2090 UNITED STATES (Louisiana) - Mardi Gras Day in New Orleans

Mardi Gras, also called Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday in English, refers to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three King's Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday. It arrived in North America as a French Catholic tradition in the late 17th century, but the date of the first celebration in New Orleans is unknown. A 1730 account by Marc-Antione Caillot notes celebrating with music and dance, masking and costuming.

1966 UNITED STATES (Louisiana) - Second line jazz band in New Orleans

Some say that Jazz was born in 1895, when Buddy Bolden started his first band. Others say 1917, when Nick LaRocca and his Original Dixieland Jass Band recorded the first Jazz record, Livery Stable Blues. Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton said, "It is evidently known, beyond contradiction, that New Orleans is the cradle of Jazz, and I myself happen to be the inventor in the year 1902." The truth is that Jazz wasn't born on a particular day, it was created over a period of time. It wasn't just one person or one race that was responsible for creating it. It was a meeting, and mixing, of the essences and emotions of many people, of many cultures. Jazz is alive. It grows, it dies, it changes, it stays the same.

1703, 1723 UNITED STATES (Louisiana) - Louisiana map

1703 UNITED STATES - The map of State of Louisiana (1)

Posted on 30.06.2015, 06.07.2015
Bordered by Arkansas to north, Mississippi to the east, Texas to the west, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana is nicknamed Bayou State or Child of the Mississippi, because much of the its lands were formed from sediment washed down the Mississippi River, leaving enormous deltas and vast areas of coastal marsh and swamp. The surface of the state may be divided into two parts, the uplands of the north, and the alluvial along the coast. The breadth of the alluvial region along the Mississippi is from 15 to 100 km. The higher hill lands of the north consist of prairie and woodlands. The elevations above sea level range from 3m to 18m, the highest point in the state being Driskill Mountain (163m). The southern coast of Louisiana is among the fastest-disappearing areas in the world.

1723 UNITED STATES - The map of State of Louisiana (2)

Louisiana has a humid subtropical climate, with long, hot and humid summers and short, mild winters. Its capital city is Baton Rouge, founded in 1719 as a military post by French colonists, and the largest city is New Orleans, well known for its distinct French and Spanish Creole architecture, as well as its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage. Besides, many urban environments in Louisiana have a multicultural, multilingual heritage, being so strongly influenced by a mixture of 18th-century French, Spanish, Native American, and African cultures that they are considered to be exceptional in the U.S. On the other hand, it has more Native American tribes than any other southern state.

1653-1655 UNITED STATES (Louisiana) - Royal Street in French Quarter, New Orleans

1653 New Orleans - Royal Street in French Quarter

The French Quarter (Vieux Carré) is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans, located in southeastern Louisiana, straddling the Mississippi River. After New Orleans (La Nouvelle-Orléans in French) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the Vieux Carré (Old Square). Today the district is often called simply The Quarter, related to changes in the city with American immigration after the Louisiana Purchase. Its most common definition includes all the land stretching along the Mississippi River from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue (13 blocks) and inland to  North Rampart Street (seven to nine blocks). As of the census of 2010, there were 3,813 people, 2,635 households, and 549 families residing in the neighborhood.

1654 New Orleans - LaBranche House at
Royal Street in French Quarter (1)

Royal Street (Spanish: Calle Real; French: Rue Royale) is one of the oldest streets in the city, and is known today for its antique shops, art galleries, and stately hotels. The prices at its art shops and antique stores tend to be very high; indeed, it has been listed as one of the world's most expensive places to shop. The 700 block features the galleries of New Orleans-based artists Ally Burguieres and George Rodrigue. The portion between St. Louis and St. Ann streets is closed to traffic every afternoon to create a pedestrian zone. During this time, numerous street performers set up there. Although the music performance quality ranges widely, some of the best up-and-coming jazz bands in New Orleans can be heard.

1655 New Orleans - LaBranche House at
Royal Street in French Quarter (2)

 

Most of the extant historic buildings were constructed either in the late 18th century, during the city's period of Spanish rule, or during the first half of the 19th century, after U.S. annexation and statehood, being either of "second generation" Creole or Greek revival styles. Fires in 1788 and 1794 destroyed many of the original French colonial buildings, that is, "first generation" Creole. The most prolific decade was the 1820s, when the city was growing at an amazing rate. The elaborately decorated ironwork balconies, true iron laces, are one of the  neighborhood’s most prominent and memorable features. Probably the best exemple is the lovely old building at number 700, built about 1835 by Jean LaBranche, a wealthy sugar planter. You can find here the sinister story of the building.