This is my first time in New Orleans, so to get the lay of the land, I booked a walking tour for my first morning. I was wary of overly sensational or watered-down tours, and ended up booking one titled “African Life in the French Quarter” through Hidden History Tours. The size of the group varies quite a bit, and though the same tour the day before apparently hosted closer to 20 people, I was the one and only person to book for that date and time, and ended up having a 2.5 hour, private tour with a very nice man named Leon. I had hoped the tour would point me towards sites of commemoration, and was not disappointed. I was guided through several examples of notable buildings and monuments that played a role in New Orleans’ colonial history and prolific, pre-Civil War slave trade.
Though we think of the French Quarter as, well, French, I learned that most of the original French colonial architecture was lost in various fires, and the neighborhood was largely rebuilt by the Spanish. This includes the Cabildo, Presbytère, and St Louis Cathedral on Jackson Square (formerly known as the Place de Armes, used for military drills and executions). The Cabildo features cast ironwork that includes vestiges of African Adinkra symbols, which Leon cited as an example of Moorish influences on the Spanish architecture. The square is now punctuated by a statue of Andrew Jackson, one of many examples of historical figures emblematic of white supremacy still honored by statues in New Olreans (though not without pushback from community groups). The square is a lively park bustling with tourists and buskers, and feels somewhat divorced from this history.
A main theme of the tour was the role of the Catholic church in both the colonial rule and slave trade in the area. France’s Code Noir, which governed the colony, stipulated various slavery regulations, and also mandated that all residents be baptized or else face expulsion. Henriette DeLille, a black nun and prominent social reformer in the mid-19th century, represents a counter-movement to the church’s historically problematic practices. She is now immortalized by stained glass depictions in a former baptistry along one side of St Louis Cathedral, as well as by a sidewalk plaque behind the church. I found her commemoration really interesting- though it seems important that the church acknowledges her role, does this acknowledgement change the role of the church in the community?
Side note: I was amused that what is apparently “America’s Oldest Cathedral” has big TVs all along the pews for your viewing convenience.
What is now the Omni Royal Hotel occupies the site of a former slave exchange. The original Hewlett and Bright slave exchange changed hands, and eventually became the St Louis Exchange Hotel around 1841. All that remains of the former hotel-slash-slave exchange (this is such a ridiculous idea to me, and I wonder whether any other slavery exchanges in the south included hotels) is a portion of the facade on Chartres street, preserved and marked with a small plaque.
An original facade of the St Louis Exchange Hotel
So far I’ve been fascinated by the wide variety of and overlap between various cultural/historical periods and architectural styles in this city. The French Quarter is a relatively small area, but because of it’s historical significance, (and tourism value) it seems to have remained at the center of a lot of these cultural discussions.
