HEY Y'ALL, NEW ORLEANS IS TURNING 300!!
My Summary of 300 years In the Making of The Lady Orleans
Voted a top travel destination in 2018 by Time magazine, New Orleans is rich in history, culture, and a vibrancy that will leave you wanting to come back again and again. We hope you do!
2018 marks 300 years since the discovery of French explorer Jean-Baptiste LeMoyne de Bienville of the conspicuous “crescent” bend in the river that proffered higher land for housing and industry. Surprisingly though, the area that is now the City of New Orleans was visited throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but it was not until 1718 in which the city was founded roughly a hundred miles from the mouth of the mighty Mississippi River, upon a “sliver by the river.”
The grid work that is now the French Quarter was born after the city was destroyed in 1722 by a massive hurricane. Before this, houses and streets were laid out haphazardly. As time went on, the city built itself up through natural expansions, but was destroyed by fire a few times, and subsequently rebuilt itself to its former self each time. In 1763, when the Spanish gained control over the area, a present-day feature of the French Quarter was born. Due to the fire hazard presented by the wooden structures, the Spanish required that's the streets of the city be permanently laid into a grid pattern, in which the facades of the building should be no greater than 10 feet from the curb, as that was the ultimate capacity of the pumping trucks that were used at the time to extinguish fire. This would account for the narrow streets in the quarter.
In 1803, the region known as French Louisiana was sold to the United States and began to be divided up. The City of New Orleans played a pivotal role in the Civil War, but that was not its first rodeo in defending itself. During the War of 1812, President Andrew Jackson, then General Jackson, is credited with salvaging our beloved city from the British and thereby turning the tide of the war. It was during the Civil War that New Orleans saw it it's most intense occupying Force, that of the Union, only a year after the beginning of the skirmish that would live out to forever change the face of the region and our nation.
By the middle of the 19th century, with a population swelling well over 150000, New Orleans was known as one of the wealthiest cities in the United States with its port that oversaw the traversal of all ships heading to the Gulf. Sadly, New Orleans played a big role in the slave trade, being a port town, and was the site of many arrivals of those who arrived against their will. This is a black eye that continues to plague the city; notwithstanding the removal of four Confederate Monuments by Mayor Mitch Landrieu (D) in 2017, amongst controversy from “The Old Guard.” It is the hope of this city that we can rise above the throes of racism, inequality, and injustice that is an unfortunate group of residents in our “Landmass.”
It was during the 20th century that New Orleans took on its familiar face. The entrance of such legends as Louis Armstrong, Allen Toussaint, and Fats Domino, along with other famous locals brought on a laissez-faire feeling amongst the city that persists to this very day.
August 29th, 2005 forever changed the City of New Orleans; it's people, its history, and its Legacy. Once a powerful Category 5 storm, Hurricane Katrina barreled into the low lying marshlands of Southeast Louisiana, bringing with it winds more than 130 miles an hour and pushing a massive wall of water up through the system of levees and canals. It was in the city’s jewel, the Lower Ninth Ward, that the levees finally succumbed to nature's torrent, and from there proceeded to topple the weakened levees in other parts of the city. At its height, it was reported that the city was 80% underwater, but local accounts bring that number much higher along with the ghastly reports of life in the immediate aftermath. Locals will tell you the death toll published by the government was shy of a few thousand, as the reports of canals being clogged by rotting corpses that were ushered in by the deluge brought on by the monster storm.
Because of “The Storm”, as we refer to it here, The city was hurt. The city was bruised. But New Orleans will never be out. The city rebuilt itself with a vengeance, taking advantage of generous federal grants, private donations, and other programs that help to stimulate not only did New Orleanian economy but it's people. People say this is “the city that care forgot.” We just ask that you do not forget us!
It took New Orleans 300 years, but in 2017, New Orleans elected its first female mayor, mayor-elect Latoya Cantrell. Mrs Cantrell is a current city councilwoman and sits on the Board of the Broadmoor Community Improvement Association. She won an overwhelming landslide victory against opponent Desiree Charbonnet, a former city judge.
I hope you enjoyed my little run down through New Orleans history. My little ditty does not do it justice but stay tuned as I start to recount the 300 years that have shaped our City along with the forces of the mighty Mississippi. As the feeling of Mardi Gras fills the air and I prep to attend this evenings swarm of parades, allow me to send you off with our namesake:
“Laissez le bon temps rouler”
JUST A HEADS UP: The storm to us is like bad family history. We just do not like to talk about it. Please be respectful. Many of the people you may encounter have had loved ones that either relocated or had a more unpleasant disposition. Just keep that in mind the next time you want to ask a local if they got flooded in Katrina. That is what God made Google Maps for which has a layer for Katrina floods (You Have to search for it)…. Take note of the coordinates you are at and GOOGLE IT! Just because everything looks back to normal, Please remember the people of this great city are still trying to deal with the harrowing memories of that day……Just wanted to offer this in case you are met with some reluctance from locals; the same that I felt and learned this firsthand when I moved to New Orleans myself from my Beloved Sweet Home Mobile Alabama.