National Historic Landmark - French Quarter
The New Orleans French Quarter, also know as the Vieux Carre, is the oldest neighborhood in the city and the second oldest historic district in the country.
In 1718, the French governor of Louisiana, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville established the city of New Orleans along a crescent bend in the Mississippi River. The center of this new colonial city lay at the heart of the present day French Quarter.
New Orleans officially became the capital of Louisiana in 1723 and continued to grow through the French colonial period. Growth spread outward from the Place de'Armes, now known as Jackson Square, where the colony's government and religious leaders were headquartered.
Although founded by the French, most of the structures within the Quarter were constructed by the Spanish when the controlled the city between 1763 and 1801. Massive fires in 1788 and 1794 destroyed most of the original colonial structures within the district forcing the Spanish to rebuild in more fashionable styles during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Spain ceded control of Louisiana back to the French in 1801 and the French in turn sold the colony to the United States in 1803. The formal transfer of power from France to America took place within the historic French Quarter.
The most recognizable architectural features of the French Quarter are due to both culture and practicality. Following the great fires, Spanish authorities enforced strict fire codes, requiring all buildings in the quarter to be connected to each other and close to the curb in order to create fire breaks more easily controllable. They also restricted the use of wood siding and columns leading most to construct out of brick, stucco, and the distinctive cast iron balcony railings.
During the early part of the American period, the French Quarter retained much of its European and Creole identity as most of the new settlers chose to live in the new "American" neighborhoods. Following the Civil War, as the number of Creole families diminished in New Orleans, the French Quarter became home to a host of new immigrants from place like Ireland and Italy.
During the 1920s, a growing cultural and artistic movement with the French Quarter helped to fuel the call for its preservation. Finally, in 1936, the advisory role of the Vieux Carre commission received regulatory powers within the district.
The Vieux Carre Historic District was officially designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965. Today the French Quarter remains the heart of New Orleans, drawing visitors to the Crescent City from across the globe.
