The French Quarter

http://www.neworleansquarter.com/the-french-quarter.php

The French Quarter, or Vieux Carré (Old Square in French), is the oldest and most famous neighborhood in New Orleans. It was founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville in 1718 and stretches along the Mississippi River from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue and inland to North Rampart Street. More commonly referred to these days as “The Quarter”, it contains numerous historic buildings and is a National Historic Landmark as a whole.

A great many of the buildings that can be seen in the French Quarter today date back to the years before New Orleans was established as a part of the United States. Due to the Great New Orleans Fire in 1788 and another great fire in 1794, much of The Quarter’s French colonial architecture was destroyed. A majority of the surviving 18th century architecture of the neighborhood date to the time of Spanish rule, who rebuilt and controlled it until it reverted to French control in 1801. As a result, semi-fortified streetscapes, wall-plastered brick houses, walled courtyards, colorful walls and roofs and wrought iron balconies and more from the 18th and 19th century can be seen all throughout the French Quarter to this day.