulane University, two of the most distinguished private universities in the South, Dillard University, the University of New Orleans, and Southern University of New Orleans.

13. Health Care

A few of the many medical care facilities in New Orleans include Mercy Baptiste Medical Center, Ochsner Foundation Hospital, Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital, Saint Charles General Hospital, Touro Infirmary, Tulane University Medical Center, and University Hospital of Medical Center of Louisiana. According to 1997 reports, there were 23 hospitals and 2,368 physicians in New Orleans. The citizen to physician ratio for the county was 203 to one.

14. Media

New Orleans has two major television stations: WYES-TV; and WWL-TV, Channel 4. WYES-TV boasts chip beta cams, an eight-camera mobile unit, and editing studio facilities. Clients include HBO, ESPN, MTV, and Bob Hope. WWL-TV, Channel 4 is a legendary CBS affiliate that boasts a strong "Eyewitness News" franchise, double-digit ratings, and network-quality production.

Major newspapers include the Times-Picayune and USA Today, the number-one newspaper in the nation.

Magazines include Ambassador's, Inc., a high quality restaurant guide; New Orleans Magazine, consumer-life-style reading dedicated to the upscale local, business, and visitor markets; Where Magazine ; and Where Y'at Magazine, the city's free guide to complete restaurant, club, and bar listings and timely articles about local and national entertainment news .

15. Sports

The same qualities that make New Orleans an optimal convention and festival town also make it a great sports town. An accessible downtown area and a plethora of attractions and hotel accommodations have qualified the Crescent City as host to world-class sporting events on numerous occasions. It has been an eight-time Super Bowl host; three-time NCAA Men's Final Four Championships host; NCAA Women's Final Four Championships host; 1992 Olympic Track and Field host; SEC Basketball Tournament host; and AAU Junior Olympics host.

For football fans, New Orleans hosts the annual Nokia Sugar Bowl, as well as the National Football League's Saints team. The Sugar Bowl college football classic, held in January, is sponsored by a non-profit civic group that sponsors seven other amateur sporting events throughout the year. As for the New Orleans Saints, home games are played in the Louisiana Superdome from August through December.

The Crescent City is also home to the 1998 Triple-A World Series Champion New Orleans Zephyrs. The baseball team is the top affiliate of the Houston Astros and plays 71 home games from April through September at their state-of-the-art facility on Airline Drive.

For golf enthusiasts, the Freeport-McDermott Golf Classic is held in late March-early April. The Classic Foundation also hosts the annual PGA Tour golf tournament at English Turn to benefit youth charities.

The New Orleans Brass represents the city in the world of hockey, and horse racing takes place at the New Orleans Fair Grounds.

16. Parks and Recreation

New Orleans may be a thriving metropolis, but its parks are nothing short of urban oases.

Woldenberg Riverfront Park encompasses 5.3 hectares (13 acres) of landscaped territory, featuring more than 300 oak trees, magnolias, willows, and crepe myrtles, a large lawn and a brick walkway offering direct access to the Mississippi River.

City Park, located on City Park Avenue, spans 607 hectares (1,500 acres) and features moss-draped oaks, lagoons, hiking-biking trails, picnic grounds, golf courses, tennis courts, luxuriant botanical gardens, and an amusement park featuring a late nineteenth-century carousel.

Audubon Park, located on St. Charles Avenue, offers golf and tennis, a 2.9-kilometer (1.8-mile) jogging path shaded by giant oak trees, and 18 exercise stations.

The Audubon Zoo, located on Magazine Street behind Audubon Park, is ranked among the top five zoos in the nation. It is noted for its famed white tiger, white alligators, the Louisiana Swamp exhibit, and the World of Primates.

Aquarium of the Americas, located at the foot of Canal Street, is the place to visit for a close view of sea life. Visitors can explore the aquatic world of the Caribbean, Amazon Rainforest, Gulf of Mexico, and Mississippi Delta.

For fishing enthusiasts, the bayous and inlets off the Mississippi River are rich with redfish, trout, and bass; lemon fish, tuna, and red snapper can be found around the oil rigs a few miles offshore. A license issued by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is required for any outing and is available from most sporting goods stores and marinas.

Game around Louisiana includes a wide variety from deer and water fowl to rabbit and alligator. Hunting permits are available from most expedition outfits.

As the New Orleans City Council conducted hearings for the 2000 Millenium Budget, the recommended operating budget of $507,304,152 proposed to continue the city's commitment to youth development and improving the parks. The proposed budget recommended increasing funding to the New Orleans Recreation Department to nine million dollars to include summer and teen camps, public pools, and after-school recreational programs.

17. Performing Arts

World-renowned for its jazz history, New Orleans swings with live performances around the clock. Traditional jazz can be found at Preservation Hall and Palm Court Jazz Café. Snug Harbor and Pete Fountain's Club are also popular spots. Free jazz concerts are held on weekends during the day in Dutch Alley.

For those with a more classical taste in music, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra performs at the Orpheum Theatre.

In the realm of dance and opera, the New Orleans Ballet Association and the New Orleans Opera Association produce performances of visiting companies at the New Orleans Theatre for the Performing Arts in Armstrong Park.

In dramatic theater, the Contemporary Arts Center hosts the avantgarde, offbeat, and satirical. Classics, contemporary drama, children's theater, and musicals are presented at Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre. Touring Broadway shows, dance companies, and top-name talent appear at the Saenger Performing Arts Center.

18. Libraries and Museums

New Orleans boasts a total of 65 public libraries and three institutional libraries. The official New Orleans Public Library, with 11 branches and 1,003,274 books, features a special collection on jazz and folk music. The Tulane University Library, with 1,470,549 books, has special collections on jazz and Louisiana history. The libraries at Tulane University and Xavier University of Louisiana each carry a special black-studies collection.

New Orleans also hosts a staggering number of museums with collections ranging from art to history to novelty. Leading art museums include the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and the Lampe Gallery. As for historical museums, the Louisiana State Museum, an eight-building historic complex in the French Quarter, is the oldest and largest museum in the state of Louisiana. There is also the Confederate Museum, the American Italian Renaissance Museum, BAND—Black Arts National Diaspora, Inc., Gallier House Museum, Hermann-Grima Historic House, the Historic New Orleans Collection, the House of Broel's Historic Mansion and Dollhouse Museum, Longue Vue House and Gardens, Pitot House Museum, and St. Alphonsus Art and Culture Museum. Novelty museums include Louisiana Children's Museum, Musee Conti—the Wax Museum, New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum, the Audubon Living Science Museum, and the six museums of the Rivertown Museums, including Jefferson Parish Mardi Gras Museum and the Saints Hall of Fame.

19. Tourism

New Orleans has a reputation as a good-time town. With a motto like "Laissez le bon temps rouler!" ("Let the good times roll!"), it is no wonder that the September 1997 Conde Nast Traveler ranked the Big Easy as the second most popular tourist destination in the United States. The New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau reported between 11 and 14 million visitors and $3.358 billion in expenditures attributed to tourism for 1997.

20. Holidays and Festivals

January
Chinese New Year Festival
Sugar Bowl
Nokia-Sugar Bowl Mardi Gras Marathon

February
Lundi Gras
Mardi Gras

March
African Heritage Festival International
Louisiana Black Heritage Festival
Mensaje's Spanish Festival
New Orleans Literary Festival
St. Patrick's Day Parade
Spring Fiesta

April
Crescent City Classic
French Quarter Festival
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival

May
Greek Festival

June
Great French Market Tomato Festival
Reggae Riddums Festival

July
Go 4^th on the River

October
Swamp Festival
Gumbo Festival
Jeff Fest
New Orleans Film and Video Festival
Oktoberfest

November
Bayou Classic Football Game

December
New Orleans Christmas
New Year's Eve Countdown

21. Famous Citizens

Well-known New Orleans natives include:

Louis Armstrong (c. 1898–1971), world-renowned jazz musician.

George Washington Cable (1844–1925), author.

Truman Capote (1924–84), author whose works include In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Harry Connick, Jr. (b. 1967), Grammy-winning jazz musician.

Antoine "Fats" Domino (b. 1928), one of the founding fathers of rhythm and blues.

Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829–69), celebrated nineteenth-century pianist.

Lillian Hellman (1907–84), noted author whose works include Julia and The Little Foxes.

George Herriman (1880–1944), cartoonist, best known for Krazy Kat.

Mahalia Jackson (1911–1972), one of the world's greatest gospel singers.

Branford Marsalis (b. 1960), jazz saxophonist, once leader of the Tonight Show band.

Wynton Marsalis (b. 1961), Grammy-winning jazz and classical trumpeter.

Paul Morphy (1837–84), father of modern chess.

Jelly Roll Morton (1890–1941), famous jazz pianist.

Joseph "King" Oliver (1885–1938), cornetist, bandleader, and principal mentor of Louis Armstrong.

Mel Ott (1908–1958), 1930s major league baseball star credited with more than 511 major-league home runs.

Anne Rice (b. 1941), author of best-selling novels featuring vampires.

22. For Further Study

Websites

Chamber/New Orleans and the River Region. [Online] Available http://www.gnofn.org/chamber (accessed November 19, 1999).

Greater New Orleans Free-Net. [Online] Available http://www.gnofn.org (accessed November 19, 1999).

New Orleans City Government. [Online] Available http://www.tulane.edu/~uccr/gov.html (accessed November 19, 1999).

New Orleans Times and Directory. [Online] Available http://www.gna.com (accessed November 19, 1999).

Neworleans.com. [Online] Available http://www.neworleans.com (accessed November 19, 1999).

Government Offices

New Orleans City Hall
1300 Perdido St.
New Orleans, LA 70112
(504) 565–6000

New Orleans City Council
1300 Perdido St. 2nd Fl W
New Orleans, LA 70112
(504) 565-7655

New Orleans Mayor
1300 Perdido St.
New Orleans, LA 70112
(504) 565–8076

Tourist and Convention Bureaus

New Orleans Visitor Center
529 Saint Ann St.
New Orleans, LA 70116
(504) 566–5031

New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and
Visitors Bureau
1520 Sugar Bowl Dr.
New Orleans, LA 70112
(504) 566–5011

Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
900 Convention Center Blvd.
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 582–3023

New Orleans and River Region
Chamber of Commerce
601 Poydras St., Suite 1700
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 527–6900

Publications

Ambassador's, Inc.
4955 W. Napoleon Ave., Ste. 116
Metairie, LA 70001
(888) 716–1792

Natives' Guide to New Orleans
3923 Bienville St.
New Orleans, LA 70119
(504) 486–5900

New Orleans Magazine
111 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Ste. 1810
Metairie, LA 70005–4955
(504) 838–7737

Offbeat Publications
333 St. Charles Ave., #614
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 944-4300

Times-Picayune Publishing Corp.
3800 Howard Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70140
(504) 826–3279

Where Magazine
528 Wilkinson Row
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 522–6468

Where Y'at Magazine
5500 Prytania St., PMA 248
New Orleans, LA 70115
(504) 891–0144

Books

Barrett, Tracy. Kidding Around Nashville. Santa Fe: John Muir, 1998.

Chappell, Susan. The Opryland Insider's Guide to Nashville. New York: Ballantine, 2000.

Deegan, Paul. Nashville, Tennessee. New York: Crestwood, 1989.

Jackson, Joy. New Orleans in the Gilded Age: Politics and Urban Progress, 1880–96. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1969.

Lovett, Bobby L. The African American History of Nashville, Tennessee 1780–1930. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1999.

New Orleans , city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water from the river mouth; founded 1718 by the sieur de Bienville , inc. 1805. It was built within a great bend of the Mississippi (and is therefore called the Crescent City) on subtropical lowlands, now protected from flooding by levees. The river is crossed there by the Algiers Bridge (completed 1991), the Huey P. Long Bridge (completed 1935), and the Greater New Orleans Bridge (completed 1958), which is one of the largest cantilever bridges in the country. Lake Pontchartrain is spanned by a 24-mi (39-km) double causeway (opened 1957).

Economy

The largest city in Louisiana and one of the largest in the South, New Orleans is a major U.S. port of entry. It has long been one of the busiest and most efficient international ports in the country. Coffee, sugar, and bananas are among its imports; exports include oil, petrochemicals, rice, cotton, and corn. Coastal traffic is heavy (the city is at the junction of the Intracoastal Waterway with the Mississippi River), and New Orleans is a major rail, highway, air, and river hub. It has an international airport. Its fine port helped make the New Orleans area one of the leading industrial centers in the South, although most of the larger industries were developed relatively recently. Food processing is a major enterprise. The region has shipbuilding and repair yards as well as factories manufacturing a wide variety of goods, including wood, paper, and metal products; foods and beverages; building stone; medical and building equipment; comunication systems; apparel; and aircraft parts. There is also printing and publishing. Many oil and chemical plants are located along the Mississippi River west of New Orleans.

Points of Interest

The picturesque French quarter (Vieux Carré) of the old city, north of broad Canal St., is a major tourist attraction. In the heart of the quarter is Jackson Square (the former Place d'Armes); fronting upon the square are the Cabildo (1795; formerly the government building, it now houses part of the Louisiana state museum); St. Louis Cathedral (1794); and other 18th- and 19th-century structures. Several world-famous restaurants, specializing in shrimp, oysters, and fish from nearby waters, uphold the New Orleans tradition of good living, and the annual Mardi Gras is perhaps the best-known festival in the United States.

Also adding to the color of the city are the many parks (including an aquarium), museums (including a voodoo museum, the National D-day Museum, and the New Orleans Museum of Art), and gardens; the Jazzland Theme Park is a few miles to the east. Chalmette, site of the 1815 battle of New Orleans, is to the east, and is part of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (see National Parks and Monuments , table). The Louisiana Superdome, home of the National Football League's New Orleans Saints, is also the site of the annual Sugar Bowl football game. The National Basketball Association's Hornets also play in the city. New Orleans is also an educational center, the seat of Dillard Univ., Loyola Univ., Tulane Univ., the Univ. of New Orleans, the Louisiana State Univ. Health Sciences Center, Southern Univ. at New Orleans, Our Lady of Holy Cross College, and several theological seminaries.

History

Early Years to the Twentieth Century

Soon after the sieur de Bienville had the city platted in 1718 it became an important port, and in 1722 it became the capital of the French colony. The transfer of Louisiana to Spain by the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762) was confirmed by the Treaty of Paris (1763). New Orleans—deeply involved in the struggle for control of the Mississippi—was returned to French hands only briefly before passing to the United States with the Louisiana Purchase (1803). From 1809 to 1810 some 10,000 refugees from the slave revolt in St. Dominigue (later Haiti) who had previously fled to Cuba emigrated to New Orleans, doubling the population. The tone of the city's life was dominated by Creole culture until late in the 19th cent., and the French influence is still seen today.

After Andrew Jackson's victory over the British at New Orleans (Jan. 8, 1815) had written a postscript to the War of 1812, the westward movement in the United States carried the queen city of the Mississippi to almost fabulous heights as a port and market for cotton and slaves. New Orleans then was stamped with its lasting reputation for glamour, extravagant living, elegance, and wickedness. Then as now African Americans were a large element in the population, and they contributed to the cosmopolitan flavor of the city. The quadroon balls—sumptuous affairs attended by rich white men and their quadroon mistresses—disappeared with the Civil War, but African folkways and stories of voodoo magic persisted into the 20th cent.

The golden era ended when in the Civil War the city fell (1862) to Admiral David G. Farragut and suffered under the occupation by Union troops led by General Benjamin F. Butler. New Orleans recovered from Reconstruction and passed through the end of the river-steamboat era to emerge as a modern city. Its past, however, is perhaps a greater factor than the warm damp climate in attracting visitors and artists and writers. The unusual life and history of the city have produced its own literature, including the works of George W. Cable, Lafcadio Hearn, Grace Elizabeth King, Charles Gayarré, and Alcée Fortier. Jazz had its origin in the late 19th cent. among the black musicians of New Orleans.

Modern New Orleans

The first attempts to integrate New Orleans public schools aroused controversy in 1960. Since then blacks have come to comprise the large majority of students and teachers in the school system, as many whites have moved to the suburbs. In 1969 Hurricane Camille swept through the region, resulting in many deaths and much property damage. Since the 1960s the population of the metropolitan area has risen at a rate slightly higher than that at which the population of the city has declined, reflecting the trend toward suburbanization that has left the inner city troubled by poverty.

Attempts have been made at urban revitalization; in the 1970s many new buildings were erected as the city benefited from high oil prices. In the 1980s, however, the economy suffered as oil prices fell and the state's energy industry floundered. In 1983 New Orleans hosted a world's fair, but the attention it attracted and its economic contribution fell far below expectations. Gambling was legalized in 1992, but the introduction of riverboat and casino gambling proved unsuccessful and failed to provide the anticipated impetus to the city's economy.

On Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina brought extensive flooding to the city when several levees failed. Much of the city was evacuated before the storm but thousands remained, many of whom were stranded by the water for days; hundreds died. In the aftermath, many residents could not return because their homes had been destroyed and established new lives elsewhere, greatly reducing the city's population. A 2006 survey showed that the population was approximately 40% of what it was estimated to have been before the storm.

Bibliography

See E. L. Tinker, Creole City (1953); T. K. Griffin, New Orleans (rev. ed. 1964); M. L. Christovich et al., comp., New Orleans Architecture (1971–72); L. V. Huber, New Orleans: A Pictorial History (1971); P. F. Lewis, New Orleans (1976); J. K. Nichols, New Orleans (1989); D. Brinkley, The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast (2006); N. Sublette, The World That Made New Orleans (2008).

NEW ORLEANS

NEW ORLEANS is located along a crescent-shaped portion of the Mississippi River, 120 miles from where it flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Bounded on the north by Lake Pontchartrain, much of the city lies below sea-level and is protected from flooding by natural and human-made levees. Between 1699 and 1762 the French who colonized Louisiana struggled with many problems and received only limited support from their government. However, they left an enduring imprint, reinforced by later French-speaking immigrants from Acadia and Saint Domingue. That legacy has remained evident in New Orleans. In 1718 Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, founded La Nouvelle Orléans. His assistant laid out streets in a gridiron pattern for the initial site, later known as the Vieux Carré. New Orleans became the capital of French Louisiana in 1722. French architecture, language, customs, and identity as well as the dominance of Roman Catholicism persisted across time. African slaves formed a large part of the colonial population and also shaped the city's culture.

By treaties in 1762 and 1763, the French government transferred most of Louisiana to Spain. Spanish governors generally proved to be effective administrators and operated in association with members of the city's government, the Cabildo. Spanish policies fostered an increase in the city's population of free people of color. During the latter part of the American Revolution, Governor Bernardo de Gálvez used New Orleans as a base for successful

military campaigns against British forts along the Gulf Coast. As farmers living in the western United States began shipping their produce down the Mississippi River, the port of New Orleans became vital to the new nation's economy. Alarmed by reports that Spain had ceded Louisiana back to France, U.S. president Thomas Jefferson sent ministers to Europe to engage in negotiations that led to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. At the Battle of New Orleans on 8 January 1815, General Andrew Jackson decisively defeated the British in the final military contest of the War of 1812, gaining national fame for himself and the city.

During the antebellum period, New Orleans thrived economically. Steamboat navigation and cotton production from Deep South plantations helped to make the city an entrepôt that briefly ranked as the nation's greatest export center. The New Orleans slave market became the country's largest. Slaves and free people of color sustained their own culture, particularly evident in gatherings at Congo Square. In addition to an influx of Anglo-Americans, Irish and German immigrants swelled the population. Repeated epidemics of yellow fever and cholera, however, killed thousands of residents. With traditions dating to the colonial period, Mardi Gras became an increasingly elaborate celebration. Friction between citizens of French ancestry and Anglo-Americans gave way to the combative nativism manifested by the Know-Nothing Party of the 1850s.

Despite a large Unionist vote in the presidential election of 1860, New Orleans succumbed to secessionist hysteria following the victory of Abraham Lincoln. After an inept military defense of the Confederacy's largest port, the city was occupied by Union admiral David Farragut on 29 April 1862. Thereafter, General Benjamin Butler

earned local enmity for his forceful but effective management of the city. During Reconstruction, racial and political conflict erupted in a deadly race riot on 30 July 1866 and in the Battle of Liberty Place fought between the White League and city police on 14 September 1874.

In the late nineteenth century, New Orleans permitted its port facilities to deteriorate and its economy stagnated. The corrupt political leaders of the New Orleans Ring neglected basic public services. The completion of jetties at the mouth of the Mississippi River in 1879, however, enabled larger oceangoing vessels to dock at the city. Large numbers of Italian immigrants arrived, between 1890 and 1920, and the early twentieth century brought a resurgence of trade, particularly with South America. A community with a richand complex musical heritage, New Orleans promoted and nurtured early jazz. The city also housed the nation's most famous legalized vice district, Storyville. In the 1920s the Vieux Carré became a magnet for artists and writers, and a significant historic preservation movement began to emerge in the 1930s. As mayor from 1904 to 1920 and as boss of a powerful political machine, Martin Behrman brought many improvements in municipal services. His successors became ensnarled in political wars with governors Huey P. Long and Earl K. Long, periodically costing the city its powers of self-government.

World War II brought a surge in population and a booming economy, thanks to war-related industries, particularly shipbuilding. After the war, Mayor deLesseps Morrison initiated an ambitious building program, attracted new industries, and successfully promoted the city as an international port. Statewide support for segregation and weak local leadership produced the New Orleans school desegregation crisis of 1960, which branded the city as a stronghold of racism. In subsequent years whites in particular relocated to the suburbs, and by 2000 the city's population had shrunk to 484,674. In 1977 voters elected the city's first African American mayor, Ernest F. Morial. The completion of the Superdome in 1975, the hosting of a world's fair in 1984, and the opening of the Riverwalk shopping mall in 1986 and the Aquarium of the Americas in 1990 reflected a renewed vitality as well as an emphasis on tourism. Celebrated restaurants, medical facilities, and educational institutions also constitute important attractions of the Crescent City.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Din, Gilbert C., and John E. Harkins. The New Orleans Cabildo: Colonial Louisiana's First City Government, 1769–1803. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1996.

Haas, Edward F. DeLesseps S. Morrison and the Image of Reform: New Orleans Politics, 1946–1961. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1974.

Hirsch, Arnold R., and Joseph Logsdon, eds. Creole New Orleans: Race and and Americanization. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1992.

Ingersoll, Thomas N. Mammon and Manon in Early New Orleans: The First Slave Society in the Deep South, 1718–1819. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1999.

Jackson, Joy J. New Orleans in the Gilded Age: Politics and Urban Progress, 1880–1896. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1969.

Tyler, Pamela. Silk Stockings and Ballot Boxes: Women and Politics in New Orleans, 1920–1963. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1996.

Samuel C.ShepherdJr.

See alsoJazz ; Louisiana ; Louisiana Purchase ; New France ; New Orleans Riots ; New Orleans, Battle of ; New Orleans, Capture of .

New Orleans. Situated on the first high ground rising from the Gulf of Mexico near the mouth of the Mississippi River, New Orleans is a culturally diverse, historically Roman Catholic city.Founded as the capital of France's Louisiana colony in 1718, the swampy, mosquito‐infested site remained a largely undeveloped economic liability when the French ceded it to Spain in 1762–1763. The “Crescent City” (named for its location on a bend in the Mississippi River) began to prosper as it attracted large numbers of American settlers. Spain retroceded the colony to France just prior to Napoleon's sale of the Louisiana territory to the United States in 1803. Notable Colonial Era developments included the genesis of New Orleans's large community of free people of color.

A regional economic boom in cotton, land, and slaves fueled rapid antebellum growth in a city fragmented into largely American “uptown” and Creole “downtown” sectors. The arrival of thousands of Irish and German immigrants contributed to the city's unique cultural tapestry and the inviting blend of music, food, and festival that was represented by the appearance in 1857 of the first modern Mardi Gras “krewes” (companies of costumed paraders).

By 1860, with a population of 168,675, New Orleans was the largest city in the South and fifth largest in the United States. The Civil War and Reconstruction accelerated New Orleans's “Americanization,” as evidenced by the imposition of an uncompromising system of racial segregation that divided white from black. Remnants of the city's unusual origins could be found, however, in a Creole protest tradition that surfaced in Homer Plessy's unsuccessful legal assault on Jim Crow in the landmark Plessy v. Ferguson case of 1896.

Late nineteenth‐ and early twentieth‐century New Orleans stagnated economically even as its African‐American musicians took the lead in demonstrating the city's cultural vitality by developing jazz. The new music, Storyville (the fabled red‐light district), the corrupt Louisiana lottery, and gambling combined to enhance the city's exotic and sensual reputation. “Reformers” battled “Ring” politicians until 1904, when Martin Behrman consolidated one of the urban South's rare political machines.

After World War II, suburbanization, changing racial demographics, and the civil rights movement dramatically reshaped the city. New bridges, highways, and swamp‐draining pumps permitted geographic expansion, with whites concentrated in a suburban collar around an increasingly black urban core. Ernest Nathan “Dutch” Morial, a prominent civil rights leader, became the city's first black mayor in 1978. The city's population dropped to 496,938 in 1990 and, despite its flirtation with gambling as a solution to long‐standing economic problems, New Orleans increasingly resembled other racially segmented, economically troubled American cities as the twentieth century ended.
See also African Americans; Cotton Industry; German Americans; Irish Americans; Louisiana Purchase; Roman Catholicism; Slavery: Development and Expansion of Slavery.

Bibliography

Arnold R. Hirsch and Joseph Logsdon, eds., Creole New Orleans: Race and Americanization, 1992.
Reid Mitchell , All on a Mardi Gras Day: Episodes in the History of New Orleans Carnival, 1995.

Arnold R. Hirsch

New Orleans, largest city in Louisiana and chief port of the Gulf states, is situated on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, 100 miles above its mouth. The site was known to survivors of De Soto's expedition, and to La Salle, Tonty, and Iberville, prior to the city's founding (1718) by the French governor Sieur de Bienville. Louisiana was ceded to Spain by the Treaty of Paris (1763), but reverted to France (1803) and in 1803 came into the possession of the U.S. by the Louisiana Purchase. The city's population was augmented by the real‐estate scheme known as the Mississippi Bubble, and the opening of the West brought it new prosperity when it became capital of the state (1812). It is a city steeped in European culture, whose Latin character, enhanced by the semi‐tropical climate, is evident in its Vieux Carré or French Quarter and its exotic ways of life with lively parties, opera, theater, and Mardi Gras celebrations drawing on a Creole and Cajun heritage. During the War of 1812, the Battle of New Orleans was the final engagement and a decisive American victory. The advent of steam navigation soon made New Orleans both the queen city of the Mississippi and a lawless river town, a center for showboats, gamblers, plantation owners, and slave and cotton traders. During the Civil War it was a strategic point in the Confederate defense until its surrender (1862), when it was placed under the harsh military governorship of Benjamin Butler. It suffered under the pressure of carpetbaggers and scalawags during Reconstruction, and, besides the civic strife, the diminishing of river trade caused a partial loss of the former commercial importance of the city. During the present century, when the population has increased to over a half‐million, New Orleans was long under the virtual dictatorship of the political machine of Huey Long and his successors. The home of Tulane University (founded 1845), it is represented in the arts by its distinctive architecture, many of whose landmarks still survive; by the Creole and Cajun songs that influence the sentimental compositions of Gottschalk, and the black music that has had its effect on jazz; by the paintings of Audubon and Vanderlyn in the early 19th century; and by its literature. The early literature was predominantly French and, in the tradition of Chateaubriand, largely romantic. The flush period prior to the Civil War was depicted by Vincent Nolte and, in Life on the Mississippi, by Clemens. Newspapers have included the Crescent, for which Whitman worked briefly, and the New Orleans Picayune. The city was one of the centers of the local‐color movement, and its romantic past figured in the works of Cable, Hearn, Grace King, Kate Chopin, and Ruth Stuart. A more mystical but less sentimental view was expressed by the Rouquette brothers. After World War I, a more realistic attitude was inaugurated by the little magazine Double Dealer, whose contributors included Sherwood Anderson and Faulkner. Other modern authors who have used the city's background include Roark Bradford, Lyle Saxon, Tennessee Williams, Hamilton Basso, Truman Capote, and John Kennedy Toole.

NEW ORLEANS. A city in Louisiana whose distinctive variety of AMERICAN ENGLISH is the result not only of the influence of its founders from Spain and France (who governed the region before the 19c) but also waves of migrants from Ireland, Germany, Italy, and most recently Vietnam. West African influence through pan-Caribbean creole is also apparent. The term CREOLE, as defined by local whites, applies to white descendants of early French or Spanish settlers. As defined by blacks, it applies to persons of Afro-French parentage. Both express ‘authentic’ local identity. Some of the dialect's characteristics come directly from FRENCH, either locally or from present and former French-speaking regions of the state, such as the obsolescent banquette for (AmE) sidewalk, (BrE) pavement, and the phrases make the groceries to shop for groceries, make menage to clean (the) house, and save the dishes to put the dishes away. The city has locally well-understood STEREOTYPES based on race, class, and neighbourhood, though linguistic features criss-cross these in complex ways. Typical grammatical features include a widespread tendency to use had + past participle for the simple past (as in Yesterday I had run into him) and the tags no (as in I don't like that, no!) and the more widely current Coastal Southern hear (as in I'm having another piece of pie, hear?).

Yat

The most distinctive local variety is Yat, called by one observer ‘the COCKNEY of New Orleans’. The name is said to derive from the greeting Wha y'at? ‘What are you at?’ Associated with such working-class districts as the Irish Channel and old Ninth Ward, it is also heard in other parts of the city and recently in some suburban parishes (government units in Louisiana that correspond to counties in much of the rest of the US). Outsiders confuse Yat with BROOKLYNESE; its stereotypic features include such quasiphonetic spellings as berlin boiling, dat that, earl oil, mudder mother, and taught thought.

Cuisine

The city has a varied cuisine with characteristic vocabulary, much of it from Louisiana French: beignet (pronounced 'bane yea) a square doughnut dusted with powdered sugar, debris pan gravy, etouffee stewed, file (pronounced ‘fee-lay’) thickener for soups and stews derived from young sassafras leaves, jambalaya a dish prepared with rice, seasoning, and meat or seafood, praline (pronounced ‘prah-leen’) a confection made with pecans and brown sugar. Other terms are from English: cajun popcorn deep-fried crawfish/crayfish tails, dirty rice a spicy rice dish with chicken giblets, king cake a ring-shaped coffee cake traditionally served from Epiphany to Shrove Tuesday, po' boy a sandwich of the type known elsewhere in AmE as a grinder, hoagie, or submarine. See CAJUN.

New Orleans: Communications

Newspapers and Magazines

The Times-Picayune is the city's leading newspaper. Other periodicals originating from New Orleans are the Clarion Herald, Gambit (covering local politics, dining and entertainment), Offbeat, a free monthly music magazine, Naval Reservist News, and Louisiana Weekly and New Orleans Data News Weekly (both covering the African American community). Trade and university papers, scholarly journals, and quarterly publications are also published in the "Crescent City."

Television and Radio

Five television stations broadcast in New Orleans. Four are affiliated with the national networks, and one is a public television station. Talk shows, gospel music, news, religion, and contemporary music head the programming of the 19 AM and FM stations in the New Orleans area.

Media Information: New Orleans Time-Picayune, 3800 Howard Ave., New Orleans, LA 70140; telephone (504)826-3300

New Orleans Online

City of New Orleans Home Page. Available www.cityofno.com

The Greater New Orleans, Inc. Available www.norcc.org

Individual public school report cards. Available www.doe.state.la.us/DOE/asps/home.asp?I=REPORTC

Louisiana Bureau of Tourism and Travel. Available crt.g2digital.com

New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau. Available www.neworleanscvb.com

New Orleans Public Library. Available www.gnofn.org/~nopl

Selected Bibliography

Kennedy, Richard S., ed., Literary New Orleans: Essays & Meditations (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1992)

Rice, Anne, The Feast of All Saints (New York: Ballantine Books, 1992)

Sexton, Richard, New Orleans: Elegance and Decadence (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1993)

Young, Andrew, An Easy Burden: The Civil Rights Movement and the Transformation of America (New York: HarperCollins, 1996)

Note: This profile of the city of New Orleans was updated prior to August 2005, when Hurricane Katrina caused severe damage to the Gulf Coast region of the United States. The long-term impact of Katrina on New Orleans is unknown at the time of publication.

New Orleans: Convention Facilities

A central location, spacious facilities, and famous off-hour activities make New Orleans an extremely popular choice for trade show and professional conferences. More than 21,000 hotel guest rooms are available downtown, and more than 37,000 are found in the metropolitan area. New Orleans is home to one of America's most popular meeting venues, the Morial Convention Center, located on the Mississippi River in the heart of the business district and within easy walking distance of the French Quarter, which offers 1.1 million square feet of contiguous exhibit space in 12 separate/combinable exhibit halls

The enormous Louisiana Superdome seats 77,000 people at one event, and offers 166,000 square feet of unobstructed convention floor space plus smaller meeting rooms. Situated in the northwest corner of the business district, the Super-dome is close to government offices and hotels.

Located near the river amid major hotels and only steps from the French Quarter, the Rivergate is another name for the Port of New Orleans Exhibition Center, where 580,000 square feet of space and numerous conference rooms are available. On the north side of the French Quarter, the Municipal Auditorium is the city's fourth largest convention center, with 52,000 square feet of show space.

Additional exhibit space and meeting rooms for large gatherings can be found at the Pontchartrain Center, which recently added the Belle Grove Plantation Ballroom, and at the Fairmont, Hyatt Regency, and Hilton Riverside hotels. Smaller groups of 200 to 300 people, however, often seek out New Orleans's unique atmosphere for gatherings in such unusual settings as the Storyville Jazz Hall and the New Orleans Paddlewheels Creole Queen—at the International Cruise Terminal—or in Terrell House, a guest home lavishly furnished in Victorian antiques.

Convention Information: The New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau, 2020 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70130; telephone (504)566-5011 or (800)672-6124

New Orleans: Population Profile

Metropolitan Area Residents

1980: 1,303,800

1990: 1,285,262

2000: 1,337,726

Percent change, 1990–2000: 4.08%

U.S. rank in 1980: 27th

U.S. rank in 1990: 32nd

U.S. rank in 2000: 34th

City Residents

1980: 557,515

1990: 496,938

2000: 484,674

2003 estimate: 469,032

Percent change, 1990–2000: −2.46%

U.S. rank in 1980: 21st

U.S. rank in 1990: 24th (State rank: 1st)

U.S. rank in 2000: 38th (State rank: 1st)

Density: 2,684.3 people per square mile (2000)

Racial and ethnic characteristics (2000)

White: 135,956

Black or African American: 325,947

American Indian and Alaska Native: 991

Asian: 10,972

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander: 109

Hispanic or Latino (may be of any race): 14,826

Other: 7,240

Percent of residents born in state: 77.4% (2000)

Age characteristics (2000)

Population Under 5 years: 33,496

Population 5 to 9 years: 37,133

Population 10 to 14 years: 36,769

Population 15 to 19 years: 38,312

Population 20 to 24 years: 38,932

Population 25 to 34 years: 70,466

Poplation 35 to 44 years: 71,497

Poplation 45 to 54 years: 63,690

Poplation 55 to 59 years: 21,068

Poplation 60 to 64 years: 16,658

Poplation 65 to 74 years: 28,949

Poplation 75 to 84 years: 20,296

Population 85 years and over: 7,408

Median age: 33.1 years

Births (Orleans Parish, 2002)

Total number: 7,068

Deaths (Orleans Parish, 2002)

Total number: 5,656 (of which, 92 were infants under the age of 1 year)

Money income (1999)

Per capita income: $17,258

Median household income: $27,133

Total Number of households: 188,365 (2000)

Number of households with income of . . .

Less than $10,000: 39,617

$10,000 to $14,999: 17,991

$15,000 to $24,999: 29,760

$25,000 to $34,999: 25,460

$35,000 to $49,999: 26,399

$50,000 to $74,999: 23,724

$75,000 to $99,999: 10,802

$100,000 to $149,999: 7,920

$150,000 to $199,999: 2,620

$200,000 or more: 4,072

Percent of families below poverty level: 23.7% (of which, 61.4% were female householder families with related children under 5 years)

2002 FBI Crime Index Total: 31,206

New Orleans

The City in Brief

Note: This profile of the city of New Orleans was updated prior to August 2005, when Hurricane Katrina caused severe damage to the Gulf Coast region of the United States. The long-term impact of Katrina on New Orleans is unknown at the time of publication.

Founded: 1718 (incorporated 1805)

Head Official: Mayor C. Ray Nagin (since 2002)

City Population

1990: 496,938

2000: 484,674

2003 estimate: 469,032

Percent change, 1990–2000: −2.46%

U.S. rank in 1990: 24th (State rank: 1st)

U.S. rank in 2000: 38th (State rank: 1st)

Metropolitan Area Residents

1990: 1,285,262

2000: 1,337,726

Percent change, 1990–2000: 4.08%

U.S. rank in 1990: 32nd

U.S. rank in 2000: 34th

Area: 181 square miles (2000)

Elevation: Ranges from 5 feet below sea level to 15 feet above sea level

Average Annual Temperature: 68.1° F

Average Annual Precipitation: 61.88 inches

Major Economic Sectors: entertainment, tourism and hotels, construction, financial services, oil and gas, maritime/transportation, shipbuilding and aerospace

Unemployment rate: 5.0% (December 2004)

Per Capita Income: $17,258 (2000)

2002 FBI Crime Index Total: 31,206

Major Colleges and Universities: University of New Orleans, Tulane University, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, Southeastern Louisiana University, Loyola University, Xavier University, Dillard University

Daily Newspaper: The Times-Picayune

New Orleans (Louisiana). The first plays presented in New Orleans were apparently those given by a company of French performers who had fled from what is now Haiti after the black revolution there and who set up in the city in 1791. Drama in English began in 1806 when a Mr. Rannie presented a double bill at Moore's Large Building. Thereafter for many years French and English theatre flourished side by side. In 1807 the first real theatre, Théâtre St. Pierre, was erected but survived only three seasons. Noah Ludlow's visits encouraged the growth of English plays, although the city did not become a significant theatrical center until the arrival there of James Caldwell. He erected several playhouses, including the long‐famous St. Charles Theatre (which stood until 1965). These early years are covered in detail in Nelle Smither's A History of the English Theatre in New Orleans (1944). Subsequently the city remained an important stop for all great visiting players and supported several local stock companies. It was less affected by the Civil War than most Southern cities and continued to offer lively theatre well into the 20th century. However, today New Orleans has become a minor touring town and is one of the few large cities in the nation without a major resident theatre. But it does boast the touring house Saenger Theatre, the Southern Repertory Theatre, and Le Petit Theatre Du Vieux Carre, which claims to be the oldest continuous community theatre in the country.

New Orleans: Health Care

Internationally known as a center for medical care and research, New Orleans is home to 25 acute care hospitals, with approximately 5,200 staffed beds and 1,800 medical and surgical specialists, serving the health care needs of a multi-state area as well as Latin America and other foreign countries. One of the largest medical complexes in the United States is located in the city's central business district and consists of the U.S. Veterans Administration Hospital, the state-operated Charity Hospital, and the medical schools of both Louisiana State University and Tulane University. The Tulane Center for Abdominal Transplant specializes in the treatment of all diseases involving the liver, pancreas, and kidneys. Other New Orleans area hospitals include DePaul Hospital and Mental Health Center, United Medical Center, Eye and Ear Institute of Louisiana, Baptist Hospital, St. Charles General Hospital, and East Jefferson General Hospital. Terminally ill patients and their families are also served by the Hospice of Greater New Orleans.

New Orleans: Introduction

An international seaport with direct water connections to half the United States, New Orleans would not exist without the Mississippi River. Its roots are deep in the saturated soils of the delta; its history is a pageant of canoes, rafts, paddle-wheels, and barges from mid-America converging with sails and steamships from around the world. Under four flags New Orleans has grown from a tiny swamp outpost populated by French convicts to a major economic center, a sports-minded city of rare elegance, culture, and high spirits. The city consistently appears on "Top Ten" lists as a vacation destination, cited particularly for its many attractions and for its fine cuisine.

NEW ORLEANS

NEW ORLEANS, the first steamboat on western waters, was built at Pittsburghby Nicholas J. Roosevelt under patents held by Robert Fulton and Robert R. Livingston, during 1810–1811. A sidewheeler of between three hundred and four hundred tons, the New Orleans left Pittsburgh on 20 October 1811, braved the Falls of the Ohio and the New Madrid earthquake, and reached New Orleans 10 January 1812. It never returned to Pittsburgh, plying in the New Orleans–Natchez trade until snagged on 14 July 1814.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Petersen, William J. Steamboating on the Upper Mississippi. New York: Dover Publications, 1995.

William J.Petersen/a. r.

See alsoMississippi River ; Steamboats ; Waterways, Inland .

New Orleans City and river port in se Louisiana, USA, between Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River. Founded by the French in 1718, it was ceded to Spain in 1763 and acquired by the USA under the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Its industries expanded rapidly in the 20th century after the discovery of oil and natural gas. New Orleans made an important contribution to the development of jazz. It is also the home of the annual Mardi gras festival. Industries: food processing, petroleum, natural gas, oil and sugar refining, shipbuilding, tourism, aluminium, petrochemicals. Pop. (2000) 484,674.

New Orleans, Louisiana/USA Nouvelle‐Orléans The city was founded in 1718 as a result of a decision taken the year before in Paris to build a transshipment point here. It was named after the French Regent, Philippe (1674–1723), Duc d'Orléans. In 1763 the city was ceded to Spain, but secretly returned to France in 1800. However, as part of the Louisiana Purchase, it was bought by the USA in 1803. The French name is feminine because the feminine ville ‘town’ is understood.

New Orleans: Municipal Government

New Orleans operates under a mayor-council form of government; the mayor is elected for a four-year term, as is the seven-member city council.

Head Official: Mayor C. Ray Nagin (since May 2002; current term expires 2006)

Total Number of City Employees: 6,370 (2004)

City Information: Mayor's Office, 1300 Perdido Street, New Orleans, LA 70112; telephone (504)565-6400

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