

History
& Facts
History,
particularly that of a town like New Orleans, is one of multiple, schizophrenic
perspectives. Meaning: You need ten giant Wide screen TV's with TiVo running
24/7 to really get any, even remotely accurate glimpse of what the real history
is, or might be. There's just too much. Sort of like Paris. The place oozes
history. Better off going to Lafayette Cemetery in the Garden District
(or Pere La Chaise cemetery if in Paris) and just read all the headstones
over a nice glass of Burgundy.
Sure there's a few key historical landmarks around town. About 35,000 historical
buildings listed on the National register of Historic Places. You know, to
be exact. More than any other U.S. city. Nearly double, in fact. No big deal.
Most are in The French Quarter, so head there first. St.
Louis Cathedral' s there. Pretty awesome. Built
in 1724. Oldest continuously active Roman Catholic Cathedral in the U.S. Rebuilt
a couple times because it got hammered by a hurricane once. Then a big fire.
Luck of the Irish. It overlooks Jackson Square. Brilliant place. The Old
Ursuline Convent's in The Quarter, too. Dates around 1745. You like mansions?
Antebellum Mansions? They're all over The Garden District and further
on Uptown. Oak trees? Pre-Civil War Oak Trees? Tens of thousands of
them, all along the streets down here. Beautiful. Massive.
How about a key
date of interest? 1503. Napoleon cuts the U.S. a real crackerjack of a deal.
He sells the U.S. the city of New Orleans and the entire Louisiana territory.
For a cool $15 mil. Not a bad deal, right? The purchase doubles the size of
the U.S. And basically, prompts everyone for all eternity to head down here
looking to wine and dine 'til the lights burn out in Georgia. And, coincidetally,
he invites everybody to party over at his house in The French Quarter, aptly
called The Napoleon House. For a couple shots of his favorite brandy.
Also called, yep you guessed it, Napoleon's brandy. Anyway, the guy
was a bit egocentric, they say. Anyway, that's a beginning at taking a crack
at New Orleans History. History in this city is, well, endless. As you'll
soon find out down here. And one more thing: no matter how long you plan on
staying in New Orleans, pencil in an extra year. Because the good times in
The Big Easy are pretty much, well, limitless.