BY: JASMINE, SOMMER, PAIGE, CATHERINE, AND KAUSTUBH

FRENCH QUARTER

1920’s: French Quarter began to fall apart, and citizens around the area wanted to demolish the area.

Many old families who wanted to keep their traditions flowing, as well as artists, writers, and preservationists.

Vieux Carré (French Quarter) later produced art galleries, theatres, and tearooms, causing the area to gain attention.

Any artists and writers became attracted to the historic area such as Tennessee Williams and Ernest Hemingway .

1920’s French Quarter

After WW2 the French Quarter started to change rapidly. -Developers wanted to take down the whole building, to make a

expressway. -Eventually the government denied the request saying that the

French Quarters was “National Historic Landmark”. Today quarters are a great attraction for tourism. The population has been recently dropped from 11,000 to

4,000. -Most of the French and Italian families living the quarters have

left because of the rising rent cost. Now the future of the French quarters have been left to admirers who appreciate the historical quality.

1950’s French Quarter

French Quarter has narrow streets lined with candy-colored houses, french doors, and shuttered windows opening onto balconies that with lacy iron grillwork.

Buildings today in the French Quarter are very close together but during the French period, most of the houses were still detached. -After a fire consumed the French Quarter in 1794, there

were strict building codes mandating all structures be side by side and pushed to the curb to create a fire wall.

-Wood siding was banned and replaced with fire-resistant stucco painted in the pastel shades fashionable at the time.

The French Quarter Architecture

“Spanish” iron balconies help make the French Quarter famous.

Chief beauty of the French Quarter is from the deep, warm, varicolored stain caused by time and weather.

Wooden shot-gun houses were built in the Quarter during the mid- 19thcentury. Shot-gun houses are painted in pastel colors, with darker shades for accent.

There are also Creole- type cottages. See picture to the right

Architecture cont.

The French Quarter contains many landmarks -Bourbon Street -Saint Louis Cathedral

Landmarks of the French Quarter

One of the most famous restaurants is Galatoire’s which was frequented by Tennessee Williams in his book “A Street Car Named Desire”.

Galatoire's has been in operation since 1905. - “…they pride themselves on the fact that their

upscale French Creole menu has remained virtually unchanged in all that time” (Fargo,para. 5).

Galatoire’s Ristorante

The New Orleans street line began in 1895.Steam powered street cars started running in

1860Electric street cars began running in 1890.In 1992 street car line ran for 225 miles.The street cars were designed by Percy

Thomas.

Street Cars

The street car line called Desire began in 1920.

The route followed Canal and Bourbon, down Bourbon, Pauger, Dauphine, Desire, Tonti, France, and Royal to Canal, servicing the nightlife areas of the French Quarter.

The line was put an end to in 1948 and was replaced by the Desire bus company.

Street Cars Cont.

Beck, Stanley. "French Quarter Citizens for the Preservation of Residential Quality ." French Quarter Citizens for the Preservation of Residential Quality . SBeckArt, n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2011. <http://www.frenchquartercitize

French Quarter Citizens. 2005. History of the French Quarter. Retrieved from http://www.frenchquartercitizens.org/history3.htm

Fargo, E. L. (n.d.). Historical background. Retrieved from http://www.turgingsomedrama.com/streetcar/streetcarbackground.htm

The french quarter. (2002, April 8). Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/frenchquarter/index.html

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