The Historic Lower Garden District

The Lower Garden District in New Orleans was originally part of a plantation owned by one of the city's founders, Bienville, and later owned by the Jesuit Fathers. In 1763, following the French and Indian Wars, the land was divided into smaller parcels, or plantations, and went to public auction.

The cosmetic character of the Lower Garden District cannot be explained without first examining the character of New Orleans itself. Nationality, religious beliefs, and economic status has created each historic neighborhood in New Orleans, leaving in its creation distinctive elements giving each neighborhod its own particular flavor. The original, Nouvelle d'Orleans, the French Quarter, while under French rule, lost most of its classic French designs to fires and the majority of the architecture reflects the Spanish influence during the Spanish rule. The neighborhoods outside the notorious, bawdy and some would say seedy French Quarter, saw their rise after the Louisiana Purchase when the "American Sectors" began to populate the area. These Americans could not dream of "hobnobbing" with the pirates, sailors, trappers, free slaves, Creoles and other "undesirables," so they created their own ostentatious and elegant homes in the (still today) fashionable Garden District. In fact, there was so much distinction between the Creoles, the people of color and the new Americans, Canal Street's median was called "the neutral ground," allowing a place where the various groups could meet and do business. The term "neutral ground" is a distinction that remains to this day.

The Lower Garden District

In the early 19th Century, Bartheleme Lafon was contracted by two plantation owners to draw up plans for subdividing their property. His designs crossed the barriers of five plantations (Soulet, LaCourse, Annunciation, Nuns and Panis) to include all properties up to Felicity Street. Reflecting his love for the classics, Lafon named his streets after the nine muses of Greek mythology: Calliope, Clio, Erato, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Euterpe, Polymnia and Urania. A main street through his plan, Prytania, was to be the site of a great public building -- a prytaneum. He also made grand plans for basins, fountains, tree-lined canals, market places, and parks. Place du Tivoli (now Lee Circle), Coliseum Square, the proposed site of a huge coliseum, and Annunciation Square, the intended site of a cathedral, were all part of his plan.

By the time of the Civil War, there were many large houses encircling Lafon's picturesque park, which he named Coliseum Place, their size and grandeur rivaling that of the newer American-sector, "Garden District." Union forces confiscated many homes in the area -- sending the owners to find refuge elsewhere. After the Civil War, an influx of immigrants and new construction resulted in building of houses of all styles and sizes, as well as churches of monumental proportions -- St. Mary's Assumption and Coliseum Place Baptist Church are two notable examples. Commercial development flourished along Magazine Street, the only 19th Century shopping center in the city to maintain its original character today. Shopping on Magazine Street (and neighboring streets) today is a two to three day event, due to the many boutiques, antique shops, galleries, eateries and "hot spots." Artists are especially drawn to this area.

The physical integrity of the neighborhood evolved over the years by incremental changes and additions until the end of the 19th Century. In the early Twentieth Century, the cycle of decline began. Approximately 100 acres were cleared near the river for a rail terminal resulting in the destruction of hundreds of homes and the displacement of thousands of area residents. The neighborhood was next struck by the construction of the St. Thomas housing project, which took still more single-family residences and promoted more outward migration.

The area lying between the Central Business District and the Garden District continued to see population shifts and lack of appreciation for its historic buildings. In the 1950's, construction of a new bridge across the Mississippi River nearly destroyed the architectural and social fiber of the area. Many buildings were either demolished, defaced by modernization, or allowed to deteriorate past redemption.

In 1971 the Coliseum Square Association was formed to protect the area's architectural integrity. With city wide support, the Coliseum Square Association continues to promote positive development of the Lower Garden District and works to prevent its destruction by neglect, poor planning, crime and greed. The Coliseum Square Association has survived and pursued its goals with no professional staff, little money, and only the volunteer efforts of proud neighbors and business owners contributing their time, their varied talents and their passion for preservation. If you are passionate about restoration, and revitalizing an urban neighborhood for the benefit of all the citizens of New Orleans, come and visit the neighborhood that's been the leader since 1971 -- the Lower Garden Districts' Coliseum Square Association.