50
NEWS
E D I T I O N
Vol. 10,
No. S
Quaint Old New Orleans The Vieux Carre "AMERICA'S M O S T I N T E R E S T I N G C I T Y " is the name
visitors have given N e w Orleans, undoubtedly because it is here they find unchanged, preserved through more than a century, the buildings and t h e entire setting in which the dramas, the romances, and the tragedies of bygone ages were enacted. In New Orleans the imagination, unaided, can construct again the very scenes of which the visitor has read, t a l k e d , a n d heard since his knowledge of history b e g a n . Such scenes as these are easily c o n j u r e d u p : the fantastic nights of the famous quadroon balls; the awesome days of slave auctions, and later on t h e d a y s o f t h e carpet-baggers; t h e p i c t u r e s q u e pirates of Lafitte, as they came to the aid Photo by o f A n d r e w Jackson in t h e Delcroix Battle of N e w Orleans; t h e T H H O U O H A F R A M E OP G R I L L beautiful and typical southern manors o f the "land o' cotton" and sugar cane; the fascinating courtyards and iron-trellised balconies of t h e ancient days of Spanish and French rule; and the beautiful and languid "teche" country through which Longfellow sent Evangeline. Tn the waters that surround New Orleans one finds pronounced contrasts. Sluggish silent bayous wind their way beneath t h e interlaced branches of century-old oaks and cypress, on t h e limbs of which dangle long feathery strands of Spanish moss. At another turn is the white-shelled beach of Lake Ponchartrain, the booming surf o f Grand Isle, or the entrancing beauties of t h e (.iulf Coast. Close at hand is t h e miglhty Father of Waters, where ships of all t h e world exchange the products of all nationsThus bayous, lakes, gulf, and river furnish, each in its particular way, a certain charm to the exotic scenery of lower Louisiana. jNestiing in the heart of the New Orleans of today is the Vieux Carrd, t h e New Orleans of a century or more ago. Outside t h e boundary of Esplanade Avenue, t h e N e w Basin, Canal Street, and the river is a city that looks to t h e future. Within t h e boundaries is a city of the past—a city that whispers reminiscences o f olden clays of luxury and languor.
Changes and additions have been made, but t h e catlhedra,l stands t o d a y practically as it has stood for almost t w o cenirturies. In its crypt are t h e tombs of many men of history, notabi^y Don Andraes Almonaster y Roxas. Beside t h e cathedral on one side stands the Cabildo, for unearlv a century t h e seat of government, and o n the other stan**ds tlie Presbytere—two of t h e most interesting buildings i n Misssissippi Valley history, erected by Almonaster y Roxas during the nre'giiiLe of the Spanish Governor Baron de Carondelet in 1795. Hit was in the main chamber of the Sala Capitular of the Cabildo tfcoat the Louisiana Purchase w a s transferred to t h e U n i t e d Staflfces b y representatives of Napoleon and Thomas Jefferson.. The Presbytere was built a few years later as t h e house of the Capuchin priests, a n d w a s afterward occupied b y t h e states civil courts. Both buildings now house t h e exhibits of t h e LoiHiisiaaa State Museum. Flanking the Place d'Armes on both sides are t h e binkildings that D o n Almonaster y Roxas erected in 1849 in honor of his daughter, the Baroness de Pontalba. These budldingss, now tenements, still bear in t h e iron scroll work of the balconMes the monogram of their noble mistress. In t h e center of the square stands the famous equestrian statute of Andrew Jackson, t h e work of Clark Mills, upon the toase o f which General Butler during the Civil Wax cut the - "words, "The Union Must and Shall Be Preserved." I n St. Peter SStreet, one block from the square, is t h e quaint old house in which Jenny Lind lived during her years in N e w Orleans. ^ \ . t 514 Chartres Street, two blocks from t h e square, is t h e Na^polcon House, to which Girod, a wealthy merchant, a n d DonminbI% Y"ou, one of Lafitte's pirates, planned to bring Napoleoixi from St. Helena.
T H E PLACE L V A R M E S
•Just a-s the Vieux Carre is the heart of New Orleans, the Place d'Armes is t h e heart of the Vieux Carre1. Within and around the old tall iron pickets that mark t h e square of the Place d'Armes most of the incidents recorded in the history of N e w Orleans took place. It w a s o n this historic s p o t t h a t the Louisiana Territory was transferred three times—from France to Spain, from Spain t o France, and finally with the Louisiana Purchase to the United States. It was around Jackson Square, a s t h e Place d'Armes is known now, that the g a y social life of the c i t y of old w a s centered. Facing the square on one side i s the oLd S t . Louis Cathedral on the site selected by Bienville 2 0 5 years ago. Its foundations w&re laid in 1724—the first brick church building in the South.
VERSAILLES OAKS T H E FRENCH M A R K E T
Interesting because of the exotic life that t e e m s throiEigh, i n , and around it, and because of i t s historic significance, - is th.e French Market, just off the northwest corner of thes Place d'Armes. The market was first built by the Spaniards hm 1701. Part of the old structure was replaced in 1813, a vegetable Eniaitet was added in 1822, a n d the bazaar in 1872. No more ccolorf u l picture of life can be found anywhere. T H E ARCHBISHOPRIC
The oldest building in the Mississippi Valley is t h ^ Archbishopric, erected in 1727 on Chartres Street between BEIpspital and Ursuline. The seminary connected with the ArchiepE^iscopal Palace was built early in the eighteenth century o n the ssite of a chapel erected in 1787 b y D o n Almonaster y Roxas fefor t l i e Ursuline Nuns. T h e church fronting t h e street—the ^Church of St. Mary—was built i n 1846, a n d contains, many intoeresting relics. T H E BEAUREGARD HOUSE
Another link to t h e days of yore stands across Chartreas Street from the Archbishopric. I t is t h e house in which Paul ]V§dorphy, t h e world's greatest chess player, was born. It was laater t h e home of General Beauregard, w h o directed t h e Confederate forces at t h e Battle of Shiloh. O L D ABSINTHE H O U S E Photo by Franck NAPOLEON" H O U S K
More than a century of dripping absinthe—since 179S—wore a depression over t w o inches deep in t h e marble eounteEr of t h e
March 10, 1932
I N D U S T R I A L
A N D
E N G I N E E R I N G
bar o f the Old A b s i n t h e House at B o u r b o n and B i e n v i l l e Streets. It w a s h e r e tjhat m a n y of t h e famous o l d drinks of days that are n o more were o r i g i n a l l y m a d e . T h e construction of t h e Old Absinthe H o u s e is distinctly European and unlike anything seen elsewhere in America.. T H E HAUJNTEID H O U S E
Those who h a v e r e a d t h e novels of George Washington Cable feel that t h e v know the Haunted House, which, stands a t Royal and Hospital Streets. The mysterious old mass of d e c r e p i t masonry w a s occupied as far back as 1813 by M s dame Laiaurie, n o t o r i o u s because of t h e tortures she inflicted on her slaves. T h e Photo by Frederick g h o s t s of t h e m u r d e r e d CABILDO COURTYARD n e g r o e s n o w haunt the old building, i t is s a i d . Lafayette was once a guest i n the ancient structure. NORTH R^MPAJRT S T U E E T
In 1793 Baron d e Carondelet, t h e Spanish Governor, built the -outer lines of the city defenses along what is n o w known as R a m p a r t Street. T h e neutral ground upon w h i c h t h e street cars run was once a moat running along the o l d walls. T h e Terminal Station s t a n d s on the site of old Fort Burgundy.
C H E M I S T R Y
51
Thevis in fulfilment o f a vow he made i n t h e epidemic of 1866, based on the salvation of every member of his flock from death during the scourge. The shrine is surmounted by a statue of St. Roch, and has gradually drawn to i t m a n y of the suffering and. afflicted. I t is said that many marvelous cures have t a k e n place i n it. There is a tradition that y o u n g girls of the city g o to S t . Roch's to pray for husbands—making the pilgrimage o n nine successive days in bare feet. OTHER POINTS OF I N T E R E S T
Where Bayou St. John meets Lake P o n t c h a r t r a i n , New Orleans enjoys trie cool breezes of the lake around the ruins of Photo by an old Spanish fort, marking Leyrer & Schaff the s p o t w h e r e B i e n v i l l e LXCEWORK IN IRON landed before f o u n d i n g t h e city, built during the days of Spanish dominion and used often in ancient days to protect the city. Metairie Cemetery was founded in 1872 on the site which was for 30 years America's m o s t noted race track. The bodies of some of the noted leaders of the Confederacy are interred here. Mississippi levees line t h e banks of the river on both sides, during high water restraining the waste water of t h e entire Mississippi Valley within their banks. A t times the water on the river side of "the levees is 30 feet above the level of t h e land on the city side. The M i n t , at Esplanade Avenue and Chartres Street, i s the oldest mint building in t h e United States. I t was erected in 1821 on the ramparts of old Fort General Jackson, from which Andrew Jackson reviewed his troops in t h e war of 1812.
SPECIAL N E W ORLEANS R A T E S T H E EASTER E X C U R S I O N S from a n y point in t h e territory of
the Southeastern Passenger Association announced in t h e N E W S EDITION of February 20 are in effect only on March 2 3 , 2 4 , and 25. T h e last trains u p o n which these special rates apply leave before midnight of Friday, March 25. T h e special low. rate of $41.20 round trip from Washington t o N e w Orleans c a n b e obtained only f o r t h e days indicated, and a n y one using such ticket must leave Washington prior to midnight of Friday, March 25. Photo by Delrrnix GisjrEitAL. JACKSON'S HEAI>QUARTEKS
D o w n N o r t h Rampart Street, running from St- Peter to St. Ann Streets, is the famous Congo Square, now k n o w n as Beauregard Square, where the weird and repulsive rites o f the Voodoo Queens were enacted until 1900. T h e Queen, Marie Leveau, a mulattress, led t h e m y s t i c cult. S h e lived a t 1036 St. Ann Street, where, in a n alabaster box, she is supposed to have kept t h e "Great Zombi"—the serpent whose food was little children.
PHI
LAMBDA
UPSILON
LUNCHEON
T H E LUNCHEON for members of Phi Lambda Upsilon i n a t tendance at the New Orleans meeting is scheduled for Tuesday noon, March 2 9 , 1932. T h e Committee on Group Meetings has advised that t h i s date will be substantially free from conflicts. Reservations for the luncheon may be made a t t h e Registration Desk, Convention Headquarters, t h e Roosevelt Hotel. I t i s hoped that there will be a good attendance. T. F . BXJBHRBR
T H E O L D S T \ LOUIS CEMETERY
The lives of t h e men w h o are buried i n the Old S t . Louis Cemetery on N o r t h Rampart Street would telL a complete history of Louisiana from 1708. It is interesting, t o o , as an example of t h e above-ground burial—so different from that of other parts of the country. Even t h e walls are tombs, three tiers high. T H E R U E ROYALE
Because i t is more typically European than a n y other street in N e w Orleans, a n d because it is the main connecting thorough^fare between old a n d n e w N e w Orleans, Royal Street i s o n e of the m o s t interesting i n N e w Orleans. I t is one of t h e city's busiest but narrowest streets—scarcely 2 5 feet from curb to curb—and towering on both, sides of it are t h e old buildings with their wrought-iron balconies and court yards t h a t m a k e the N e w Orleans Vieux Carre" so different. T H E SHRINE O F S T - ROCH
In the lower part of the Old Quarter stands t h e Shrine of St. Roch, a chapel built i n 1871 b y the devout h a n d s of Father
Photo by Frederick MADAME JOHN'S LEGACY
