Getting out of the French Quarter in New Orleans

On a recent whirl-wind trip to New Orleans, Rachel Breunlin with The Neighborhood Story Project gave me a fantastic tour of New Orleans. The Neighborhood Story Project is a documentary book-making project in which writers create portraits of places through writing, interviews and photography. I have been to New Orleans a number of times, but Rachel took me out of the French Quarter to see parts of the Crescent City I had not seen before.

The annual Congo Square Festival

Our first stop was Congo Square. Congo Square is in the vicinity of the sacred ground of the Houmas Indians. Before the arrival of the French, the space was used for celebrating the annual corn harvest. As early as 1740, enslaved African vendors began gathering in the square. The square became famous for the gatherings of enslaved Africans who drummed, danced, sang and traded on Sunday afternoons. Today, it is home to the Congo Square Festival (which I missed by a couple of days).

Louis Armstrong Park

Right next to the Square is the Louis Armstrong Park. The park, formerly known as Beauregard Square, is located in the Treme neighborhood (of HBO fame) just across Rampart Street from the French Quarter. The rolling hills of the park are appealing to the eye, but not natural to New Orleans. It exists as a stark reminder of the fact that blocks of Treme, one of the oldest Black neighborhoods (the birthplace of jazz as well as being influential in the Southern Civil Rights Movement) were bull dozed during urban renewal. Today the park promotes the jazz heritage of the city, but the rolling hills and fence surrounding it, do not invite the children who live in the surrounding neighborhoods to play soccer or .

Ronald Lewis at the house of dance and feathers.

I fought back tears after visiting the house of dance and feathers. Maybe it was the stress of the two day trip. Maybe it was the reminder of how large Katrina still remains in people's lives. Ronald W. Lewis founded the museum in his backyard shed, which also acted as a barber shop and gathering place for family and friends. The museum, which was filled with the cultural objects Ronald had collected over the years through his involvement with the cultural traditions of the Mardi Gras Indians and Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs of New Orleans was destroyed during Katrina. After the flood, Ronald partnered with a number of organizations to rebuild. Today, the museum is a single room filled with photographs, bead and feather costumes, and other cultural objects. It is also filled with memorabilia from Katrina - newspaper clippings, cans of water, and reminders of the devastation to the Lower Ninth Ward.

On my visit, Ronald's presence felt like a warm hug, like the spirit of New Orleans. I also got a glimpse of how Katrina still impacts the lives of people living in the Lower Ninth Ward, when Robert's wife came in for a quick conversation with Rachel. As I looked around the museum, they discussed the plans for a bicycle trail along the river. Why were they building bicycle path when the infrastructure needed in the Lower Ninth Ward is still lacking. The area is a food desert. And there is still not a road out of the ward in case of another storm.

Old U.S. Mint

One of our last stops was the Old U.S. Mint on Esplanade Avenue. The building, that served both as a U.S. and Confederate Mint, is home to the Louisiana Historical Center. This is a must stop for anyone doing research in New Orleans since it houses the maps and manuscripts, sheet music, microfilm, scrapbooks, pamphlets, and newspapers from the Louisiana State Museum's collections. The building also houses the state of the art Old U.S. Mint Performance Hall. The Performance Hall, located on the third floor, is the result of an innovative partnership between the National Park Service and the Louisiana State Museum to bring a world class music venue to the birthplace of jazz.

The Rampart Food (Orange) Store

A tour of New Orleans would not be complete without food. For dinner, a group of us dined at Mondo, a neighborhood restaurant, located on Harrison Drive in the Lakeview neighborhood of New Orleans. The restaurant is owned by Chef Susan Spicer, who is also the chef and co-owner of Bayona, in the French Quarter. I started with a Bayou Teche LA-31 Bière Pâle or a or Louisiana Pale Ale. The malty hoppiness went well with the spicy shrimp and cauliflower curry. For breakfast, I ate at the Ruby Slipper Cafe on Magazine Street. I had eaten here on a previous trip to the Crescent City, so I knew a yummy breakfast was in store. I had the shrimp and cheddar omelet (with added spinach), rosemary potatoes, biscuit and coffee. It was delicious. For lunch, Rachel took me to the Orange Store, as it is popularly known, or the Rampart Food Store for a po'boy. The corner store has a kitchen that sells asian cuisine and sandwiches.

Po' boy from the Orange Store

I opted for the shrimp po' boy on a bun (rather than a larger sandwich on french bread). I took it to go and ate it at the airport -- and got a lot of hungry stares from my surrounding passengers.

There are so many places to see and things to do in New Orleans. On your next trip, get out of the French Quarter and see some new sites. For other fun, out of the ordinary places to visit in New Orleans check out Campbell Robertson's story, 36 Hours: New Orleans in the New York Times.